Argumentative Essay On Veganism

Although veganism is commonly viewed as a diet, it is also a lifestyle for most vegans. To elaborate, an increasing number of people are becoming vegan for reasons other than dieting. For instance, due to the rising awareness of how cruelly animals are treated in the animal agriculture industry, many people do not eat meat or consume animal products for ethical reasons. In fact, in the article “Are You Willing to Change your Diet,” Colman McCarthy states, “Worldwide, more than 6 million animals are killed for food every hour” (McCarthy 3). For some, veganism is just a diet, but facts like these that go against one’s ethics or morals inspires many to live a vegan lifestyle along with the diet. People become vegan for ethical reasons, personal …show more content…
That’s 28 animals killed for every US resident” (McDermott 2). These statistics show the tremendous number of animal deaths that happen because of the meat industry not including the number of sea animals killed. Vegans hope to reduce these numbers by consuming fewer to no animal products at all. Many people are concerned with the psychological wellbeing of animals too. In an essay called “Adverse Impact of Industrial Animal Agriculture on the Health and Welfare of Farmed Animals,” Joyce D’Silva talks about the treatment of calves in factory farming. She states, “The low-iron liquid diet is fed so that the flesh produced will be the “white veal” that is most favored by gourmet restaurant. This means that the calf may be constantly on the verge of clinical anemia” (D’Silva 3). This is a disturbing fact that reflects the type of unhealthy experience this industry allows animals to have. The mistreatment of animals, specifically the calves in this example, goes against a vegan’s morals and ethics and some of their religious beliefs, such as Hinduism in India. As stated in “The Vegan Diet” by Sandra Hood, “Veganism can be defined as a way of living that seeks to exclude, as far as possible and practical, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals in the production of food, clothing or for any other purpose” (Hood 1). In other words, vegans do not consume animal products in hopes to reduce the exploitation of …show more content…
Some people that have rheumatoid arthritis find that a vegan diet can eliminate inflammation and other painful symptoms. Furthermore, in a study about the effects of a vegan diet on people with rheumatoid arthritis, it is stated that “…individuals with moderate to severe RA who switch to a very low-fat, animal-food–free diet can experience significant reductions in the symptoms of their disease” (McDougall 5). This article shows that going vegan can help ease symptoms of chronic pain disorders, such as the inflammation that results from arthritis bur other symptoms, too, like body pain from fibromyalgia. Others may be vegan because they are obese and want to lose weight through a plant-based or even whole foods diet. Although some are not motivated by current health issues, they are vegan to eat healthier to prevent future disease caused by things like eating red meat. In fact, in an article about red meat consumption and its connection to cardiovascular disease, Sofia Bronzato states, “Red meat is historically referred to increase CVD due to its saturated fatty acids (SFAs) content. Since then, the dietary guidance of developed countries suggested to limit red meat consumption” (Bronzato 2). In short, reducing the consumption of red meat will significantly reduce one’s risk of heart