How to Be Vegan and a Little Less Poor: Part 2

Hi everybody! So in my last post, How to be Vegan and a Little Less Poor: Part 1, I gave 5 tips for saving money on food purchases. I talked about couponing and the rebate apps that I personally use. I'm really happy that a lot of you found it helpful! A few people asked me though about other ways to save money on vegan products. One of the ideas that was mentioned was purchasing items in bulk. That can be a really great way to save money. So, I'm going to start out 3 tips on how to bulk-shop, and then give you 3 bulk products that you should always keep on hand.

Tip #1: Check the price per unit. Whether the unit is ounces, grams, milliliters, or whatever, you'll only save money if the bulk price is a smaller price per unit. If you're at a bulk store like Costco, this can be a little more difficult, because they don't have regular sized items to compare to. (Though, you can always pull them up on a smart phone.) I know there were several times I went to a bulk store and found a product I normally buy in regular sizes, only to realize that I wasn't really saving any money by purchasing 5 times as much of it. If you're buying a bulk item at a regular store, you can often compare it to a similar, pre-packaged product.

Tip #2: Buy what you like. Bulk purchases aren't always the best time to try something new. You're running the risk of getting stuck with a whole lot of something if you don't end up liking it. If you're willing to take that risk, then that's up to you. For example, I've found gluten-free, vegan veggie burgers at Costco before, and they're pretty good. I had never seen that brand before, so I didn't know if I was going to like it, but I just decided that I'd find a way to make myself eat them even if I didn't like them. (Even though, as it turns out, I did like them.)

Tip #3: Don't buy too much. When purchasing in bulk, make sure you'll have enough space to store what you don't immediately use. For example, have some sort of a dry, sealed container to keep your nutritional yeast in. It won't keep well in the little plastic bags the grocery store provides. (My cats apparently really like nutritional yeast, and they can easily tear those bags open.) I sometimes go crazy when I'm at the grocery store, and one time in particular, I ran out of freezer space before I could fit in all of the bulk veggie burgers. I put some of them in my fridge, but I couldn't quite eat them fast enough, and a whole case of them went bad. If you are getting so much that you can't use it before it spoils, you're not saving money, you're wasting it.

Alright. Hopefully those ideas can help guide your bulk-shopping. Next, I have a few ideas on what to purchase in bulk. If you're at a bulk store, and you can find bulk products that you like, knock yourself out. But, here are a few staples that you should always keep on hand.

Product #1: Quinoa. Quinoa is a seed that is most often eaten as a grain. It is one of the only plant-foods to have complete protein. That means that it contains all of the protein variations that people need to be healthy. Quinoa is a very versatile food that can be eaten in salads, baked in foods, used as a flour, eaten plain, etc. There are so many yummy and creative ways to eat it. It doesn't have a very strong flavor, so it can be added to just about anything, and it can be a great part of any meal. (Even breakfast.) Quinoa is basically the seed equivalent of tofu. I have purchased it prepackaged at a bulk store, and I have also purchased it in a bulk bag from a regular store, but I eat it a lot, so I always buy it in bulk. (Bonus tip: Costco has pre-washed bulk-packaged quinoa, which makes preparation a lot easier.)

Product # 2: Nutritional Yeast. I haven't seen a pre-packaged bulk bag of nutritional yeast, though I know you can sometimes buy cases of the canisters of it. I haven't done the math on that though, so I don't know if it's a good deal. I normally buy nutritional yeast in scoop-it-yourself bulk bags at Whole Foods or Earth Fare. Nutritional yeast is another great source of protein for vegetarians and vegans, (or anyone really,) and I use it in a variety of recipes. I would definitely recommend keeping it on hand.

Product # 3: Dried Beans. For me, I always go for chickpeas (garbanzo beans) and black beans. Those are the absolute best in my opinion. They're very versatile, they store well, and they aren't too hard to cook. (As a bonus, there are several ways to make soup broth with the water you re-hydrate them in, which gives you a little more value for your money.) Beans are a great source of protein for vegetable based diets.

