Why Are You Glad You Don't Eat Animals? June 10, 2009

I get a reminder everyday. I know I'm standing up for something right, what I believe in. At my school there are alot of kids that are completely in the dark about veganism and vegetarianism, and they're afraid of change. I've taked to alot of people I hangout with about it and they seem more open to the fact of "hey, maybe something wrong is going on here, maybe i shouldn't exploit animals."

I get picked on alot for it too, because apparently giving a shit about something living and breathing,and caring about something that has the same level of emotions as a human is pretty "gay".

Over all, when I see my family reaching for soy margerine rather than butter, or reaching for animal friendly products when we go to the store, I feel like I've helped them out too.

I'm really stoked on the amazing amounts of food around that can be used as a vegan alternative. I wouldn't change being a vegan for anything.

Thanks PETA.

:)

I just love animals so much. We kill the most innocent things on the planet for our food. I live in a small town with lots of dairy and egg farms. They're small, and abuse doesnt happen on these farms, but when I see them in there small little areas of land, i think to myself, wow im so glad im vegan and i dont contribute to the using of animals for selfish purposes like taking the milk that should go to their babies and the eggs that contain the chickens children half the time.

I help the environment, I am preventing cruelty to animals, and I am following God's will: "A good man has consideration for the life of his animal."

ive been a vegetarian for almost two years , and i have very , very cold friends .

i eat tofurky at lunch and someones always bitching on me about "gay" that is . my one friend is very skinny and eats like a very obese man . sheel eat anything you place infront of her . she thought she was eating a hamburger . it was a boca buger =] . and then she screamed at me =/ .

but , im proud to be veg bc it makes me unique .

I get reminded every time I wake up and look at my two beautiful cats, my fish and my guines pig. I get reminded walking to school every morning and seeing someone walking their dog. I get reminded every time I walk by the meat section of the grocery store. I get reminded every time I see a new peta vid. When I see any animal suffering I do everything I can to get it to stop and of course it duscusts me but it makes me happy inside to know that no matter what I do or where I go, I am a vegan and I can go to sleep at night knowing that I am preventing the suffering of hundreds of innocent animals.

I always get a reminder when I go over my family's house and I get my own little cruelty-free meal. It's fun getting my own food! haha, & I always get reminders when I visit this site everyday.

It's these stats:

The Hunger Argument

Number of people worldwide who will die as a result of malnutrition this year: 20 million
Number of people who could be adequately fed using land freed if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10%: 100 million
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 oats grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 95
Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90
How frequently a child dies as a result of malnutrition: every 2.3 seconds
Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on an acre: 40,000
Pounds of beef produced on an acre: 250
Percentage of U.S. farmland devoted to beef production: 56
Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce a pound of edible flesh from 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 meat-centered diet vs. a meat-free diet: 3 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 million
Amount of meat imported to U.S. annually from Central and South America: 300,000,000 pounds
Percentage of Central American children under the age of five who are undernourished: 75
Area of tropical rainforest consumed in every quarter-pound of rainforest beef: 55 square feet
Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests for meat grazing and other uses: 1,000 per year

The Cancer Argument

Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat daily compared to less than once a week: 3.8 times
For women who eat eggs daily compared to once a week: 2.8 times
For women who eat butter and cheese 2-4 times a week: 3.25 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 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 of average U.S. man who eats no meat: 15 percent
Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat, dairy or eggs: 4 percent
Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of meat, dairy and eggs by 10 percent: 9 percent
Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption by 50 percent: 45 percent
Amount you reduce risk if you eliminate meat, dairy and eggs from your diet: 90 percent
Average cholesterol level of people eating meat-centered-diet: 210 mg/dl
Chance of dying from heart disease if you are male and your blood cholesterol level is 210 mg/dl: greater than 50 percent

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 of water needed to produce a pound of wheat: 25
Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of California beef: 5,000
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
Calories of fossil fuel expended to get 1 calorie of protein from beef: 78
To get 1 calorie of protein from soybeans: 2
Percentage of all raw materials (base products of farming, forestry and mining, including fossil fuels) consumed by U.S. that is devoted to the production of livestock: 33
Percentage of all raw materials consumed by the U.S. needed to produce a complete vegetarian diet: 2

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

Common belief: U.S. Department of Agriculture protects our health through meat inspection
Reality: fewer than 1 out of every 250,000 slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues
Percentage of U.S. mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 99
Percentage of U.S. vegetarian mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 8
Contamination of breast milk, due to chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides in animal products, found in meat-eating mothers vs. non-meat eating mothers: 35 times higher
Amount of Dieldrin ingested by the average breast-fed American infant: 9 times the permissible level

The Ethical Argument

Number of animals killed for meat per hour in the U.S.: 660,000
Occupation with highest turnover rate in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker
Occupation with highest rate of on-the-job-injury in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker

The Survival Argument

Athlete to win Ironman Triathlon more than twice: Dave Scott (6 time winner)
Food choice of Dave Scott: Vegetarian
Largest meat eater that ever lived: Tyrannosaurus Rex (Where is he today?)

The thing that makes me happy to be a vegetarian every day, is really just knowing that I'm acutally doing something with my life to help other living things. Especailly a living creature that can't defend itself against the cruel and insane people who kill it.

One other major thing that makes me happy to not eat animals, is at my work when people buy meat and I have to ring it through. all the blood and meat juice gets onto my hands and is instantly sticky and forms a kind of layer on my skin.. it reminds me that I'm glad I don't put that into my body.

