Vegan Food Reducing Cholesterol

Vegan Food Reducing Cholesterol

Vegan Food Reducing Cholesterol

Why do these regimens produce such rapid and substantial improvement in coronary disease? Substantial reductions in LDL cholesterol no doubt play an important part. The modest reductions in saturated fat and total fat intake recommended by the American Heart Association tend to reduce LDL cholesterol by just a few percentage points – not more than about 5%. In contrast, the Pritikin/Ornish regimens typically decrease this risk factor by about 20% or more.

Very-low-fat vegan diets are extremely low in saturated fat – the type of fat which tends to raise serum cholesterol by inhibiting the liver’s capacity to manufacture receptors that remove LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream. Such diets also tend to be low in saturates relative to total fat intake – in other words, they have a high unsaturate-to-saturate ratio; this is important because the level of saturated fattyacids in the liver will reflect not only the absolute dietary intake of these compounds, but also the proportion of total dietary fat which they represent.

In addition, the fact that vegan diets are essentially cholesterol-free (plants don’t manufacture cholesterol) contributes significantly to their cholesterol-lowering efficacy. In the population as a whole – most of whom are omnivores - each 100 mg increase in daily cholesterol intake translates into an increase of only about 2.2 (mg/dl) in serum cholesterol – barely more than a 1% increase in most people.

However, this increase tends to be notably higher in people whose baseline dietary cholesterol intake is quite low – most notably vegans; as Dr. Paul Hopkins notes, “modest amounts of cholesterol added to a cholesterol-free diet would be expected to most efficiently elevate serum cholesterol". Dietary cholesterol also raises serum cholesterol more efficiently in people who are lean12 – which most long-term vegans are. Furthermore, since vegans tend to have quite low serum cholesterols, a given absolute increase in serum cholesterol has a larger impact percentage-wise. So it is clear that the virtual absence of cholesterol in strict vegan diets contributes quite meaningfully to their favorably low LDL cholesterol values.

You should be aware that flesh foods somewhat lower in fat or in saturated fat than red meats – for example, poultry and fish – are just as high in cholesterol as red meat is. With respect to eggs – a rich source of cholesterol (about 250 mg per egg) that is rather low in saturated fat – some recent studies conclude that egg consumption in moderation does not increase the cardiovascular risk of non-diabetics. Vegans should be aware that these studies examined populations that contained few if any vegans, and that this result therefore cannot be presumed to apply to them – and almost certainly doesn’t. 

The protein content of vegan diets also contributes to a reduction in serum cholesterol. For decades, it has been known that if you feed rabbits diets featuring any of a number of plant-derived proteins – in comparison to diets that are identical in every respect save that they feature animal protein – their serum cholesterol levels will be decisively lower on the plant protein diet. Though a number of these studies made use of soy protein – inasmuch as soy protein isolates are readily available – other types of plant protein were comparably efficacious in this regard. The mechanism responsible for this effect has never been clearly pinpointed, though the fact that plant proteins tend to be somewhat lower in certain essential amino acids – and thus are considered of “poorer quality” – is thought to be of key importance.

These rabbit studies were the inspiration for the original efforts by Dr. Cesare Sirtori and colleagues to lower elevated cholesterol in humans by feeding diets high in soy protein. These studies compared low-fat omnivore diets (featuring lean meats and reduced-fat dairy products) with virtually vegan diets high in texturized vegetable protein (a soy product). To insure that the studies tested the impact of protein per se, the diets were designed so that the quantity and type of dietary fat were nearly identical on the soy and omnivore diets; total protein intakes also remained nearly constant. 

The researcher found that, when the patients switched from the omnivore diet to the soy-based diet, total and LDL cholesterol dropped by about 20%! Although the low-fat omnivore diet contained a small amount of cholesterol, theoretical considerations, as well as a study in which the soy diets were supplemented with cholesterol, indicated that absence of cholesterol was not primarily responsible for the dramatic fall in blood cholesterol during the soy diets. Subsequent similar studies, often enrolling subjects whose initial cholesterol was less elevated, often did not see such dramatic results, and it became clear that soy-based diets had their greatest impact on patients with high cholesterol.