Of course, these aren't the only products I purchase in bulk. I also have bulk oatmeal to either eat as oatmeal, or make into flour. I buy spinach in bulk sometimes, and peanut butter, (I would totally buy sunflower seed butter in bulk if I could find it at a bulk store,) and other assortments of fruits and veggies. (Those can be a risk sometimes with a mad dash to eat them all before they spoil.)

Anyway, I hope this has been helpful! If you have any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them. If you think I should blog about another specific aspect of making a vegan lifestyle more affordable, let me know, and I'll get right on it! Let me know what you thought by leaving a comment! Thank you so much to all my lovely readers! Happy shopping!

New Year's Resolutions and Contest

So everyone, there aren't necessarily a ton of things that I've resolved to do this year. I don't want to just have an ever-growing list of things that I'll never do just because I've resolved to do them. I don't really have any health resolutions. I mean, I'm already vegan. What else is there? I guess I could theoretically resolve to stop cheating my gluten-free diet, but I don't really have an ethical problem with gluten, and they make magic pills that can help you digest gluten occasionally.

I have resolved to post more on this blog, especially Vegan College Cookbook reviews, which I guess could be food-related, and thus health-related, but that's really a stretch. But I got a seriously nicer camera for Christmas, so the photo quality on this blog should be improving! YAY! I have also resolved to be more active for the causes and charities I care about, especially animal welfare. But I guess because everyone needs one resolution that they don't mind not keeping, I also resolve to keep my room cleaner. Ha ha ha! Oh, that's a good one. So, that's not an exhaustive list of my resolutions, but too many of them would require context explanations that it's not worth bothering to mention them.

I hope you've made some resolutions that you plan on keeping. Though, as a tip, make them realistic. For example, I would not resolve to be the #1 Pop star in America by the end of the year. First of all, pop isn't even my favorite genre. Like, at all. But that's beside the point. However, I also wouldn't make them so boring or non-specific that they're not motivational, such as resolving to be "a better person" or resolving to smell more flowers. Unless of course, that's your thing. And then, by all means, smell away. I hope you're not allergic to pollen. Basically, make sure it's something that can be accomplished to your satisfaction. If you're really not sure what you want to resolve, but you want to resolve SOMETHING, here's a list of suggestions:

• Plant a new tree or shrub by the end of the year.
• You can buy a tree already sprouted (as long as you have permission from the powers that be,) or if you're up for a bigger challenge, try starting out all the way from a seed. Avocados are a good choice if you aren't sure what to go with. First of all, you can make yourself some yummy guacamole to get the pit to start out with. Second, the plants themselves are very pretty.
•  Plant a veggie garden.
• The best part about planting your own garden is picking what veggies you want to grow. Then you get really inexpensive, fresh food once it's grown. If you don't really have a yard to plant a garden in, like if you live in a dorm or apartment, or maybe your parents don't want you to dig up their nicely manicured lawn, you can plant window-box gardens, or potted plants. Those are great for smaller plants or herbs. I'd recommend rosemary and basil if you're not sure what to go with, but you want something small.
• Complete 5 Actions per month at Peta2.
• This one is really easy because the people over at PETA have already dome the hard work for you by making posters, collecting email addresses and researching the details, etc. Plus, you earn points by doing all those things and you can get yourself free stuff with the points. Who doesn't love free stuff?
• Go Cruelty-Free!
• Maybe you already only EAT vegan, but you haven't made the switch with cosmetics, clothes, etc. There are so many great brands of cruelty-free products, and many of them are really affordable. 
• Go Vegan!
• If you haven't already done this one, it really has never been easier. There are so many recipes out there thanks to the internet, and veganizing existing recipes is also super-simple with the amazing options that are out there.
• Go Vegetarian!
• If for some reason, you can't go vegan yet, or would prefer to make the switch more gradually, this is a good baby step. Again, it's never been easier!  
• Go Organic!
• This one can be a bit pricey. But it's certainly more healthful than eating junk food. Though I guess they do make organic "junk" food. Eh. Whatever. Aldis and Costco have a surprising amount of organic options, which are inexpensive.
• Convince your Family / Friends to do Meatless Mondays.
• Maybe they won't go 100% vegan or even vegetarian. But there are a lot of doctors and specialists saying that giving up meat at least 1 day a week has a ton of health benefits. This might mean that you have to cook diner once a week, but I'm sure you've got some ideas that you're dying to try, right?
• Try one new vegan recipe per month.
• This could involve a bit of pre-planning, but trying new things can be a lot of fun, and if you have the Vegan College Cookbook, it can be really affordable too. 
• Stay Positive / Be Thankful.
• The holidays are coming to a close, and it's easy to get out of the habit of being thankful for small things in life, and to take the things you have for granted. One thing that I have found helpful is to get a notebook or journal and write down things that I'm thankful for / happy about. For example, a friend of mine recently had been struggling with depression, and I encouraged him to write down 5 things a day to be thankful for. You can write more or less things, and do it as frequently as you'd like. If 5 things a day is too much, you could do 3 things a day, or 5 things twice a week. The important thing is not to quit when you forget a day. Even if you forget a week. If you're ever feeling down or discouraged, read back through the things you've written, and you're likely to feel a lot better. Everyone I've ever gotten to do this has found it extremely helpful.

