From Meatless Existence To Veganism

Have you ever stopped eating a delicious slice of cheese burst pizza while wondering about the unethical treatment the cows might have endured to produce milk? Or does your heart weep too while watching animals being slaughtered to be presented on a platter? If these questions bother you every time you consume any animal extracted product, my friend, you are on the path of becoming a vegan.

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Factually speaking, 8% of the world population was recorded to be vegans and vegetarians in 2018. This means that there are approximately around 62,40,00,000 people who believe in the ideology of veganism. Now, the question arises so as to what made these people from abstaining to hurt animals in any way. Let’s answer this question by taking a peek at the history of veganism.

This ideology was presented by an English animal rights advocate Donald Watson in 1944. When he saw the excruciating pain suffered by a pig while being slaughtered, it completely changed his perspective of looking at the animals from mere commodities to living, breathing creatures having a right to live. Humans are both logical and emotion-oriented beings. Let’s take a look at how the supporters of veganism have used both logic and emotion in their arguments to proselytize the concept to the general public.

• MERCY FOR ANIMALS: QUESTIONING THE MORALS

From spending their entire lives in filthy small cages to end up getting slaughtered or fried in the factories, the terrified looks in the eyes of these voiceless animals make us question whether our taste preferences are worth forcing them to endure such miserable lives.

Image by Philipp Kleindienst from Pixabay

Image by Sharon Ang from Pixabay

The supporters emphasize the fact that being a human doesn’t suffice as a reason to have a right to kill animals. Questioning the emotions as well as the morals of non-vegans is what pulls them towards the cause.

• WHAT MAKES ME HEALTHIER?

There are myriads of studies proving the fact that a vegan is less prone to type-2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases. If the advocates of veganism could not convince people on emotional grounds, they tend to shift their arguments in favor of the other person’s own health.

A vegan diet also shows promising results in losing weight and reduces the risks of certain kinds of cancer. Who would not want to live a healthy and fit life?

• THE ENVIRONMENTAL ENTHUSIASTS

“The more you breed, the more you feed”. This is one of the major concerns of our environmental enthusiasts who are hell-bent on saving the earth.

Image by Peggy Choucair from Pixabay

The uncontrollable breeding of animals leads to the inevitable consequence to feed them too. The excessive grazing by cows in the Amazon Basin to meet the beef demand of America serves to be quintessential for the vegans to support their argument.

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• PRESSURE OF THE INFLUENCERS

Influencers or celebrities are meant to influence our lives one way or the other. When they decide to have some major lifestyle changes, we aspire to do the same. We don’t think of them to be one of us, we tend to place them at a higher position since they’ve accomplished some major milestones and have an irrevocable image in our minds.

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Celebrities like Ellen Pompeo ( Grey’s Anatomy), Beyonce and Mayim Bialik (Big Bang Theory), or Kangana Ranaut, Shahid Kapoor entice us to follow them because they have a significant impact on our lives.

Giving up things we have been eating since our childhood is not an easy task to perform, but if we could discover alternatives or substitutes for the same, it might get easier. Given below is the list of the substitutes we can use in place of cheese, milk, and egg, etc.

1.From cow to soy milk.

Containing almost the same amount of protein as cow’s milk, soy milk is also proven to have much fewer calories but is sold as a premium product due to its high price.

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2. Jackfruit as a substitute for meat

Jackfruit is becoming the most popular substitute for meat today, as more people are inclining towards a vegan diet.

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3. Tofu as a knight in shining armor.

Tofu can be used as a substitute for cottage cheese. Vegan cheese is also available in the market these days.

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4. Eggplant Bacon and vegetarian bacon or vacon

As soon as the concept of veganism commenced spreading throughout the world, people started experimenting too. They aimed at making a substitute for bacon which gives the same taste and at the same time adds to the nutritional value as well.

Image by shokotov from Pixabay

Veganism is an ideology that takes away the power of human beings to treat animals beneath them. It is the beginning of the end of speciesism. It weighs and compares to what is more important, our taste preferences, or to stop the pain inflicted on animals. The crisis of COVID-19 pandemic is the perfect example to illustrate the importance of paying heed to these problems.

Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay

There is a dire need to question every action of human beings which could lead to the possible destruction of their lives. It is time to think and evolve. It is the time to decide whether you want to remain a human being or become a wretched tomb of dead animals.