A “meta-analysis” (a statistical analysis which lumps together the results of many comparable studies) of 38 controlled studies of soy protein diets concluded that, on average, both total and LDL cholesterol fell by about 20 points on the soy diet (corresponding to a reduction of about 13% in dangerous LDL cholesterol). It is important to note that these studies compared omnivore diets with vegan diets that happened to be high in soy products. They did not show that you could simply add some soy protein to your omnivore diet and achieve marvelous improvements in your blood fats – contrary to the expectations of many consumers who are now being hustled to buy soy products. 

Nor am I aware of any evidence that adding soy protein to a relatively low protein vegan diet has any important effect on serum cholesterol. Furthermore, the common assumption that the isoflavone content of soy protein concentrates was largely responsible for the cholesterol-lowering benefit appears to be dead wrong – Sirtori recently assayed the texturized vegetable protein used in his initial studies and found that it was essentially devoid of these phytoestrogens! The obsessive focus on soy and soy isoflavones ignores that fact that virtually all plant proteins are associated with low serum cholesterol in rabbit studies.

Thus, while texturized soy protein products can come in handy if you want to eat a vegan diet while pretending to be an omnivore, there is no strong reason to expect that vegan diets in which other types of plant protein predominate will not have a comparably beneficial impact on LDL cholesterol. (As we shall see, regular consumption of soy isoflavones may indeed provide some valuable health benefits – albeit reduction of serum cholesterol is not one of them!) One theory regarding the favorable effect of plant proteins on cholesterol levels is that plant proteins tend to provoke less insulin secretion (and greater secretion of a competing hormone known as glucagon) than animal proteins do.

While this is unlikely to be the whole explanation – the quality of dietary protein can influence liver metabolism in more direct ways - it is clear that high insulin levels have effects on the liver that would tend to increase blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, including an increase in the level and activity of the rate-limiting enzyme for cholesterol synthesis. Insulin secretion can also be moderated by choosing whole foods with a relatively low glycemic index. The Pritikin and Ornish clinics have always emphasized the importance of whole foods and have discouraged use of added sugars. When Dr. David Jenkins and colleagues – progenitors of the glycemic index concept – put healthy young men on two strictly controlled diets that differed only in glycemic index, serum cholesterol was about 15% lower during the low-glycemic-index diet. 

Thus, a number of interacting factors contribute to marked cholesterol reduction on an optimal vegan diet: a very low intake of saturated fat, the absence of dietary cholesterol, the characteristic impact of plant protein, and a low glycemic index. In the long run, a substantial reduction in body fat (we’ll discuss this later) often amplifies this benefit.

A classic study provides insight into the magnitude of the benefit achievable when such a diet is consumed in the long term. Back in the 1970s, Dr. Frank Sacks and colleagues from Harvard did a survey of macrobiotic vegan communes in the Boston area. The people in these communes work in a range of ordinary jobs in the outside community, but get together to share their meals communally. The macrobiotic diet which they practice is low-fat, whole-food vegan, but they don’t put any strictures on salt, and they try to keep fruit intake low, their calories coming chiefly from whole grains (especially brown rice), beans, and fresh vegetables. Some members eat fish once or more a week. Of particular note is the fact that they ban all wheat flour products, and don’t use added sugars – thus eliminating the chief sources of high-glycemic-index carbohydrate in the American diet.

Thus, aside from the facts that they don’t discourage salt and they minimize fruit intake, their dietary practices are highly consistent with my recommendations. You may be aware that a total cholesterol level over 200 is considered in the “danger zone”, whereas a cholesterol below 150 is thought to be extremely safe. Sacks found that the average total cholesterol in these Boston communes was 126! In contrast, a group of control subjects drawn from the Boston area, matched by age and sex to the commune subjects, had an average cholesterol of 184. The fact that most of the people in the commune were under 30 certainly contributed to their exceptionally low cholesterol readings – but the handful of commune residents over 40 had an average cholesterol of only 146.

Also of note is the fact that the triglyceride levels of the commune members were also low, averaging 59 (mg/dl) as compared to 86 in the controls. (As we will see, this is an intriguing finding given the fact that the macrobiotic diet is extremely high in carbohydrates – and high-carbohydrate diets are said to raise triglycerides!) Some members of these communes use occasional eggs or dairy, and Sacks found that recent consumption of these foods did indeed correlate with higher cholesterol levels. Sacks reported the case history of one commune member who evidently was genetically prone to high cholesterol.. 