If you have any other good ideas for general resolutions you'd like to share, please leave a comment! I'd love to hear what you have to say.

So, whatever you've resolved, here is a motivational picture.

This is my cat, C3PO, who I adopted from my local animal shelter. He had already had one leg amputated when I found him, but he gets along without it pretty well, even if he looks kind of ridiculous when he runs. Anyway, the other day, he climbed on top of our giant old TV that was given away, and was acting like he had achieved the most amazing accomplishment possible. It was pretty much adoreable. This was just an excuse to post a picture of my cat.

Alright. So here's the contest part:

First, you must follow this blog by at least one method if you do not already. Next, using the contact form located in the right sidebar, send me your name and email address, and at least 1 activism-related resolution. The winner will be randomly selected by computer, but if your resolution is just "I resolve to be more active" or something like that, then you won't qualify. And trust me. You want to win. Why? Because here's what the winner gets (approximately $25 value):

•  2 stickers from Sevenly, a company which funds a huge variety of humanitarian organizations by selling super-cool shirts and other apparel
• 3 magnets made from Sevenly stickers that are great for lockers or mini-fridges
• 15 magnets made from PETA stickers that are also great for lockers or mini-fridges. 
• 1 customized bracelet made by me. You choose colors and specify size. The bracelet will appear similar to this one in my web store, only it will say "ACTIVIST" instead of a name. 
• The winner will also be featured on this blog with a photo, short biographical description, and their resolution. (The winner will be contacted for the photo and description, as well as the details of the bracelet after being selected. This will act as a conformation method.)

All entries must be received before February 1st 2014. There also must be more than 10 qualifying entries, or the contest will be canceled. If there are a large number of participants, I may add runner-up places with smaller but still awesome prizes. In the event of cancellation, a consolation prize will be available to any participants. I reserve the right to change the rules and awards at any time. I'm sorry if you don't think the prizes are cool. I'm a poor college student, remember?

Happy New Year, Everyone! Good luck! Feel free to comment and tell me what a great idea this is. Tell all your friends about this contest and encourage them to enter as well! Who knows. Maybe they'll share with you if they win.

*************** UPDATE: CONTEST IS CLOSED.

Gluten-Free, Vegan Cheese Melties

Recently, I have had to go gluten-free for medical reasons. That makes being vegan extra difficult because a lot of psuedo-meats and other vegan proteins are made with wheat. Also, a lot of gluten-free products aren't vegan, so it can get hard to balance. Really though, one of the things I miss the most is just bread. My inner carboholic has a hard time dealing with it, trust me. However, I found a fake sandwich round bread that is really delicious. Amy's Gluten-Free Sandwich Rounds are the perfect size for most veggie burgers, and they taste amazing. They also pair up perfectly with Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Mozzarella for a delicious snack.
 

