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Reiley Jones
Mrs. DeBock
English 4 Honors
October 4, 2015
Veganism Benefits
A vegan, in the general context, is someone that abstains from consuming or using any
animal product such as dairy, eggs, and animal derived substances. Veganism comes with a set of
beliefs that rejects the commoditization of animals and promotes the idea that man should live
without exploiting animals. This includes diet, clothing, entertainment, and transportation. They
do not consume poultry, beef, pork, fish, eggs, milk, or honey. Nor do they wear anything
derived from a killed/harmed animal such as leather, suede, wool, ivory, silk, or feathers. Vegans
also do not purchase any products that contain animal products or ingredients tested on animals,
and often do not support zoos, rodeos, circuses, or aquariums. Throughout research, I have found
ethical/humane, health-related, cultural, and environmental reasons why people choose a vegan
lifestyle. Positive changes to the body and environment can be seen following a vegan diet.
The killings and usage of animals for consumption and other purposes are thought to be
unnecessary in the terms of ethical veganism. The greatest cause of animal cruelty today is the
industrialized animal abuse hidden inside factory farms and slaughterhouses. Due to the popular
use of GMOs, some animals can grow so unnaturally large that their legs cannot support their
outsized bodies, and they suffer from starvation or dehydration when they cant walk to reach
food and water (Factory Farming: Misery for Animals). When animals have grown large
enough to slaughter or their bodies have been worn out from producing milk or eggs, they are

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crowded onto trucks and transported for miles through all weather extremes, typically without
food or water. At the slaughterhouse, those who survived the transport will have their throats slit,
often while theyre still conscious. Many remain conscious when they are plunged into the
scalding-hot water of the de-feathering or hair-removal tanks. Surgical procedures are performed
on animals without pain relief. Cows tails are docked which causes great discomfort, because
cows use their tails to ward off flies. Evidence of the hidden animal abuse inside slaughterhouses
was uncovered in Essex, UK. The staff were on video striking pigs with paddles, stubbing out
cigarettes in their faces, punching them in the face, and kicking them (The Slaughter House:
The Horrifying Cruelty). Most egg-laying hens spend their entire lives inside battery cages so
small they cannot stretch their wings. Only female chicks can produce eggs, so millions of
unwanted male chicks are gassed or ground up alive each year. In many cases, chickens are
conscious and breathing not only as they move toward the knife but, afterward, upon entering the
scalding tank, where they are boiled alive. Virgil Butler, a Tyson slaughterhouse worker who
became an animal rights activist, wrote about his experiences on his blog. He writes of a night
working on the kill line: The chickens are panicking. Many of them are squawking loudly, some
are just sitting there trembling. Sometimes you catch one looking up at you, eye to eye, and you
know its terrified. No one can convince me that that chicken did not know what was about to
happen. Around the world, we have a common understanding that taking pleasure in the cruel
death of a helpless animal is an antisocial and potentially psychotic characteristic. The countless
stories of slaughterhouse employees inflicting pain on animals just for fun indicate the nature
of the slaughterhouse work may have caused psychological damage to the employees.
When it comes to dairy, it is better to go dairy-free altogether. Humans are the only
species to continue drinking milk after infancy, let alone another species milk. Like all

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mammals, cows only lactate after giving birth. In 2008, more than 9.3 million cows were
impregnated to produce milk in the United States (Farm Sanctuary). Usually just within hours
of birth, calves are taken away from their mothers. Calves can become so distressed from
separation that they become sick, lose weight from not eating, and cry so much that their throats
become raw. In the vast majority of dairy operations in the U.S., cows spend their lives indoors;
typically on hard, concrete floors, frequently connected to a milking apparatus. Turning dairy
cows into milk machines has led to epidemics of production-related diseases, such as Mastitis.
According to the USDA, 1 in 6 dairy cows in the United States suffers from clinical mastitis,
which is responsible for 1 in 6 dairy cow deaths on U.S. dairy farms. (Greger). This causes pus
and bacteria from the infection to get into milk. Calcium is not only found in milk; it can be
found in green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and whole grains. Data taken from a
Harvard study showed there was no association between calcium intake and fracture risk.
Throughout this study, there was some suggestion that calcium supplements taken without
vitamin D might even increase the risk of fractures (Calcium and Milk: Whats Best for Your
Bones and Health?). Industrial modernization of milk production has changed milks hormone
composition. High intakes of calcium have been proven to subtly cause ovarian and prostate
cancer. In a Harvard study of male health professionals, men who drank two or more glasses of
milk a day were almost twice as likely to develop advanced prostate cancer as those who didnt
drink milk at all (Giovannucci). Cheese has the most disadvantages out of all dairy, linked to
breast, lymphoid, and lung cancers. Cheese has a high content of saturated fat, and is strongly
connected to heart attacks and heart disease. Cows are often drugged to produce four times the
milk they would naturally produce. Approximately one-quarter of cheese sold in the United
States comes from cows treated with Bovine Growth Hormone (Raven). In addition to the