After 18 months at the commune, his cholesterol was 123. He then left the commune for 6 weeks, at the end of which time his cholesterol had shot up to 219. He returned to the commune, and after 3 weeks his cholesterol was back down to 116. Evidently, having “bad genes” does not mean that you have an inexorable date with the coronary care unit! The effortless leanness of these vegans no doubt was an important factor in their low blood fat levels – their average skinfold thickness (a measure of subcutaneous fat) was only about one-third that of the control subjects. We’ll return to this important point soon.

Sacks is not the only investigator to have noted the highly favorable blood fat levels of free-living American or European vegans. One of these described a vegan diet as “a model for risk reduction”. Evidently, the exceptionally low cholesterol levels enjoyed by rural Asians – and their virtual freedom from coronary heart disease - are not just a function of semi-starvation, chronic infection, or good genes, as some might assume.

article source: Low-Fat, Low-Salt, Whole-Food Vegan

Mark F. McCarty NutriGuard Research, Inc. Second Edition: December 2008 

Vegan nutrition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vegan nutrition

A balanced vegan diet can be extremely healthy. Some people still have a few concerns about whether they will receive all the nutrients that they require. Read this guide and check out our sources to put your mind at ease.

PROTEIN

Protein is essential for growth, repairing tissues and protecting against infections. The American Dietetic Association states that the vegan diet provides enough protein. Protein is most concentrated in legumes (peas, beans, lentils, peanuts, soy products), but can also be found in nuts (brazils, hazels and almonds etc.) and seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, sesame), grains (rice, wheat, oats, barley, millet, buckwheat, pasta, bread), and vegetables. Tofu and other soy products are high in protein.

VITAMIN B12

Vitamin B12 prevents permanent nerve damage (e.g., blindness, deafness, and dementia); keeps the digestive system healthy; and reduces the risk of heart disease by lowering homocysteine levels. Early deficiency symptoms sometimes include fatigue and tingling in the hands or feet. Unfortified plant foods (including seaweeds and tempeh) are not reliable sources of B12. Vegans who get a regular source of vitamin B12 through fortified foods or supplements can have even better B12 status than many non-vegans who do not supplement. B12 intake is especially critical during pregnancy, lactation, childhood, and old age. Vitamin B12 can be found in fortified foods such as soy milk and breakfast cereals.

One of the following daily recommendations should maximize B12 status:

fortified foods (in at least 2 servings, spaced 6 hours apart): 3-5 μg
1 supplement: 10-100 μg
2 supplements spaced at least 6 hours apart: 5 μg

VITAMIN D

Regulates calcium absorption and excretion, especially when calcium intake is low. Vitamin D can be made by the action of sunlight (UV rays) on skin. Light-skinned, non-elderly adults exposing their hands and face to sunlight for 10-15 minutes, 2-3 times/week can get enough vitamin D. Above the 42nd Latitude (which runs through Denver, Indianapolis, and Philadelphia), vitamin D is not synthesized during the winter. Vegans who do not get much sunlight exposure should supplement with vitamin D, especially during the winter or cloudy months. Elderly people may need up to 4 times the amount of sunlight exposure listed above, and dark-skinned people may need up to 6 times this amount in order to meet vitamin D needs through sunshine alone. The Daily Value for vitamin D is 10 mcg (400 IU). If a food label says 25% of the Daily Value, it has 2.5 mcg (100 IU) per serving. Typical fortified soy, almond, or rice milk has 2-3 mcg (80-120 IU) per cup.

CALCIUM

Finally, calcium. There are many sources of calcium available to vegans — broccoli, collard greens, kale, legumes, nuts, seeds, fortified soy milk, hummus, and figs. As a child, you were probably told to drink cow’s milk for good strong bones, but studies of bone fractures have failed to show that milk protects bones and in some cases is actually associated with increased fractures. Factors that can prevent osteoporosis (a disease that makes bones brittle):  

- Weight-bearing exercise throughout one’s lifetime is one of the most important.
- Adequate calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K, protein, potassium, and magnesium intakes.
- Adequate estrogen levels (for women)
- Factors that can contribute to osteoporosis:
- High sodium and caffeine intake
- Smoking

- Too much, or too little, protein

The calcium in kale, broccoli, collard greens, and soy milk are all absorbed about the same as cows’ milk. The calcium in spinach, swiss chard, and beet greens is not well absorbed due to their high content of oxalates which bind calcium. Many non-dairy milks are now fortified with calcium, vitamin D, and/or vitamin B-12. Many orange juices are fortified with calcium. The Daily Value for calcium on food labels is 1,000 mg for adults. If a food label says 25% of the daily value, it has 250 mg of calcium per serving. Vegans should ensure a good source of calcium on a daily basis. A cup or two of fortified soy milk is an excellent option.