 

 

(FYI, when this cheese melts, it really melts. like, it turns to liquid. So, be very careful once you've heated it.) 

Really people, even if you aren't gluten-free, you should really try this stuff. It is so good and it goes perfectly with tomato soup, Ramen, pasta (gluten-free if need be,) or just about anything.

Vegan Snickerdoodle Fail

So, normally, I have only amazing things to say about anything PETA-related. Today though, I tried the vegan snickerdoodle recipe from their Holiday Survival Guide, and I was really not impressed. At all.

 They looked amazing. They smelled amazing. They tasted like Play Dough. Well, Play Dough with cinnamon-sugar on the outside, but Play Dough nonetheless. I was so immensely disappointed by them. I remember thinking, as my sister and I were measuring ingredients, that the recipe called for a lot of salt, ( a whole teaspoon for a batch of 20 cookies!) but I followed the recipe anyway. I would like to make the recipe again, but I would only put in 1/4 teaspoon of salt next time. I'm sure that, other than that, the cookies would be fine.

I haven't tried any of the other Holiday Guide recipes, so I can't say whether or not they're any good. Maybe I'll get around to making them later.

Vegan Nog Waffles

Well it's been a while since I've posted, and I apologize for that. I've been getting way too busy for my own good, but that's beside the point. Since today is Christmas, I figured I'd give you all a quick holiday food post!

Making waffles for breakfast today was kind of an excuse to try out the Ener-G Egg Replacer that I bought for recipes. It was also an excuse to use up a partially empty box of Belgian Waffle Mix from my family's overstocked pantry. I also just got back from a trip to northern Vermont, and you can't leave Vermont without buying at least one kind of Maple Syrup. We picked up Raspberry, Cranberry, and Chai flavored syrups, (the Cranberry is my favorite,) but I couldn't find them quickly because we hadn't unpacked them yet. (I'm not the most patient person in the world, so I used light Agave Nectar which I had also bought for the first time recently and haven't had a chance to try yet.) I basically followed the directions on the box, which are going to be pretty similar but could vary depending on what brand of mix you get and how many you're making.

In a small mixing bowl, I mixed 1 1/2 tablespoons of egg replacer mixture with 2 tablespoons of hot water with a whisk until a uniform consisteny was reached. In a medium-sized bowl, I mixed 1 1/2 cups of waffle mix, 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 3/4 cup of Silk Nog (instead of milk or water), a dash of nutmeg, a dash of cinnamon, and added the egg replacer mixture (instead of eggs obviously), stirring until I reached a uniform consistency with no lumps.

I poured half the mixture onto the center of my non-stick waffle iron and closed the lid to cook it. When it was ready, I put it on a plate, and as soon as I took a picture of it, I opened a few Christmas presents while the iron was heating up enough for the second waffle. Then I scraped the rest of the batter into the iron with a spatula, and let it cook. When it was done, I set it on top of my other waffle and poured a generous amount of agave onto them and dug in. I could only finish half of them, so I shared the rest with my sisters who thought they were delicious even though none of them are vegans.

You may have noticed from the picture that my waffle isn't really square. That's because I've had too many experiences with waffle batter dripping down the sides of the hot iron and making a huge mess that I have to clean up later. So, I just make slightly less visually attractive waffles that mean I don't have to clean up so much after myself because I'm sort of lazy. Okay, really lazy. But hey, it would be wasting perfectly good waffle if I made a mess.

By the way, I was really impressed with the Ener-G Egg Replacer. I've tried some other ways to replace eggs in the past, like flax seed for example, and those were less-than amazing in waffles. The Ener-G stuff didn't alter the taste of the waffles to make them taste like some horrible gruel, it kept them light and fluffy, and they're only 15 calories per replaced egg! (Eggs are 70 calories each.) I can't wait to try the egg replacer in other recipes.

If you try my little recipe, let me know what you thought of it, and if you made any other variations. I'd love to try out anything you all come up with. Personally, I am going to be trying something similar with some gluten-free mix that I found, though I don't know if I'll be using vegan nog. Maybe I'll try my vegan chocolate chips. . . Well anyway, happy holidays everyone! I hope this season has been wonderful and relaxing for everyone! Happy New Year!

