Nightmares for a Week

Ten reasons to go vegan:

veganism-ftw:

• 1) Animal products are unnecessary.
• 2) What you eat is a learned habit.
• 3) Much healthier to avoid meat and dairy products.
• 4) Much more environmentally friendly to eat a vegan diet.
• 5) Feed more people on a plant diet than animal based one.
• 6) Using animals is incredibly cruel. Why force any pain?
• 7) Religion/ spiritual reasons “Thou shalt not kill.”
• 8) Saves money….
• 9) Reduces National debt.
• 10) Vegan food tastes great!

Via VeganWolf

(Source: we-are-all-earthlings)

veganfeast:

57 Health Benefits of Going Vegan

fueledbyveggies:

Nutrition

All of the following nutritional benefits come from a vegan diet full of foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans, and soy products.

1. Reduced saturated fats. Dairy products and meats contain a large amount of saturated fats. By reducing the amount of saturated fats from your diet, you’ll improve your health tremendously, especially when it comes to cardiovascular health.
2. Carbohydrates. Carbohydrates provide energy for your body. When you don’t have enough carbohydrates, your body will burn muscle tissue.
3. Fiber. A diet high in fiber (as vegan eating usually is) leads to healthier bowel movements. High fiber diets help fight against colon cancer.
4. Magnesium. Aiding in the absorption of calcium, magnesium is an often overlooked vitamin in importance to a healthy diet. Nuts, seeds, and dark leafy greens are an excellent source of magnesium.
5. Potassium. Potassium balances water and acidity in your body and stimulates the kidneys to eliminate toxins. Diets high in potassium have shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
6. Folate. This B vitamin is an important part of a healthy diet. Folate helps with cell repair, generating red and white blood cells, and metabolizing amino acids.
7. Antioxidants. For protection against cell damage, antioxidants are one of the best ways to help your body. Many researchers also believe that antioxidants helpprotect your body against forming some types of cancer.
8. Vitamin C. Besides boosting your immune system, Vitamin C also helps keep your gums healthy and helps your bruises heal faster. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant.
9. Vitamin E. This powerful vitamin has benefits for your heart, skin, eyes, brain, and may even help prevent Alzheimer’s Disease. A diet high in grains, nuts, and dark leafy greens is full of Vitamin E.
10. Phytochemicals. Plant-based foods provide phytochemicals, which help to prevent and heal the body from cancer, boost protective enzymes, and work with antioxidants in the body.
11. Protein. That protein is good for your body is no surprise. It may be a surprise to learn that most Americans eat too much protein and in forms such as red meat that are not healthy ways of getting protein. Beans, nuts, peas, lentils, and soy products are all great ways to get the right amount of protein in a vegan diet.

Disease Prevention

Eating a healthy vegan diet has shown to prevent a number of diseases. Find out from the list below what you could potentially avoid just by switching to a healthy, balanced vegan way of eating.

12. Cardiovascular disease. Eating nuts and whole grains, while eliminating dairy products and meat, will improve your cardiovascular health. A British study indicates that a vegan diet reduces the risk for heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. Vegan diets go far in preventing heart attack and stroke.
13. Cholesterol. Eliminating any food that comes from an animal and you will eliminate all dietary cholesterol from your diet. Your heart will thank you for that.
14. Blood pressure. A diet rich in whole grains is beneficial to your health in many ways, including lowering high blood pressure.
15. Type 2 diabetes. Not only is a vegan diet a weapon against Type 2 diabetes, it is also “easier to follow than the standard diet recommended by the American Diabetic Association.” Read more about it here.
16. Prostate cancer. A major study showed that men in the early stages of prostate cancer who switched to a vegan diet either stopped the progress of the cancer or may have even reversed the illness.
17. Colon cancer. Eating a diet consisting of whole grains, along with fresh fruits and vegetables, can greatly reduce your chances of colon cancer.
18. Breast cancer. Countries where women eat very little meat and animal products have a much lower rate of breast cancer than do the women in countries that consume more animal products.
19. Macular degeneration. Diets with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, especially leafy greens, carrots, pumpkin, and sweet potatoes, can help prevent the onset of age-related macular degeneration.
20. Cataracts. Much the same way macular degeneration is headed off by a vegan diet, cataracts are also thought to be prevented through the intake of the same fruits and vegetables. Produce high in antioxidants are also believed to help prevent cataracts.
21. Arthritis. Eliminating dairy consumption has long been connected with alleviating arthritis symptoms, but a new study indicates that a combination of gluten-free and vegan diet is very promising for improving the health of those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.
22. Osteoporosis. Bone health depends on a balance of neither too much or too little protein, adequate calcium intake, high potassium, and low sodium. With a healthy vegan diet, all four of these points set a perfect scenario for preventing osteoporosis.