FATS

Higher fat foods like nuts and seeds (and their butters), avocados, and small amounts of vegetable oils (especially canola and olive) should be part of a healthy diet. These foods are particularly important for meeting children’s caloric needs. A large body of scientific evidence shows that omega-3 fatty acids have antiblood-clotting, anti-inflammatory, and cholesterol-lowering properties. Vegans can most easily obtain omega-3 fats by eating 1– 2 tsp of flaxseed oil per day. The oil may be added to warm food, but cooking will damage it. Flaxseed oil, sold in many natural food and grocery stores, should be kept refrigerated.

IODINE

Needed for healthy thyroid function, which regulates metabolism. Does not appear to be as much of a problem for U.S. vegans as it is for European vegans, whose food supply contains less iodine. In the U.S. vegans should take a modest iodine supplement on a regular basis to ensure they are meeting requirements because it’s very hard to predict how much is in any given person’s food supply. 75-100 mcg every few days should be ample. Do not take more than 150 mcg/day.

IRON

Iron-deficient anemia is probably one of the most inaccurately self-diagnosed illnesses and those who think they may be suffering from it should see a doctor. Iron deficiency symptoms include pale skin, brittle fingernails, fatigue, weakness, difficulty breathing upon exertion, inadequate temperature regulation, loss of appetite, and apathy. Iron in vegetarian diets is a somewhat controversial topic because:

Vegetarians’ ferritin (the storage form of iron) levels are normally lower than non-vegetarians, even though vegetarians are no more likely to have iron deficiency anemia. Low iron stores are associated with higher glucose tolerance and therefore could prevent diabetes. High iron stores are associated with cancer, and to a lesser extent, heart disease. You do not need to worry about iron if you are otherwise healthy and eat a varied vegan diet. If you suspect an iron deficiency, see a doctor. If your doctor thinks your iron stores are too low, he/she may suggest you start eating meat (which is unnecessary) or that you take an iron supplement. Eating 100 mg of vitamin C with 2 meals a day should help cure the anemia. Iron from plants is best absorbed when consumed in conjunction with vitamin C. Vegans tend to have iron intakes at least as high as nonvegetarians.

CONSIDER A MULTIVITAMIN

Many well-respected health professionals suggest that everyone (including meat-eaters) take a modest (25-100% of the RDA) multivitamin supplement for insurance purposes. A typical multivitamin and mineral supplement will ensure an adequate source of vitamin B12, vitamin D, and iodine. The only other nutrients you would need to concern yourself with are omega-3 fatty acids and calcium. There is little chance of a deficiency of calcium, or any other food group, vitamin or mineral, as long as you eat a balanced diet and follow the recommendations above.

Is Vegan food Halal?

Is Vegan food Halal?

Vegan diets (or sometimes referred to as pure vegetarian diets) are diets made up of plant-based materials such as beans, fruits, grains, legumes, vegetables and/or combinations of them.  

Vegan diets prohibit the use of any animal products i.e. materials derived from animals (including by-products and derivatives) such as dairy products (milk), eggs, meat (from cows, sheeps etc.), poultry (e.g. chickens & ducks) as well as seafood (like fishes & prawns) due to ethical considerations or moral convictions with regards to animal rights.