P.S. Nog is a really funny word. Makes me want to laugh every time I say it.

"Hippie" Freebies

Now, before you start thinking about all the stereotypes associated with hippies, let me tell you that this post is not about hippies. Not really. What I'm actually talking about is a web page full of links that was created by a self-proclaimed "Modern Hippie" for the purpose of connecting young activists with campaign materials that fit into their price range. Everything on the link page is free. Are you interested now? At Hippie Freebies, you can find materials such as Vegan and Vegetarian Starter kits with helpful information and recipes, Animal Rights campaign materials and stickers, Human Rights and Equality stickers, Environmentalism buttons and clings, and much more. Most of these links help connect you to various organizations that send out newsletters, online petitions, forms for letters to congressmen, etc, and give you free items as a token of appreciation. There is also a page that has links to many more organizations. Most of these organizations and freebies only operate in North America or the UK, but several work worldwide. Maybe not all of them will interest you, but chances are, you'll find something you'd like to find out more about.

I'd like to thank the wonderful Salena for creating this list of links. Also, check out her blog, because she has reviews of some pretty awesome products like eco-friendly clothing etc.

Hope you all find everything helpful!

Food Finds Friday: Annie Chun's

College students have a few kinds of reputations. However, there are two main things that college students are known for. One of them is for being party animals, and another is for being broke and having to live off only Ramen Noodles for weeks. I will only be addressing the latter of these two. Now, vegetarians and vegans are often thought, mostly by outside sources, to not get proper nutrition, especially while in college. I might just have a solution to the nutritional problems that students have, while keeping in mind expense and the fact that most students need nonperishable foods.

While it would be great if, while away at college, we could all cook all of our meals out of PETA's Vegan College Cookbook, there are still various reasons why we might not be able to. (By the way, the book can be purchased with Peta2 Street Team Points, which means basically FREE!) Sometimes, just the thought of having to think about what you're cooking might be too much for a brain about to go into a study-induced coma. There is something comforting about sitting down with a cup or bowl of hot noodles and taking a second to relax. So, before you place a bulk order of Ramen, (which is full or preservatives and has next to no nutritional value,) and become victim to the stereotype, consider trying a healthier, and in the opinion of many, tastier vegan option that should still be in your price range.

I recently tried Annie Chun's Miso Soup, and I was absolutely shocked at how good it was. It was more than a million times better than any prepackaged noodles I'd had before! Not only did it taste AMAZING, it's all natural, contains no MSG, or preservatives, has 8 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber, only 240 Calories, and completely vegan. The container is also recyclable, or reusable since it's relatively durable and resealable. It is very fast to make. ( It takes 2 minutes vs. Ramen which takes 3 minutes. OMG A WHOLE MINUTE MORE TO STUDY! )

Annie Chun's also has other vegan soups such as the Udon and Korean Kimichi; vegan noodle bowls like the Garlic Scallion, Korean Sweet Chili, Kung Pao, Peanut Sesame, and Teriyaki Bowl; as well as Instant Rice; and well, they have Ramen too. Spring Vegetable is the only vegan Ramen flavor that I am aware of.

Soup and Noodle Bowls are $3.49 each if ordered or purchased individually, or $2.89 each if purchased in packs of 6 that cost $17.34. If you must have Ramen, theirs is $6.57 for a 3 pack, and $24.97 for a 12 pack. When I was researching this, I saw that there were other companies that were selling the Miso in huge bulk sets for a really good price, but I didn't really look at the actual website.

Anyway, I hope you have a chance to try the Miso, and that you love it as much as I do! Let me know what you think in the comments!

Update: I've added this to my Food Finds Friday series even though it  was written long before the series began. I also wrote this before I realized I needed to go gluten-free. So, I can no longer eat most of these products, sadly. 

Real Men

Photo courtesy of Plant Powered Living.

