What Is Veganism?

“There is no fundamental difference between man and animals in their ability to feel pleasure and pain, happiness, and misery.” -Charles Darwin. Veganism is a way of leaving which seeks to exclude all forms of exploration and cruelty to animals for food, clothing or any other purpose. In terms of diet, it omits any intake of animal produce, including meat, eggs and dairy. There are many benefits that come from a vegan lifestyle, some people want healthier skin or to loose weight. Others see the truth behind animal farms and slaughterhouses, the inhumane way they end the lives of thousands of animals.

Most people have a preference when it comes to food and very few people like every food that if offered to them. Some people believe that eating animals is wrong and prefer become vegetarians. Some people go even further and become vegans who don’t eat any products that come from animals.

According to vegansociety.com, “ Veganism represents a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, other animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, other animals and the environment.“ People that follow this way of living are called vegans. The vegan diet is more a lifestyle choice and a philosophy than just a diet. The vegan life is the best way to live because it’s healthier, helps the environment, and is kinder to animals.

About a year ago, I asked myself a question why am I not a vegetarian? After all, I am one of the green kids. I grew up with my vegetarian dad in a small town. I even joined a club called “Tree Huggers”. I knew that eating a mere hamburger a day could increase my risk of dying by a third. I knew that the 10 billion animals we raise each year for meat are raised in factory farmed conditions that we hypocritically wouldn’t even consider for our own cats, dogs and other pets. I knew that I was not alone, we as a society are eating twice as much meat as we did in the 50s. So, what was once the special little side treat now is the main course much more regular. What if I told you, that we can change our world through our food choices. The fact

When I first transitioned into the vegan lifestyle I was ashamed of what people may think of me. Looking back it was something so irrelevant, but seemed so serious that I even refused to be open about to my own boyfriend and closest friends. I would binge watch vegan youtubers on my laptop and be inspired about how opened and proud they are to

Like the majority of teenagers today, I was just browsing YouTube when I stumbled upon a video that has since changed my life. “Earthlings.” The documentary revealed how millions of animals are mercilessly slaughtered in factory farms. Just watching such brutality- void of any type of humanity- was immobilizing. Somehow I made it to the end and came across copious recommended videos, including “Forks Over Knives” and “Cowspiracy.” While they weren’t as graphic as the first, they were definitely informative. After watching these documentaries, I decided to go vegan. This decision wasn’t made lightly, and it wasn’t just for myself. Veganism has long been disputed over, but animal rights activists, environmentalists,

There is much controversy and hypocrisy when it comes to animals. I, along with thousands of others, am part of the hypocrisy. I squirm and feel a deep sadness when I hear or see animals being abused, yet I am a meat-eater. I have learned that we all have different opinions and taste and we can not force others to change their ways. There will always be people, like me, perhaps, who will continue to eat meat and use animal products because that is what to us is food and normality. There are many ways to solutionize this; Become vegan or vegetarian, do protests and show others the suffering animals are put through, and/or simply let those who do not choose veganism to be themselves.

Probably going vegan is one of the hardest diets, since it requires to stop eating any animal products such as meat, fish, dairy, eggs, honey, and gelatin. Vegans basically can only eat plant- based foods, which include grains, beans, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. But why go vegan?

The universal rule by vegans is they refuse to eat anything of animal origin. No meat, milk, cheese, eggs, honey. And especially bugs. Veganism is not normally influenced by religion but is often related to health concerns or an

Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose. This includes not consuming meat, dairy, honey, eggs, gelatin, etc., as well as not using leather, feathers, wool, or products that have been tested on animals.

As different crazes and fads are appearing each day, we have come to expect them to simply fade away as the hype passes. However, veganism has stood the test of time in our fad society and is still increasing in popularity. Originally only thought to be a religious lifestyle, many people from different walks of life are becoming vegans. However, this poses many questions and sparks heated debates, mainly from omnivorous people who believe that veganism is against life’s natural order. Vegans, then, argue against an omnivorous lifestyle by bringing up facts about humans’ biological makeup and how humans are, contrary to popular belief, herbivorous by nature, not omnivorous. While both sides present good arguments to some, the veganism lifestyle contains more benefits and less harmful cons than an omnivorous lifestyle.

There are many variations of it, however most people choose not to eat, wear or buy anything that has been made or is an animal product. Some things that a vegan wouldn’t eat or wear would be animal-tested toiletries and make-up, ice-cream as it contains milk and fish as it is an animal. Going vegan can really change someone’s life, depending on many things such as the person’s personal preferences, their fitness levels and their day-to-day lives.

Some would not be able to live without eating any animal products in their diets, such as, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, and honey. For vegans, however, this is a normal way of life. Vegans are frequently misunderstood as either people who have eating disorders, or an unnatural passion for animal rights. It is time for people to realize that veganism, a challenging yet rewarding lifestyle, goes way beyond being skinny or caring for animals. In reality, veganism can be extremely advantageous to anyone who adapts it as a way of life and has many different benefits that come along with it.

The term “vegetarian” is quite often misunderstood. Vegetarian simply means a plant-based diet. There are several kinds of vegetarian diets, defined by what types of foods are consumed. I for example am a Lacto-vegetarians which includes dairy products in their diet. Lacto-ovo- vegetarians also eat dairy products, eggs and some including me don’t eat fish either.

There are a lot of people these days that are going vegan. Veganism is actually a lifestyle where vegetarians choose not to eat any type of meat, fish, dairy or basically anything that comes from an animal. They also don't use any type of clothing, accessories or even furnitures that contains any animal skin. The Vegan society is found in 1944 and Nov 1 marks what they call the “World Vegan Day”. Of course all of the animal welfare groups support the vegan lifestyle. There are a lot of people who wants to go vegan but think that it is very difficult to get access to food that are vegan. But vegans don't necessarily just eat fruits and vegetables. Here are some surprising vegan-friendly foods of the world.