Halal foods are foods that can be consumed by Muslims according to Islamic law. According to the Quran, all foods are considered halal with the exceptions of (which are haram):

a) Alcoholic drinks and other intoxicants
b) Animals that are not slaughtered in the name of Allah or dead before slaughtering
c) Blood
d) Carnivores & birds of prey
e) Pork and its by-products
f) Foods contaminated with any of the above products

Alcohol in vegan food

Let's talk a bit about alcohol. Alcohol (or more specifically alcoholic beverages) are drinks that contain ethanol. Alcoholic beverages can be classified into 3 broad classes namely beers, spirits and wines. In general, a beverage fermented from starch-heavy source (such as grains) whereby they are broken down into sugars (by malting for example) is called a beer; or if the mash is distilled, then it's called a spirit. Wine on the other hand is derived from fermented grapes. Alcohol is haram in Islam because alcohol by nature is a psychoactive drug that has a depressant effect on those who drink it. It slows down the function of the central nervous system as well as blocks some of the messages trying to get to the brain thus altering a person's emotions, hearing, movement, perceptions and vision.

Although vegan diets appear to be halal in the sense that plant-based materials are used, vegans allow the use of alcohol in their diet. As you can see, alcohols are obtained from plant-based materials and thus vegans are allowed to drink or use them in their diet. Many vegan recipes use wine as ingredients to bring out the true flavour of the food. As mentioned above, alcohol is strictly forbidden in Islam and as such not all vegan diets are indeed halal.

Due care be taken. Always check ingredients before consuming any food.

Growth and development of vegans and vegetarians...

A well-planned vegetarian diet is considered to be adequate for all stages of the life cycle including infancy,

childhood and adolescence (American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada, 2003), but epidemiological data on growth and development in vegetarians are still sparse. Recent data on 390 lifelong vegetarians in EPIC-Oxford (Rosell et al. 2005a) show no significant differences in height in men or women, or in age at menarche in women, between lifelong vegetarians and those who became vegetarian at age ‡20 years.

Obesity

Studies of Western vegetarians have consistently reported that vegetarians have a lower BMI than comparable non-vegetarians, with differences in mean BMI of about 1 kg/m2 the proportion of vegetarians who are obese is correspondingly lower than that among non-vegetarians. The reasons for this difference are not well understood, but may include differences in the composition of the diet such as a higher fibre intake and a lower protein intake. 

Follow-up of body weight among 21 966 individuals in EPIC-Oxford shows a mean body-weight increase of approximately 400 g/year overall, with nificantly lower weight gain in vegans, but not in vegetarians, than in meat-eaters (Rosell et al. 2005b). Despite these consistently-observed differences in BMI between vegetarians and non-vegetarians, obesity is common among some populations that follow largely vegetarian diets, such as Indians living in the UK and in India.

CVD

Plasma cholesterol Studies have consistently reported that total plasma cholesterol is lower in vegetarians than in non-vegetarians, e.g. by 0.61 mmol/l in the Health Food Shoppers Study, 0.43 mmol/l in the Oxford Vegetarian Study and 0.39 mmol/l and 0.35 mmol/l in men and women respectively in EPIC-Oxford (Key et al. 1999b). 

The effect of a vegetarian diet on plasma cholesterol is dependent on the exact composition of the diet, particularly in relation to saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, and have shown that a vegetarian diet including a portfolio of cholesterol-lowering foods such as soyabean and nuts reduces serum LDL-cholesterol substantially more than a control vegetarian diet. Hypertension 

The main diet-related determinants of ypertension are high salt intake, obesity and excess alcohol consumption (Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, 2003). Some early studies have suggested that vegetarians have a lower blood pressure than similar non-vegetarians, with differences of 2–10mmHg in systolic or diastolic pressure (Beilin et al. 1988). 

However, analyses of blood pressure among 11 004 men and women in EPIC-Oxford indicate very little difference in blood pressure between vegetarians and meat-eaters (£1 mmHg); blood pressure was observed to be 2–3mmHg lower in vegans than in meat-eaters, largely associated with the lower BMI of the vegans (Appleby et al. 2002). In this study the very small differences in blood pressure between the dietary groups would not be expected to cause a detectable difference in rates of CVD.

Growth and development of vegans and vegetarians

IHD

Collaborative re-analysis of five prospective studies, each including a large proportion of vegetarians, has shown the mortality from IHD to be 24 (95% CI 6, 38) % lower in vegetarians than in non-vegetarians. Results published subsequently are similar; a death rate ratio of 0.75 (95% CI 0.4, 1.37) in the first analysis of EPIC-Oxford (Key et al. 2003) and 0.70 (95% CI 0.41, 1.18) in the extended follow-up of the cohort in Germany. 