Well, if this isn't a great way to convince the men in your life to cut meat out of their diets, I don't know what is. If I were you, I'd share this infographic everywhere you can, and as soon as possible. You never know, but you could save someone's life! In fact, you could be helping to save a whole lot of lives, because if someone goes vegetarian or vegan, not only would they be lowering their own risk of getting heart disease, but animals wouldn't have to die for their meals!

I must admit, I am not the biggest fan of the way they illustrated the risk of heart disease. To me, it looks as if it's saying that the vegans don't 'have as much of a heart,' as the saying goes, as the omnivores do. I don't think that was their intention though.

We all need to let guys know that REAL men are compassionate. Spread the love!

Steak, Steak, Go Away!

For those of you who use Facebook, you are probably familiar with the sidebar ads. You know, the ones on the right side of the page, right next to the scroll bar, that most people just ignore anyways? I get a lot of ads for vegan / animal welfare things that I sometimes check out. Well, for whatever reason, I just got an ad for Fatz, (its a restaurant for those who aren't familiar,) and the advertisement image said "Love Steak?" with a silhouette of a steak. Now, this succeeded in catching my attention, but as must be obvious by the fact that I'm running a veganism / animal rights blog, I happen to NOT love steak. In fact, I've always HATED steak! Even before I was even a vegetarian. (Which was before I was a vegan, logically.) Now, normally, I don't bother to hide ads on Facebook, but since I was already looking at it, I decided to hide all ads for Fatz. Once I clicked it, Facebook wanted to know why I didn't want to receive any more ads for Fatz. There were several general reasons you could choose, and the closest one to "This is an advertisement for steak, and I am a vegan" was "Against my views," so I went with that. Something about that particular reason struck me as funny. I mean, how often do you think people select that for a restaurant? My guess is: not very.

In Your Own Words

It is absolutely ridiculous how much fun I had making these Anti-Cruelty signs. I was laughing maniacally under my breath while I was coming up with little phrases to type into Peta2's clever little generators. It actually impressed me how realistic these signs look. While I am more involved with the McCruelty campaign, mostly because there are more McDonald's restaurants in my area, the Kentucky Fried Cruelty Generator signs looked more like an actual photo to me. Maybe that's because there were cars in most of the images. I don't know. That is not to say that the McCruelty Sign Generator designers didn't do a good job, because they certainly did.

Now, if you click the links to the generators, you can type in up to 3 lines of text to display in the store sign. If you want to save and share your pictures on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or whatever, you'll need to use a screenshot. Just in case you aren't sure how to do that, I'll explain.

Step 1. Using the scroll wheel on your mouse, or the scroll buttons on the side of your browser, adjust the screen so that your Anti-Cruelty image is clearly in view. It is best to leave a visible margin of the webpage around your image.

Step 2. Locate the Print Screen button on your keyboard. It is usually toward the upper right-hand corner. It might be abbreviated to something like "PrtSc" depending on the maker.

Step 3. Push the Print Screen button.

Step 4. Open a new project in Paint, which comes pre-installed on most computers.

Step 5. In Paint, click the button says "Select" on it, and displays a dotted-lined rectangle.

Step 6. Using the select tool, right click anywhere in the empty project. A screenshot of the page with your Anti-Cruelty sign will appear.

Step 7. Left click on the selected screenshot, and drag it toward the upper left-hand corner of your project until only the Anti-Cruelty sign is in view in that corner.

Step 8. Left click anywhere within the image, but outside the the selected screenshot to deselect it.

Step 9. Using the scroll bars, scroll to the bottom right-hand corner of the image.

Step 10. Click and drag the small white box in the corner up and to the left until only your Anti-Cruelty sign is visible. Make sure that the borders are even.

Step 11. Click the "Save As" button, and save your image, preferable as a PNG. This will keep your image quality nice so that everyone will be able to clearly read your Anti-Cruelty message!

Step 12. Upload your image to all your favorite social networks, or email your image to share it with all your friends! Make sure you include a link to the McCruelty or Kentucky Fried Cruelty websites so your friends can get more information and make their own Anti-Cruelty Signs.