Physical Benefits

In addition to good nutrition and disease prevention, eating vegan also provides many physical benefits. Find out how a vegan diet makes your body stronger, more attractive, and more energetic.

23. Body Mass Index. Several population studies show that a diet without meat leads to lower BMIs–usually an indicator of a healthy weight and lack of fat on the body.
24. Weight loss. A healthy weight loss is a typical result of a smart vegan diet. Eating vegan eliminates most of the unhealthy foods that tend to cause weight issues. Read more about weight loss and a vegan diet here.
25. Energy. When following a healthy vegan diet, you will find your energy is much higher. This blog post in Happy Healthy Long Life describes how NFL tight-endTony Gonzalez started eating vegan and gained energy–while playing football.
26. Healthy skin. The nuts and vitamins A and E from vegetables play a big role in healthy skin, so vegans will usually have good skin health. Many people who switch to a vegan diet will notice a remarkable reduction in blemishes as well.
27. Longer life. Several studies indicate that those following a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle live an average of three to six years longer than those who do not.
28. Body odor. Eliminating dairy and red meat from the diet significantly reduces body odor. Going vegan means smelling better.
29. Bad breath. Vegans frequently experience a reduction in bad breath. Imagine waking up in the morning and not having morning breath.
30. Hair. Many who follow vegan diets report that their hair becomes stronger, has more body, and looks healthier.
31. Nails. Healthy vegan diets are also responsible for much stronger, healthier nails. Nail health is said to be an indicator of overall health.
32. PMS. When switching to a vegan diet, many women tell how PMS symptoms become much less intense or disappear altogether. The elimination of dairy is thought to help with those suffering with PMS.
33. Migraines. Migraine suffers who go on vegan diets frequently discover relief from their migraines. Read more about the food-migraine connection in this article.
34. Allergies. Reduction in dairy, meat, and eggs is often tied to alleviation of allergy symptoms. Many vegans report much fewer runny noses and congestion problems.

Too Much in the American Diet

The typical American diet not only consists of too much food, it also relies on too much of unnecessary food products or toxins. The following list explains how a vegan diet can eliminate these problems.

35. Animal proteins. The average American eats twice as much protein as necessary for a healthy diet and much of that is from red meat. Getting protein from beans and grains is much healthier and reduces the risk for osteoporosis (see above).
36. Cow’s milk dairy. The human body is not designed to digest cow milk and cow milk dairy products, yet the idea of milk being healthy is pushed through advertising. As many as 75% of people in the world may be lactose intolerant and many people suffer from undiagnosed milk allergies or sensitivities. By eliminating cow’s milk from your diet, you are improving your overall health.
37. Eggs. Many nutritionists believe that the number of eggs in the American diet is too high. While sometimes disputed, it has been shown that eggs can raise cholesterol levels.
38. Mercury. Most of the fish and shellfish consumed has mercury in it. While some fish have less than others, it is almost impossible not to be putting mercury in your body when you eat fish.
39. Sugar. Most people have heard that Americans consume way too much sugar. Relying on other sweeteners that are not synthetic, processed, or derived from animal products is a healthier way to eat. Many vegans do not eat processed sugar due to the fact that most of the cane sugar is refined through activated charcoal, most of which comes from animal bones.

Other Benefits

In addition to the health benefits above, following a vegan lifestyle and diet also provides these benefits as well. From helping the environment to avoiding serious bacterial infections, learn other benefits to eating the vegan way below.