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problem with dairy farms, many cheeses are made with rennet, an enzyme that is derived from
the stomachs of calves. Alternatives to all kinds of dairy exist and are widely available.
Humans can obtain all of the adequate nutrition they would get through an omnivorous
diet with the exception of B-12. However, most meat eaters are also deficient in this and there
are supplements to replace the lacking vitamin. Vitamin B-12 can be consumed through fortified
breakfast cereals and soy beverages. With inflammation being a critical component linking gut
microbiota with obesity, metabolic dysfunction and chronic disease, a vegan diet high in fiber
plays a significant role in regulating the inflammatory response (Glick-Bauer). Despite having a
high source of protein and essential nutrients, red and processed meats tend to be high in
saturated fat. Meat intake is associated with a risk of colorectal cancer, a major cause of death in
affluent countries. Eating large amounts of meat has been linked to a higher risk of heart disease,
stroke, diabetes, and early death in some studies. Meat is relatively high in saturated fat and
cholesterol, which increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and
atherosclerosis. Sodium is also a serious concern because too much of it leads to high blood
pressure and increased risk of stroke and heart failure (Andrew). As far back as 1961, the Journal
of the American Medical Association reported, A vegetarian diet could prevent 90-97% of heart
diseases. High levels of heme iron, not present in plant foods, may be a possible explanation for
the link between meat and heart disease (Sakimura). Recalls of contaminated meat and food
borne outbreaks involving E. coli and Listeria bacteria, as well as the high levels of mercury
found in tuna, swordfish, and other seafood provide some people with the motivation to shift to a
plant-based diet. In 2012, John Hopkins University studied the feathers of imported chickens to
figure out what the birds ingested before slaughter. They found traces of antidepressants,
painkillers, banned antibiotics, and allergy medication. (Researchers Find Evidence of Banned

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Antibiotics in Poultry Products). Antibiotics are given to livestock to make the animals grow
faster, and these antibiotics carry on red meat and poultry. After hundreds of years of humans
ingesting these antibiotics, once-vulnerable bacteria have evolved resistance, and many of these
drugs are losing their effectiveness. Vegetarians receive their protein through legumes, nuts and
seeds, and soy foods.
The crucially negative impact meat-eating has had on the environment has extended into
destroying undersea ecosystems, significant amounts of the Amazon rainforest, the release of
carbon produced from burning trees, nitrous oxide in manure, and the high levels of methane
produced during a cows digestive process. Livestock production is the largest methane source
emitter in the world and the third largest in the United States (Shepherd). The consumption of
animal products contributes to more than one-quarter of the water footprint of humanity. Some
40 percent of the worlds land surface is used for grazing cattle. As forests are cleared to create
new pastures, it is a major driver of deforestation, especially in Latin America where, for
example, some 70 percent of former forests in the Amazon have been turned over to grazing
(Matthew). LEAD, Livestock, Environment and Development Initiative, researchers have found
The global livestock industry uses dwindling supplies of freshwater, destroys forests and
grasslands, and causes soil erosion, while pollution and the runoff of fertilizer and animal waste
create dead zones in coastal areas and smother coral reefs. There is also an existing concern
regarding increased antibiotic resistance, since livestock account for 50 percent of antibiotic use
globally. To produce a days food, one meat-eater takes over 4,000 gallons of water; for a vegan,
only 300 gallons. If all the grain currently fed to livestock in the United States alone were
consumed directly by people, the number of people who could be fed would be nearly 800
million (Pimentel). While California is in a drought and a state of emergency, it is reported more

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than 90 percent of Californias water footprint is associated with agricultural products (Fulton).
Animal protein production requires more than eight times as much fossil-fuel energy than
production of plant protein. Livestock are directly responsible for much of the soil erosion in the
United States.
Through executing a vegan diet, the positive changes to the body and environment are
evident. Alternatives to dairy are vegan cheeses and butters, and cashew, almond, rice, and oat
milk. Meat can be replaced with meatless alternatives or tofu. More and more people are turning
to a vegan diet due to the health benefits and animal welfare. Thousands of organizations are
popping up around the world to help expose the factory farming industry animal cruelties, such
as PETA.

Works Cited

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Andrew, Johnathan. "Benefits & Disadvantages of a Meat Diet." Live Healthy. Web. 15 Oct.
2015.
Butler, Virgil. "The Cyberactivist." The Cyberactivist. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.
"Calcium and Milk: Whats Best for Your Bones and Health?" The Nutrition Source. Web. 13
Oct. 2015.
"Factory Farming: Misery for Animals." PETA. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.
"Farm Sanctuary." Farm Sanctuary. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.
Fulton, Julian. "Pacific Institute: Research for People and the Planet." Pacific Institute. 11 Dec.
2012. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
Giovannucci E, Rimm EB, Wolk A, et al. Calcium and Fructose Intake in Relation to Risk of
Prostate Cancer. Cancer Res. 1998; 58:442447.
Glick-Bauer, Marian, and Ming-Chin Yeh. "The Health Advantage of a Vegan Diet: Exploring
the Gut Microbiota Connection." Nutrients. MDPI. Web. 15 Sept. 2015.
Greger, Michael. "How Much Pus Is There in Milk? | NutritionFacts.org." NutritionFactsorg.
Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
"Livestock, Environment and Development Initiative." FAO's Animal Production and Health
Division. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.
Matthews, Christopher. "Livestock a Major Threat to Environment." FAO Newsroom. Web. 15
Oct. 2015.

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Pimentel, David. "U.S. Could Feed 800 Million People with Grain That Livestock Eat, Cornell
Ecologist Advises Animal Scientists | Cornell Chronicle." Cornell Chronicle. Web. 15
Oct. 2015.
Raven, Robin. "The Disadvantages of Eating Cheese." Healthy Eating. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
"Researchers Find Evidence of Banned Antibiotics in Poultry Products." John Hopkins
University. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.
Sakimura, Johannah. "Is Iron to Blame for Red Meats Health Harms?" Nutrition Sleuth. Web. 15
Oct. 2015.
Shepherd, J. M. (2011, July). Carbon, Climate Change, and Controversy. Animal Frontiers, 1(1),
5-13.
"The Slaughterhouse: The Horrifying Cruelty." Animal Rights Action. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.