Alright. I hope that little tutorial was helpful, and that you have as much fun making your Anti-Cruelty signs as I did! For any of you who are members of the Peta2 Street Team, make sure you go to the "Take Action" page, and turn in a screenshot of the website where you shared your sign for Street Team Points!

Researching Vegan-Style

One of the requirements for Junior English in high school is a research paper. My teacher recommended choosing a topic you feel strongly about, so I chose veganism. It really wasn't much of a shocker for those who know me even the slightest. My teacher actually liked my paper very much, and was actually surprised at the amount of evidence I was able to offer, particularly towards the ethics side of it. Those who know much about veganism, animal rights, etc. probably would not have been so surprised. Within the 1350 word limit, my paper touches on why veg*nism is superior to eating meat in 3 different areas. Trust me, if it weren't for that word limit, I would have taken the time to wax eloquent. Here is my junior English research paper (left in the required format, and original word limit.)

Be a Happy Herbivore

It is said that what a person does not understand, he will either fear or hate because most people are raised with biases and prejudices. With controversial subjects, generally even those who are relatively uninformed wish to opine. Veganism and vegetarianism fall in this category. However, a surprising number of people do not know the difference between vegetarianism and veganism. Veganism began as an offshoot of vegetarianism. Like vegetarians, vegans do not consume meat. They also do not use any products made from or tested on animals. Avoiding animal products has a beneficial impact that makes vegetable-based diets physically, globally, and ethically superior to omnivorous diets.

Vegetable-based diets are more healthful than omnivorous diets. Eating meat contributes to diseases. Not only are animal products inefficient to produce, but they are unhealthful because “we take a crop. . . rich in protein, fiber, and carbohydrates. . . and totally devoid of cholesterol and artery-clogging saturated fat. . . . We feed it to [animals] to create a product with no fiber or complex carbohydrates at all, but with mega doses of cholesterol and saturated fat.” (Newkirk [1]). There are other hidden dangers in meat. According to Freston, achidonic acid, which causes inflammation and leads to Alzheimer’s and a plethora of other diseases, is unavoidable in meat (“A Few” [1]). A more frightening reality is that “one sausage a day increases our chance of bowel cancer by 20%. It only takes 1.8oz (50g) of processed meat daily to significantly increase our risk of this deadly type of cancer” (Walters [1]). Meat in diets is not the only animal source of problems. According to Dani Veracity, milk worsens asthma cases by stimulating mucus production, and many are allergic to milk proteins or the antibiotics found in it. Milk allergies, which are extremely common, manifest themselves in worsened acne and eczema, as well as diarrhea, asthma, ear infections, rashes, and hives. ([1-2]) Certainly all of these illnesses are plenty of cause to avoid meat and animal products.

Herbivorous diets provide essential nutrients and reduce risk of illness. Many people have qualms with giving up eggs, milk, and meat for fear of deficiencies; however, Veracity explains that broccoli and tofu provide calcium just as well as milk. ([2]) Other deficiency fears include vitamin B12 and protein. However, “Any food that gets dirty develops B12 from bacteria. . . . we get our B12 from meat because its dirty. And our need for B12 is tiny. . . akin to four grains of rice in our lifetime” (Rivera [1]). When it comes to consuming proper amounts of protein, “most people on a standard meat diet are actually protein deficient. . . . Vegetarians actually grow muscle mass at a faster rate with a diet of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.” (Rivera [1]). Not only do plant diets provide essential nutrients, but “a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that people of all ages, including children, that adhere to a vegetarian diet. . . are generally leaner than their meat-eating counterparts” (Huff [1]). Those who maintain healthy weights are less likely to suffer from heart disease and other diseases linked to obesity. In fact, “Dean Ornish, M.D. was the first person to prove that heart disease can be reversed, and he did so by feeding his patients a vegetarian diet” (Rivera [2]). Abstaining from meat protects from reduces cancer risk. “[Researchers] found that the lifetime risk of developing cancer was 14 percent lower in vegetarians than in the general population. The protective effect was greatest for stomach cancer, bladder cancer, Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and blood cancers. Vegetarians were less than 50 percent as likely to develop lymph and blood cancers as nonrestricted eaters, while their risk of. . . multiple myeloma was 75 percent lower” (Gutierrez [1]). Vegetable-based diets obviously are more healthful because of their lowered risk of disease.