40. Animals. Many people begin a vegan diet out of concern for animals. Whether opposed to the conditions of animals intended for food or eating animals in general, going vegan will help your conscience rest easily.
41. Environment. Growing plants takes much fewer resources than growing animals. By eating vegan, you can help reduce the toll on the environment.
42. E. coli. E. coli comes from eating contaminated red meat and is the leading cause of bloody diarrhea. Young children, those with compromised immune systems, and elderly people can become extremely ill or die from E. coli. Eating vegan means completely avoiding the risk of E. coli infection.
43. Salmonella. Another gastrointestinal illness from animal products, salmonella food poisoning is closely related to E. coli. The most frequent way people contract salmonella food poisoning is through contact with raw eggs or raw chicken meat from chickens infected with salmonella. Again, going vegan means eliminating this risk altogether.
44. Mad cow disease. It’s safe to say that most people would want to avoid contracting a fatal, non-treatable disease. One way to ensure you don’t get Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is by not eating animals infected with mad cow disease. While the incidence of mad cow disease is not reportedly so high in North America, it does exist.
45. Global food supply. Feeding grain to animals meant as food sources reduces the amount of food that is available to underdeveloped nations. Many people will go hungry while that same food they could be eating is given to animals raised for slaughter. Eating vegan ensures that you have removed yourself from the participation of this imbalance.
46. Hormone consumption. Eating animals that have been given hormones to speed growth (a common practice in the meat industry) means those hormones go into your body. Not only can this disrupt the natural balance of your hormones, but some of the hormones given to animals have shown to cause tumor growth in humans.
47. Antibiotics. Antibiotics are frequently given to feed animals, which can lead to bacterial resistance. Many of the antibiotics used to treat human infections are also used in feed animals.

Healthy Eating

A vegan diet can be a much healthier way to eat. Find out how to combine the vegan diet with other ways of eating for an even more healthy way to go or discover ways to keep your vegan diet healthy but more convenient with the resources below.

48. Raw. A raw diet lends itself to veganism by the very nature of its design. Find out how to combine live and vegan diets with Raw Inspirations.
49. Organic. Eating organic and vegan is super easy to do. Use some of the recipes from this blog for help with meal ideas. The posts have slowed, but you can always search the archives for some great ideas on how to live and eat organic and vegan.
50. Fat-free. Vegan eating is typically pretty low in fats anyway, but the FatFree Vegan Kitchen shows you how to make some delicious vegan food that is always fat free.
51. Gluten-free. Due to allergies, Celiac’s Disease, or whatever your reason you avoid gluten, find out how to combine the best of gluten-free with vegan cooking in theGluten-Free Vegan blog.
52. Eating out. Eating out isn’t usually associated with eating healthy, but a vegan diet ensures there will be a lot less of the bad things in the food you choose. Find eating out options around the world for vegans here.
53. Lunch. Maintaining a vegan diet means you are likely to take your lunch more often than most people. Vegan Lunch Box offers recipes, tools, and ideas for carrying great vegan lunches every day.
54. Dinner. Coming up with new dinner ideas is challenging for everyone–regardless of what type of diet you follow. Check out this amazing selection of vegan dinner recipes accompanied with mouth-watering photos of each preparation on Dinner with Dilip.
55. Dessert. While not all the recipes on My Sweet Vegan are for dessert, you will find a large selection of sweet vegan recipes with the most delicious-looking photos.
56. Wine. Pairing vegan food with wine may be challenging for those who rely on the old standard of “white with fish and red with meat.” Read this article for ways to compliment your healthy vegan diet with a tasty glass of wine or this blog entry for specific pairings of wine and vegan food.
57. Fun. These ladies know how to kick it with vegan cooking. Post Punk Kitchen offers some great recipes with a ton of fun infused in them. Be sure to go through the archives for more yummy food ideas.

nefffy:

Ignore the anti-soya scaremongers

Soya is the great divider; you’re either for it, or against it. Is this humble pulse really such a demon bean, or is the anti-soya brigade using scare stories and pseudo science to further their own agenda? If you look carefully, most anti-soya stories can be traced back to one single group in the US called the Weston A Price Foundation (WAPF).

WAPF claims to be dedicated to promoting good nutrition by restoring nutrient-dense animal products to the diet – particularly unpasteurised “raw” whole milk. It claims that saturated animal fat is essential for good health and that animal fat intake and high cholesterol levels have no link with heart disease or cancer. They say that vegetarians have lower life expectancy than meat-eaters, and that historically humans have always eaten large amounts of animal fat. All this, of course, contradicts all the leading health advisory bodies in the world, including the World Health Organisation, American Dietetic Association and the British Medical Association.

This US-based fringe organisation is bent on citing scientifically flawed studies to promote their own agenda and has influenced a vast number of consumers, duping them into thinking of soya as some sort of dietary pariah.