In a case–control study among Indians in Bangalore the risk for myocardial infarction in vegetarians compared with non-vegetarians has been reported to be 0.81 (95% CI 0.46, 1.43; Pais et al. 1996). Law et al. (1994) have estimated that a reduction in total serum cholesterol of 0.6 mmol/l would reduce mortality from IHD by 27%; therefore, the observed differences in cholesterol between vegetarians and non-vegetarians of approximately 0.4 mmol/l would be expected to reduce mortality from IHD by approximately 20%. 

The observed difference in mortality of about 24% is therefore of the magnitude that might be predicted from the difference in serum cholesterol. The lower BMI of vegetarians would also be expected to cause a small reduction in mortality from IHD. Stroke The main known risk factor for stroke is high blood pressure. 

The only data on stroke mortality in vegetarians comes from the five prospective studies, pooled analysis of which shows a death rate ratio for stroke in vegetarians compared with non-vegetarians of 0.93 (95% CI 0.74,1.17; Key et al. 1999b).

What is vegan?

What is Vegan?

If you want to get better acquainted with Veganizm, then it is definitely the best way to do this article how is been published on page Vivausa. This is definitely everything you want to know about the Vegan lifestyle. Therefore it would be rude to one such item not to publish in its entirety. The complete article can be read below.

Veganism is...

Good for you

Research on vegetarians (including vegans) shows them to have lower rates of heart disease, besity, high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis, and possibly some cancers. It also reduces the chance of food poisoning. And of course you avoid all the hormones and antibiotics that are pumped into animals raised for food. According to the American Dietetic Association, vegetarian and vegan diets are healthy and beneficial no matter what your age:

“Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence. Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein as well as higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals.”

American Dietetic Association; Dietitians of Canada. Position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada: Vegetarian diets. J Am Diet Assoc. 2003 Jun; 103(6):748-65.

 

Good for the animals

If you’re already a vegetarian you’ve undoubtedly helped reduce animal suffering, but the dairy and egg industries are no picnics for the animals involved. Cows must be repeatedly impregnated for the production of milk, and their offspring may be sent straight to the slaughterhouse or reared for veal or milk, or sold for their flesh. Calves are often taken from their mothers immediately after birth, leaving both cows and calves to mourn the broken maternal bond. Both male and female calves are kept in confinement, unable to move freely. If raised for veal, males will be slaughtered after only 4 months, while female calves will likewise be kept strictly confined until they are able to produce milk. 

Then they are turned into milking machines. Cows’ udders are often infected and swollen from the abuse of growth hormones and multiple milkings every day. Dairy cows are killed at about five years of age and sold for ‘low grade’ products such as burgers, sausages and other processed foods. Their natural life span would be at least twenty years. And as for typical (battery cage) egg production, since only the females lay eggs, 100-150 million day-old male chicks are killed every year, many suffocated in garbage bags. The industry average is less than one-half square foot of space per bird — less space than a sheet of paper! They have the tips of their beaks cut off to prevent feather pulling caused by the intensive confinement. 

These poor animals live with barely enough room to move for up to two years until their egg production goes down. Then they are either killed or forced into molting. To induce a molt, egg producers take away food and water from the birds, forcing them into another egg laying cycle. Chickens and turkeys raised for meat fare no better — they are crammed by the thousands in sheds, some with no windows. Breeding has caused them to grow at an incredible pace, one that their bodies have a hard time catching up to. Turkeys have the tips of their beaks and some toes cut off. Chickens have been known to be boiled alive during the slaughter process. And the label ‘free range’ does not mean cruelty-free; in fact, free range hens live in very crowded conditions, have the tips of their bills cut off, and are slaughtered no differently than conventionally raised animals.

Life for pigs on factory farms is dreadful too! Over 80% of pigs who are raised for food (like sausages, hot dogs, bacon and ham) live their lives in sheds thick with the overwhelming smell of urine and feces. A mother pig (sow) is forced to give birth in a tiny crate where she cannot walk or even turn around. This is also where she will spend her pregnancy. She moves between these two small crates for four to five years until she is killed. The piglets spend their lives in squalid conditions until at six months they are shackled by one leg and have their throats slit.

Billions of sea animals are caught each year. Those fish who are still alive by the time they make it to the decks of fishing boats have one of two fates. Either they are allowed to suffocate to death or they are disemboweled with a gutting knife. In addition to this, countless other sea creatures are caught in fishing nets and discarded as by-catch.

