Positive Effect of Veganism on Environment

What is veganism, and why should people be for being vegan in the first place? Veganism is a specialized diet that ignores all animal products and is targeted around plant-based foods. The vegan and omnivorous diets both differ from one another on an ethical stand point, when referring to our health, the environment, as well as onto the animals themselves. If those things aren’t enough to change societies perspective. There are a couple of different opposing arguments that are going to be brought up and refuted throughout this essay.

The counter arguments that are going to be invalidated are Veganism is unhealthy, meat is our only source of protein; we need it to survive, going vegan isn't going make a difference on climate change, the ideology of humane slaughter/free range. Being omnivorous negatively impacts our health, the environment, the animals being slaughtered, as well as the people who work in slaughterhouses.

The misinformed statement that argues that veganism is unhealthy and that we need the protein that is in meat to survive is completely baseless. The source from a website known for dispelling myths about veganism by the name of vegan speaks, states One of the largest scientific studies have proven that the average amount of vegans are able to get the same amount of protein as those who are omnivorous without having to take any additional supplements. “If we were to eat 2000 calories of pure white rice, for instance, we’d get 41 grams of protein. This is already the recommended daily intake for sedentary women that eat 2000 calories per day.” (Ferradas) The daily amount of protein suggested to consume is 40-60 grams of protein. Which proves how much we don’t need protein from eating animals nor do we need to consume animal by products either. The health benefits of having a plant-based diet includes lower risks of having cardiovascular disease, and low blood pressure, which can result to an extended lifespan.

When it comes to the environment going vegan is the most environmentally friendly thing a person can do. According to Sharron Palmer vegans have a 42 percent lower carbon footprint compared to someone who eats meat. The problem lies within the amount is methane gas released into the atmosphere from the practices of animal agriculture. “Raising livestock accounts for a full 18 percent of greenhouse-gas (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, etc.) emissions worldwide. The entire transportation sector is responsible for just 14 percent.” (Neff) This is significant due to the fact that human-induced methane emissions from animal agriculture is responsible for half of the Earth's global warming. Outside of the methane emissions, the impact animal agriculture has on the environment is obvious; the amount of raw resources needed to produce meat; you need to feed the animals plants, grains, and water, and then harvest the animals to be consumed. The planet already is running out of resources, we need to ration the limited resources we already have.

The whole argument that the animals have lived happy, cage free, and full lives; before being sent to the slaughterhouse has been debunked numerous times. “In the U.S., an incredible 99 percent of farmed animals are now bred in factory farms.” (Geer) Which means all of the animals within that ninety-nine-percentile are caged and won’t be able to experience normal instinctual behaviors. These animals that are claimed to be “free range” live in unfair and unsanitary conditions their entire lives. Not only are they brutally murdered without any form of anesthesia, they experience the terror leading up to the slaughterhouse. It doesn’t require much to know that it is morally wrong to put not only those animals through that inhumane process but the workers too.

What about the metal well-being of those who work in slaughterhouses, having a job that demands people to partake in violence has to have a negative impact on them? If the people who start working in slaughterhouses are mentally stable when they start off, does it affect their Mental Health? The answer to those questions is yes, the work duties of a slaughterer and the psychological well-being of the employees were interconnected. According to a study of 13 slaughterers in South Africa researchers found that throughout the four stages of becoming a slaughter worker. They noticed “deviant behavior patterns of slaughterhouse employees have been reported in and outside of the work setting with specific reference to social dilemmas such as substance abuse, intimate partner violence, and an increase in crime rates.” (Victor,Karen,Barnard) Despite the fact that there hasn't been any concrete evidence that being involved in such a violent industry will affect every single workers Mental Health. However, their studies have shown that the majority of the people that they observed struggled coping with the psychological trauma and emotional detachment that came with working in a slaughterhouse.

In conclusion, everyone should convert to veganism because consuming meat ultimately hurts and negatively affects every party involved. Eating a plant-based diet not only saves us from possibly getting cardiovascular disease and low blood pressure; eliminating these health concerns ultimately can extend our life spans. Excluding meat from our diets, helps the environment by reducing our emissions, which in turn stops the Earth from warming even further than it already has. Eating vegan diet, lessens the demand for meat, which means being able to save animals from living in horrific conditions, also from dying an excruciating death. Completely cutting out meat from our diets, also could save the mental stability of those who work in slaughterhouses, which in turn can possibly, reduce crime rates.     

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