Can veganism end world hunger

Veganism: Best for Humans, Animals and the Environment

Can we go Vegan and remain healthy? This is a question that seems to bother those who, when invited to try the vegan lifestyle, are worried that as humans, we cannot survive on a complete plant based diet without meat and other animal products. Even to those who participate in the vegetarian lifestyle, the absence of meat in a diet can be beneficial insofar as other animal products are not lacking. It is understandable that for the human race who, for thousands of years, has not only been meat a eater, but also a user of animals and their products, switching to a complete plant based diet or lifestyle can be challenging. Another major fear with a vegan lifestyle is not getting adequate supply of nutrition or daily recommended intake of food. It is however, important to state that humans can adopt the vegan lifestyle- one that is not based on meat, cheese, mayonnaise, eggs, whey, honey, gelatin, or anything (including clothing and furniture) that are made from or includes animals, and still get all the nutrition they need. Adopting the vegan lifestyle has been proven to not only be good for humans, but also for animals and the environment.

Before the mid eighteenth century when Donald Watson coined the term veganism as we know it today, there were prominent figures in world history that seems to have understood the dangers associated with eating or using animals. A Time magazine article, on the history of Veganism buttresses this point when it states that: “The 18th century utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham believed that animal suffering was just as serious as human suffering, and likened the idea of human superiority to racism”(Suddath 1). Today, there are hundreds of thousands of Vegans, animal rights activists, and organizations helping to promote the Vegan lifestyle as the healthiest way to feed the world.

One may be tempted to ask why the sudden call for a vegan lifestyle when humans have always eaten meat, fish, and used other animal products in their day-to-day living. First and most important, veganism is the only way we can end world hunger. In a world where there is more than enough food to feed everyone yet, according to a “2013 World Hunger and Poverty Facts and Statistics,” out of the world’s 7.1 billion people, there are about 870 million people that do not have enough food to eat (World Hunger Education Service 1), it becomes imperative that we stop diverting our soya, maize, grains, and other plants towards raising animals for meat so that we can have enough food to feed the world’s hunger. As we stop to intensively breed animals and use the land to farm crops, we will be able to feed the world’s hunger. This is true because we will be using all available lands to plant crops for human consumption and less for raising animals which does little to nothing in eliminating world hunger.

Veganism has also been shown to benefit one’s health. Compared to heavy meat eaters, those who live on vegan diets and “hard-core” vegans have been found to have lower rates of obesity and heart related problems (Blumberg 23). A study by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, reveals that two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight and risks dying of diabetes and heart related problems and their problems can be linked to a 70 percent increase in fat intake from ordinary cheese and more from meat than they consumed in 1909 (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine). Since animal- based diet comes with the risk of being obese and dying of diabetes and other diseases, humans must be ready to switch to a plant based diet in order to live a longer, lasting, and healthier life.

Aside from being beneficial to people’s health, veganism also helps save the planet. Some of the challenges facing the planet are erosion, deforestation, and nutrition depletion of soil among others. Scientists have found that when we raise animals for consumption, we are contributing to environmental hazards such as erosion, deforestation, desertification and nutritional depletion of soil (Lauritsen 3). One way we can help save the planet from this ticking time bomb is to ditch the meat and adopt the vegan lifestyle. The vegan lifestyle is an indication that we care about the planet such that we are willing to shield it from unnatural disaster.

Veganism is great for humans, animals, and can impact our environment. The rearing of animals on land for food is inefficient when compared to the output from such activity. The tons of water and crops that it takes to raise animals can be put to better use if they were directed towards feeding humans. Using crops meant for feeding humans to rear animals robs the world of quality food, thus contributing to world hunger. Meat is more often than not, contaminated with puss and other gross fluids. Veganism, a healthy life stance that advocates an end to animal abuse and plant based diet is the most ethical way to feed and help save the planet.

Over the years, people have asked whether plant based diets have any nutritional value. Recent research and findings have shown that people can get complete nutrition from plants. Eating meat has contributed to thousands of death arising from diabetes, certain kinds of cancer, and heart related diseases, while those who rely on complete plant based diet have been found to live much healthier lives. While not denying the fact that it may be difficult for humans to switch over (all of a sudden) to a complete plant based diet that contains zero animal products, it should be stated that there is no price too big to pay when it comes to saving the planet and ourselves.

Works Cited

Blumberg, Perri O. "11 Convincing Reasons that Going Vegan Isn’t Crazy." Reader's Digest10 Feb. 2013: 23. Print.

Lauritsen, Whitney. "5 Ways Being Vegan Saves The Planet." Planet. VegNews, 18 Apr. 2012. Web. 3 May 2014.

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. "Vegan Diets Help Fight Obesity." Dr Barnad's Blog. PCRM, 30 Mar. 2013. Web. 4 May 2014.

Suddath, Claire. "A Brief History of Veganism." Time 30 Oct. 2008: 1. Web. 2 May 2014. .

World Hunger Education Service. "2013 World Hunger and Poverty Facts and Statistics."World Hunger Notes Homepage. World Hunger Education Service, 27 July 2013. Web. 3 May 2014.