Good for the environment

Treating animals like food factories has a negative impact on our water and air. Vast expanses of wilderness are converted to pastureland, resulting in a loss of habitat for countless species. Commercial fishing of the oceans has decimated the aquatic environment. Shrimp nets, which are dragged through the water, catch everything in their path — thousands of sea turtles are killed this way every year.

A branch of the USDA kills wildlife, such as coyotes and bobcats, to protect farmers’ livestock. The factory farming industry is creating environmental problems of its own. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), dairy farms have created an environmental crisis in California, the number one dairy producing state. In fact, California alone produces an astounding 30 million tons of manure each year. 

The EPA states that a single cow produces approximately 120 pounds of wet manure per day. Estimates equate the waste produced per day by one dairy cow to that of 20-40 humans per day. Manure lagoons designed to contain livestock waste can leak or spill over into waterways, contaminating our drinking water. Pig farms with 100,000 animals produce as much waste as a city of a quarter-million people; but the pig farms have no wastewater treatment system. Pig waste often spills into nearby rivers, sometimes killing many thousands of fish.

 

Good for the planet's people

Every day, 840 million people around the world, including 200 million children, go hungry. But much of the world’s grain harvest, 40%, is used to feed livestock, not people. U.S. livestock alone consumes about one-third of the world’s total grain harvest, as well as more than 70% of the grain grown in the United States. In fact, the more a cow is milked, the more grain concentrates she needs. High quality foods such as wheat and soy, which could be fed to humans, are being fed to animals. On average, you can get about five times as much biologically available protein from eating plant foods directly as you can from using them to produce meat.

A slaughterhouse may be the worst workplace in the U.S. The workers are poor and often illiterate or unable to speak English. They are treated almost as callously as the animals dying by the billions in those same facilities. The pay is low, turnover is high, and injuries and illnesses are frequent and often severe. Turnover rate at all processing plants runs close to 100% per year. Increasingly, both slaughterhouses and factory farms are located in poverty-stricken areas. Factory farms tend to be located in predominantly non-white, low-income areas.

Vegan food

What is a Vegan anyway?

So, now that you’re convinced that veganism is a beneficial lifestyle, you’ll want to know what it involves, won’t you? One thing it doesn’t involve is deprivation and martyrdom — there really is no need to sit around munching your way through a head of lettuce and feeling sorry for yourself (unless, of course, you REALLY like lettuce). Ask any vegan what they eat and they will look at you in astonishment. The foods available are so varied, so tasty and so easy to prepare, it’s a miracle that we do anything other than eat! (Truth be told, some of us don’t!) Now we aren’t saying you won’t miss a few things at first - cheese and milk chocolate are always the hardest to kiss goodbye, but there are vegan alternatives available, so don’t despair.

What's the difference between a Vegetarian and a Vegan?

Well, a vegetarian simply does not eat any dead animals, or parts of them. So this means no meat, poultry (chickens, turkeys, ducks, etc.), fish or other watery creatures (like shrimp and crabs), or any by-products of these animals, like gelatin or animal fats. This also means eating only ‘vegetarian’ cheese, as some cheeses are made using rennet (taken from the stomachs of calves — yuck!).

A vegan will not eat any of these either but will also strive to avoid all animal products to avoid partaking in the exploitation, abuse, and slaughter of animals. This includes eggs, milk, cream, yogurt, cheese and anything that contains these products or derivatives of them. Vegans also avoid honey, because bees are frequently killed during its production, and finally, a vegan will not wear wool, leather or silk, or use personal care and household products that contain animal substances or are tested on animals. In fact, a vegan won’t eat, wear or use anything that comes from any animal, dead or alive. Cane sugar is sometimes processed through bone char so some vegans avoid eating it. If you’re interested in finding out which products definitely do not have bone char, please see www.VeganProducts.org/sugar.html.

Sounds like a lot to remember, huh? To begin with, you will feel like you need to be reading every label in the cupboard, looking up things like ‘lanolin’ in your dictionary and trying to remember why you decided to go vegan in the first place! But it does get easier — and no one will blame you if you make a mistake! We all do. Just take things at your own pace and remember why you’re doing this, for yourself, the planet, and animals.