 The soya story dates back to New Zealand in the early 1990s, when a successful lawyer, Richard James, a millionaire on a mission, approached toxicologist Mike Fitzpatrick and asked him to investigate what was killing his expensive parrots (very Monty Python, I know). Anyway, Fitzpatrick agreed it was soya and has since campaigned vigorously against it as a food for humans –nonsense, since people have been eating soya for 3,000 years.

I have been interviewed for Radio New Zealand with Mike Fitzpatrick who campaigns against soya there. He was so aggressive they couldn’t broadcast the interview. Fitzpatrick is a supporter of WAPF (actually an honorary board member).

Another of the organisation’s supporters is a man called Dr Stephen Byrnes, who published an article in the Ecologist magazine claiming that vegetarianism is unhealthy and is destroying the environment. He boasted of his high animal fat diet and robust health – and, unfortunately, died of a stroke at 42. There were more than 40 scientific inaccuracies in the said article, including the direct misquoting of scientific studies. Incidentally, the editor of the Ecologist, Zac Goldsmith, is also an honorary board member of the WAPF.

Another of the organisation’s supporters, Kaayla Daniel PhD, sits on the board of directors and has written an entire book attacking soya (The Whole Soy Story). Curiously, this group appears to spend more time attacking soya than promoting the foods they say we should be eating (unpasteurised “raw” milk, cream, cheese, eggs, liver, etc).

One of the concerns raised about soya is that the phytoestrogens (plant hormones) found in soya foods may disrupt sexual development and affect fertility. If there was any evidence for this in humans at all, the UK government would have banned soya infant formula or at least issued health warnings.

Even after commissioning a 440-page investigation into the safety of soya – they have not issued such warnings because there was no evidence for any harmful effect. The 2003 Department of Health’s committee on toxicity report acknowledged that there was no evidence that people who regularly eat high quantities of soya, such as the Chinese and Japanese, have altered sexual development or impaired fertility. It should be remembered that China is the world’s most populous nation, with over 1.3 billion citizens, and who have been consuming soya for over 3,000 years.

In reality, there is no scientific evidence that the consumption of soya is harmful to humans. The majority of what the WAPF says is anecdotal, untrue or based on scientifically flawed animal experiments. First, phytoestrogens behave differently in different species, so animal studies are not applicable to humans. Second, the intestines act as a barrier to phytoestrogens, so artificially boosting levels in animals by injection has no relevance. Finally, many of these experiments have exposed animals to phytoestrogens at levels many, many times higher than those absorbed by people eating soya.

More and more scientists and doctors are acknowledging that the results of animal experiments should not form the basis of a public health policy.Dr Kenneth Setchell, professor of paediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, states that mice, rats and monkeys all metabolise soya isoflavones differently from humans and that the only appropriate model for examining human reproductive development is the human infant. About 25% of infants in the US are fed soya formula. Many of them are now well into their late 30s and early 40s. The absence of any reported ill-effects would suggest there are none, either biological or clinical.

In fact, soya beans contain a wide range of valuable nutrients and are an excellent source of protein. Evidence shows that soya protein lowers cholesterol and protects against cardiovascular disease. Soya foods protect against diabetes, menopausal hot flushes and certain cancers. There is good evidence that eating soya foods in adolescence and as an adult lowers the risk of breast cancer. Recent evidence showed that this protective effect of soya also applies to women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Soya foods may also help boost bone health and cognitive ability in some people. The number of peer-reviewed scientific studies reporting the beneficial health effects of soya continues to grow.

As a last resort, the soya detractors have attempted to condemn soya by citing the environmental impact soya farming is having on the Amazonian rain forest. They are quite right to be concerned, but people eating soya is not the problem; 80% of the world’s soya production is fed to livestock so that people can eat meat and dairy foods.

Both the rain forests and our health would benefit tremendously if more people switched from animal-based foods to a more plant-based diet, including soya.

The next time you hear some daft story about soya wreaking havoc on human health or the environment, ask where the evidence is.