Second, vegetable-based diets reduce and discourage the animal cruelty caused by omnivorous diets. Eating meat promotes the unjust treatment of food-animals. The cruelty in factory farms exists from the beginning of animals’ lives. According to Matt Ball, animals live their whole lives with “the confinement and overcrowding, the stench, the racket, the extremes of heat and cold, the attacks and even cannibalism, the hunger and starvation, the illness, the mutilation, the broken bones and failing organs etc. Indeed, every year, hundreds of millions of animals. . . actually suffer to death” (“A Meaningful” [3]). Law requires that the animals lucky enough to survive until they reach the slaughterhouse be stunned before slaughter to desensitize them, but “it’s not uncommon for an animal to suffer one or two failed stuns. . . . Unconscious animals whose necks are not cut soon enough may regain their senses after being hung on the bleed rail” (Ball, “If Slaughterhouses” [1]). These stuns are supposed to be the humane way of killing animals, however, when they are unsuccessful, pigs “are dunked in tanks of hot water after they are stunned. . . . A botched slaughter condemns [them] to being scalded and drowned” (Ball [4]). Even worse, kosher and other ritual slaughterhouses are not even legally required to desensitize animals before they begin the butchering process.

Additionally, Herbivorous diets reduce the suffering of innocent animals by promoting ethical eating. A single person’s asceticism may not seem to have an impact, but the laws of supply and demand explain that when demand for a product decreases, the supply of the product decreases. The result would be the slaughter of fewer animals. Causing the suffering of sentient beings is ethically wrong, so if one reduces the number of animals who suffer, his action is ethically praiseworthy. Animals “are not things. They can feel pain. They can suffer frustration and boredom. They have lives of their own” (Mason, 122). According to “Vegetarian 101,” an article published by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, 27 billion food-animals are slaughtered annually, but every year, an individual vegetarian saves approximately 100 of those animals (“Vegetarian 101” [1-2]). If more people would become vegetarians or vegans, the number of animals saved from the torture and slaughter would be astronomical.

Last, vegetable-based diets are environmentally friendly than omnivorous diets. Eating meat encourages environmental degradation caused by inefficient factory farms. These commercialized farms traffic millions. Their “livestock accounts for 18 percent of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions” (Klein [1]). For example, “‘manure lagoons’. . . [are] acres of animal excrement that sit in the sun steaming nitrous oxide into the atmosphere” (Klein [1]). Additionally, Inefficiency continues because “we have to transport the animals to slaughterhouses, slaughter them, refrigerate their carcasses, and distribute their flesh all across the country. Producing a calorie of meat protein means burning more than ten times as much fossil fuels. . . as does a calorie of plant protein” (Freston, “Vegetarian” [1]).

Herbivorous diets promote a more efficient use of natural resources. It is commonly known that plant-based diets require approximately only a tenth of the crops that are required to create animal products. Because of this vast difference, “Americans and Europeans can't raise all the feed domestically that is needed to sustain their meat addictions. . . . Agribusiness has started cutting down the rain forest. . . . If more people went vegetarian, we would need far less land to feed people” (Freston, “A Few” [2]). Veganism also conserves water resources because “it takes about four times as much water to feed a vegetarian as it does to feed a vegan and 14 times as much water to feed a meat-eater. And, if you have to feed animals, you have to irrigate the crops that you feed to them and you have to give them water too. You have to hose down the factory farms and slaughterhouses with water” (Newkirk [2-3]). Clearly, going vegan is the most responsible lifestyle choice.

Meat-free diets are undeniably physically, globally, and ethically superior to eating meat. Many Americans believe in a right to eat meat, classifying it as part of their right to the pursuit of happiness. However, consuming meat is not a right, and trying to ignore the facts will not make them any less true. Those in wealthier countries should implement ways to reduce their use of animals products. Failure to do so is clearly irresponsible.

Works Consulted

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