What Other Reasons Are There for Going Plant Based?

Published by Kickin' Vegan on April 15, 2020April 15, 2020

Hey Kickin’ Vegan…Health, Weight Loss, Energy, and Budget…these are all great reasons for going plant based, but, are there other benefits or reasons that people decide to go plant based? 

Healthiness Maxed

I am always going to stand firmly on my nutrition based soap box.  The main reason I want to be an ambassador of Plant Based Living is so that people can be HAPPIER! 

Happiness follows when you are feeling fantastic, looking and feeling fit and full of energy, even into your later years. Happiness comes when you are free from the trappings of obesity related illnesses caused by the consumption of animal products. 

My mission is to remove the old and dated concept of what people think of vegans. In order to do that, I am passionate about showcasing all of the benefits of this much healthier life. I will show that  myself, my fellow plant based folks, my family and my followers are leading the charge as fun, exciting, adventurous, sexy, healthy, beasts! We are unstoppable and so are our smiles and our limitless potential for happiness, fun and adventure. 

Are there other reasons to go plant based?

Oh ABSOLUTELY! Huge reasons. HUGE. I for one, choose to lean into the positive, because there are some very inconvenient and hard to hear truths about animal consumption in our world, and speaking out often causes controversy. 

SO BE WARNED! HARD TO HEAR TRUTHS AHEAD!

I am never here to judge anyone for their choices, but I will absolutely advocate for knowing the truth about what you put into your mouth and the repercussions it has in order for you to make an educated and informed choice. So what am I talking about? 

The choice to go Plant Based falls into three main categories: 

• Nutrition

• Animal Welfare

• Global Impact 

Since all I ever go on about is the nutrition aspects, we are going to discuss the other two. 

Animal Welfare

Awww! Friends not Food, Y’all!

 We LOVE animals! They are so cute and sweet and loving and adorable! So how could we possibly eat them? There is a serious separation of reality between the loving adorable creatures and the packaged product we consume them in. It is called, “carnism.”

The name changes. The look. It’s called ‘food.’ We are told that it is healthy and even necessary for us. We are the top of the food chain. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. 

In the news, a city in China has been legally banned from selling the meat of dogs and cats for the first time in Chinese history.  Judgy Americans and Europeans scoffed in disgust that anyone could ever eat adorable little cats and dogs. They are pets, we love them! Ikea went under scrutiny a few years ago for selling horse meat. Again with the judgy OMG! Cries of cruelty. Well, it is EQUALLY horrific to eat cows, rabbits, pigs and chickens. There is literally no difference when it comes to animal cruelty. 

Cows and Pigs are more intelligent than dogs and cats. They are adorable, they are sentient. They love and fear. And they have the most brutally horrific lives on our planet. 

I do not choose to share the horrors that are within the daily existence of animals in the food industry, but if you have some vision of happy cows skipping through green sunlit pastures, and that is where your milk and burgers come from, ya crazy. 

If you think dairy and cheese are fine, they aren’t killing the animals, ya also crazy. 

It’s not your fault, the media has played their role. I do not suggest it, but if you are curious look into it. Check out PETA and some animal activism and the footage they uncover about what really happens. Learn about the Ag-Gag laws. 

It’s important to me, so I do watch those videos. I like to be fully aware of what we are systematically doing to living beings. It keeps me motivated and driven to follow my purpose. But I would NEVER let my children see that stuff, and I won’t post any links. Looking at that must be your choice. But please, don’t kid yourself that the flesh you’re eating is made of joy. Happy Meals, my butt. 

I am also a big believer in all of the energy of the universe, and the law of attraction, and how it transfers.  Think of the power energetically, when you consume the flesh of an animal that has known nothing but torture and fear its entire life. No thank you!

OK, that got deep. Choose for yourself to investigate, as I lightly step away. 

Global Implications

Our house, is a very very very fine house.

Animal agriculture is the biggest producer of pollutants and contamination and overuse of land in the world. I have often heard the argument that more land is being used to grow plants than is used for animals. Well- most of those plants are animal feed. If we were to feed the plants directly to people instead of to animals so that we could consume them, we would immediately have the capacity to feed the world. World Starvation eliminated. 

I’ve heard some ridiculous claims that the animals would overrun the earth if we didn’t eat them. Are you freakin kidding me? We are BREEDING them for consumption. We aren’t going to be overrun with wild cows and pigs. Just chill. 

There are a lot of fear based and angry rebuttals to the impact of the animal industry, and they have all been reduced to nothing with actual facts. Please beware of jumping on unresearched bandwagons, you don’t even have to believe in global warming, but you do have to accept that animal agriculture is a huge participant, whether the earth cycles through its phases on its own or not. Why press the fast forward button?

We have a new consideration as well. It’s not actually a new consideration, but it has all of a sudden dawned on lots of people that it didn’t before. The spread of infectious disease. Animal borne illnesses are proving to have massive global repercussions. Yes, Corona has brought our attention to it front and center. 

But it’s always been there. Salmonella. Listeria, Toxoplasmosis, Norovirus. The list is actually quite extensive. Our animal foods are highly contaminated, especially in the U.S. The standards for food are hideous. The feces content on ANY meat you buy at the store would bring you to your knees. (In front of your toilet.) This is exactly why we have temperature recommendations for cooking, it’s to kill the poop contaminants. And it’s nearly impossible to keep out of your kitchen. They’ve done splatter test studies using blacklights of food preparation in a home kitchen, even while using gloves, and cleaning top to bottom with bleach. It still ends up everywhere. 

Anytime you hear of a plant food being recalled for contamination, like spinach or what have you, it is due to agricultural runoff. They are victims of unsanitary practices, many of which are legally perfectly acceptable. I could go on and on, and end up sounding like a conspiracy theorist, sharing how the government and the deep pockets of the meat, dairy, and egg industries are ruining our lives and our planet, but you know what? Let’s just talk about how much better you’ll feel when you are fueled by plants and how much healthier you will be! Do it for the longevity and better life! 

If it interests you, feel free to begin your research. I have been reading up and staying abreast on these topics for over 30 years, and I don’t recommend it as a good headspace for anyone. (Except for me, so that I can lead people to a happier existence, of course!) 

So yes, plant based living has a huge impact on our planet, on the animals, and on our health. So if you have made the decision to go for it, good for you, I am so proud and you have reaped the rewards of some awesome side effects! 

If you are not ready to fully make the leap, then that’s okay! But be aware that there are other considerations, and they may help to motivate you. If you still want to eat meat and dairy, that’s okay too, but KNOW what your choices mean. If you want to smoke, I won’t judge you, but I know that you are fully aware of its repercussions. All I ask is that you go in with the same awareness with your consumption of food.

I hope for this world that meat becomes something like cigarettes. We KNOW it isn’t good for us or the planet, but it tastes so good, so someone may choose to eat it sometimes, when tempted, but while being fully aware of what they are doing in the process. 

The future is vegan. For sustainability, for the better of our health and that of the planet, and for heaven sakes, for the bunnies, y’all! The cute ass little chicks and bunnies and baby cows and goats!

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