The Hunger Argument

Number of people worldwide who will die of starvation this year: 60 million
Number of people who could be adequately fed with the grain saved if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10%: 60 million
Human beings in America: 243 million
Number of people who could be fed with grain and soybeans now eaten by U.S. livestock: 1.3 billion
Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by people: 20
Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 80
Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90
How frequently a child starves to death: every 2 seconds
Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on an acre: 20,000
Pounds of beef produced on an acre: 165
Percentage of U.S. farmland devoted to beef production: 56
Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce a pound of feedlot beef: 16

The Environmental Argument

Cause of global warming: greenhouse effect
Primary cause of greenhouse effect: carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels
Fossil fuels needed to produce a meat-centered diet vs. a meat-free diet: 50 times more
Percentage of U.S. topsoil lost to date: 75
Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly related to livestock raising: 85
Number of acres of U.S. forest cleared for cropland to produce meat-centered diet: 260 mllion
Amount of meat U.S. imports annually from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras
and Panama: 200,000,000 pounds
Average per capita meat consumption in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras
and Panama: less than eaten by average U.S. house cat
Area of tropical rainforest consumed in every quarter-pound hamburger: 55 sq. ft
Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests for meat grazing and other uses: 1000 per year

The Cancer Argument

Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat four times a week vs. less than once a week: 4 times
For women who eat eggs daily vs. less than once a week: 3 times
For women who eat butter and cheese 3 or more times a week vs. less than once: 3 times
Increased risk of fatal ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or more times a week vs. less than once a week: 3 times
Increased risk of fatal prostate cancer for men who consume meat, cheese, eggs and milk daily vs. sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times

The Natural Resources Argument

User of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the U.S.: livestock production
Amount of water used in production of the average cow: sufficient to float a destroyer
Gallons to produce a pound of wheat: 25
Gallons to produce a pound of meat: 2,500
Cost of common hamburger if water used by meat industry was not subsidized by the U.S. taxpayer: $35 a pound
Current cost of a pound of protein from beefsteak, if water was no longer subsidized: $89.
Years the world’s known oil reserves would last if every human ate a meat-centered diet: 13
Years they would last if human beings no longer ate meat: 260
Barrels of oil imported into U.S. daily: 6.8 million
Percentage of fossil fuel energy returned as food energy by the most efficient factory farming of meat: 34.5 percent.
Percentage returned from least efficient plant food: 328 percent
Perccentage of raw materials consumed by U.S. to produce present meat-centered diet: 33

The Cholesterol Argument

Number of U.S. Medical Schools: 125
Number requiring a course in nutrition: 30
Nutrition training received by average U.S. physician during four years in medical school: 2.5 hours
Most common cause of death in the U.S.: heart attack
How frequently a heart attack kills in the U.S.: every 45 seconds
Average U.S. man’s risk of death from heart attack: 50 percent
Risk for average U.S. man who avoids the meat centered diet: 15 percent
Risk for average U.S. man who consumes no meat, dairy products or eggs at all: 4 percent
Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of meat, dairy products and eggs by 10 percent: 9 percent
Amount you reduce risk if you reduce consumption by 50 percent: 45 percent
Amount you reduce risk if you eliminate these foodstuffs from your diet entirely: 90 percent
Meat, dairy and egg industries claim you should not be concerned about your blood cholesterol if it is: “normal”
Your risk of dying of a disease caused by clogged arteries if your blood cholesterol is “normal”: over 50 percent

The Antibiotic Argument

Percentage of U.S. antibiotics fed to livestock: 55
Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13
Percentage resistant in 1988: 91
Response of European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: ban
Response of U.S. meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: full and complete support

The Pesticide Argument

Percentage of pesticide residues in the U.S. diet supplied by grains: 1
Percentage of pesticide residues in the U.S. diet supplied by fruits: 4
Percentage of pesticide residues in the U.S. diet supplied by vegetables: 6
Percentage of pesticide residues in the U.S. diet supplied by dairy products: 23
Percentage of pesticide residues in the U.S. diet supplied by meat: 55
Pesticide contamination of breast milk from meat eating mothers vs. non-meat eating: 35 times higher
What USDA tells us: meat is inspected
Percentage of slaughtered animals inspected for residues of toxic chemicals including dioxin and DDT: less than 0.00004

The Ethical Argument

Number of animals killed for meat per hour in the U.S.: 500,000
Occupation with highest turnover rate in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker
Occupation with the highest rate of on-the-job injury in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker
Cost to render animal unconscious with “captive bolt pistol” before slaughter: 1 cent
Reason given by meat industry for not using “captive bolt pistol”: too expensive

(Source)

Video resources for Vegan and Animal Rights Information.

thelittlevegan:

Films/Documentaries

Home

Earthlings

Meat the Truth

Behind the Mask

A Delicate Balance

Gary Yourofsky’s Animal Rights Speech

Savannah to the rescue again! These are some great sources, definitely check all of these out if you are at all interested in animal rights or vegetarianism/veganism