Also, most of the peole that buy the meat are overweight and clearly unhealthy ... and I don't want to be like that.

That was longer then I wanted it to be lolz. XD

I'm not vegan, i'm vegetarian, but i am so very glad to be.
It can be as simple as driving by kfc, and then i realize how many animals i'm helping.
:D
♥

Im not vegan, but vegetarian. I am reminded every time I look at meat, every time I hear/smell bacon cooking. Ever time I go by a farm and see animals grazing in fields. Every time anything about meat is brought uo, and all I can think about is factory farms... and those animals dying for no good reason.

I get a reminder of why I'm glad to be vegan everyime my dad cooks supper for our family. It just stinks so bad!

I get another reminder when I watch people eat meat. They're chomping down on decomposing flesh and tearing it off like savage beasts.

I get another reminder when I eat vegan deserts like vegan icecream and vegan brownies. It's healthier for you, tastes better, and less fattening.

I get another reminder when I go to the doctor, because I know my chances of getting cancer is lower.

I'm reminded how glad I am that I'm vegan when I see all the disgusting meat ,egg and dairy ads on t.v. I'm glad that I know how cruel and unhealthy animal by products and meat is and will never fall for the fake t.v. ads.

I'm reminded why I'm vegan everytime I look at any animal because I can see how inocent and cute it is and can't imagine eating it! I'm soo glad I'm not one of those people who goes around saying how much they love animals and then goes to KFC, gives them money to support their cruelty and them chows down on dead animal flesh!I'm very glad to be a vegan!

I love being vegan!!! Something little happens everyday that makes me so happy that im vegan. Obviously seeing people eating meat or animal products makes me feel good about veganism. But even little things like walking into the grocery store, walking right past the dairy section and meat section and seeing all the awesome vegan choices I can have. Just seeing soy ice cream is awesome.

I love being vegan! It makes me feel like I can play a role (even if its a very small one) in stopping animal abuse. I don't feel deprieved at all because I've simply lost my appitite for all meat and dairy-laden food. I don't feel restricted at all either because there are so many vegan versions of my old favorites! Plus, actually have more muscle now, than I did previously! :)

I'm glad that I'm a vegan because I'm standing up for what I believe is right. The thing that reminds me of how good it is to be vegan is all the tasty food I eat. It's not the same as eating the original versions of meat, dairy, and eggs, but they're close and tastier than the originals.

I'm Vegetarian, and once I move out of my not so vegan friendly town I'll covert to being vegan. I'm reminded why I'm Vegetarian every time I go to the grocery store and see the pre-cooked meals. There's this one section devoted to chicken and, I don't know what it's called, but the chicken still looks like the chicken with it's head cut off. It kills me, because I know that it once had a head and was alive. It makes me happy knowing that I, and people like us, have saved at least one chickens life by choosing not to eat it.

im not vegan yet but im a strict vegetarian of 5 years. whenever i see advertising of dead organs i just think to my self, "wow, thts nasty, im glad im not a cannible," but guys think about it! its so true! its cold blooded murder and cannibalism combined. how sick is that? whenever u see ur friends/family eat meet, tell 'em that!
peace and love
~Emilee

Yeah I'm not a vegan but vegetarian. I get a reminder of why im glad every time I ruin one of my best friends appetite by asking her why she is eating burned flesh. It's really fun. But my best friend in the entire world is a vegetarian with me and we help each other deal with the stupid ignorant people who sit there and say that I'm making a stupid choice by not eating innocent creatures. Love this site btw, it totally opened my eyes to the horrible things happening.

I love being vegan. I'm glad every thime i go out w my friends. I cant understand how flesh could be yum to them. I know part of it is that they tase me but still im so glad that is not in me. And when i see someone drinking milk and just to think it has puss in it. GRoss!

I am usaully tempted but then mini videos of pigs in small steel crates screaming,chickens with broken limbs being tossed around, and cows with swollen and infected utters playing in my head make them go away pretty quick!!!

I love being a vegetarian because I've found a way to speak for those who don't have voice. I've always been that type of person and I hope to continue.I've only been a vegetarian for a month.. and even though I get made fun of at times.. I just put a smile on my face because I know I'm not the one that's going to be obese. And I love this site it's open my eyes and showed me what's going on around the world.

I feel that I have helped a LOT with saving animals. I go on peta in most of my free time to see what more I can do. At school, we did presentations on anything we wanted. I chose vegetarianism and what the slaughterhouses do to the animals. I got deep into my classmates skin and many realized what goes on and asked me different ways they could help. All of a sudden, there are so many vegetarians at my school and I am Known for that. I get asked about it a lot, like the reasons of WHY I am vegetarian. I say, "Everyplace may not be cruel to the animals during slaughter but some are, and what is the risk that I am going to eat an animal that was killed in that kind of torture." I also get asked if I should eat kosher meat instead. To me, that makes no sense, because I am positive that to that animal it makes no difference what you do to it before you kill it. Just the fact that it is going to die for people to eat, just because they like the taste. I love being vegetarian. *Christofer Drew, is the one that got me to go*

Thank you, PETA:D

I'm not a vegan, but a vegetarian. I only became a vegetarian about a month ago, but I already feel so much better about my health, my body and the fact that I am helping animals. When I was a non-vegetarian, I didn't eat much beef, pork, or fish. I had chicken a lot, and that was the hardest thing to give up. Sometimes I'm tempted, but I have not once given in. My skin has cleared up dramatically, I've lost weight, I feel great and I know it's because I cut flesh out of my diet.

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