animal rescue
Why Vegan?
Why do people decide to become vegan? There are many reasons that inspire people to become vegan, generally speaking, they fall into three categories, for the animals, for the environment, or for health. Let's explore each of these reasons.
For the Animals
We kill 56 billion land animals globally - not counting aquatic animals - every year. Most people agree with the idea that it is wrong to inflict unnecessary suffering and death on animals, and whilst everyone’s definition of “necessary” might differ, we cannot justify suffering for reasons of pleasure, amusement or convenience.
The reality of what we do is at odds with this. We don’t need to eat animals to be happy and healthy. Indeed the best justification we have for inflicting suffering and death on those 56 billion animals each year is only that they ‘taste good’. Whilst, on the one hand, we believe it’s wrong to inflict unnecessary suffering on animals - on the other we participate in this regularly.
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“There's great joy in living my values. What’s the use in having values if they don’t manifest themselves in our behavior? And how many of us actually do translate our values into action? It’s nice to say that we want to be kind, compassionate, caring, trustworthy, helpful people.
It’s nice to say that we’re against violence and cruelty. Most of us are. But how many of us actually take these abstract values and put them into concrete action? Well, for me, being vegan, which extends to every area of my life, is an opportunity to do just that: to put my abstract values into concrete action.
By choosing not to eat what is essentially the used up and mutilated bodies of animals, I’m saying “yes” to my values of peace, of kindness towards others, of compassion, of empathy, of freedom, and simplicity. By choosing to look at what happens to other animals – human and nonhuman – on my behalf, for my convenience, I am saying “yes” to my values of accountability, of responsibility, of commitment to truth and knowledge. By standing up for what I believe in and fighting on behalf of those who have no voice, no rights, I’m saying “yes” to my values of justice, of service to others, of selflessness, courage, and unity.
I can't imagine a more powerful and joyful way to live.” Colleen Patrick Goudreau
For the Environment
Animal agriculture is one of the leading cause of global warming, water usage, oceanic dead zones, land clearing, species extinction, suffering and death, yet most people are largely unaware of the impact what they eat has on our planet. So what are some of the facts?
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Water Use
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1 hamburger = 3000 litres of water = equivalent to showering for 2 months
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Meat & Dairy industries use 1/3 of Earths freshwater
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Water use = 5% consumed by Private Homes Vs 55% consumed by Animal Agriculture
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Deforestation
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Animal Agriculture is responsible for 91% of
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Amazon forest deforestation
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Area of Rainforest cleared:
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Palm Oil = 105 billion m squared vs
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Animal Ag = 550 billion m squared
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1-2 Acres of rainforest are cleared every second
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Land Use
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1/3 of land is desertified due to livestock
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Livestock covers 45% of the Earths total land
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1.5 acres of land can produce:
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16,783 kg of plant-based food or 170 kg of meatx
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1 hamburger = 3,000 litres of water
Land needed to feed 1 person for 1 year:
vegan = 674m2 vs
meat eater: 12,132m2 (18 x vegan)
Fisheries
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80.4 metric tons of fish are pulled from the oceans each year
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¾ of the world's fisheries are exploited
Species extinction
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110 animal and insect species are lost every day from rainforest destruction
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Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution and habitat destruction
Climate Change
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Global Greenhouse Emissions
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51% due to livestock
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13% due to transport (road, rail, air & marine)
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Feeding the world
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We are currently growing enough food to feed 10 billion people
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Worldwide, at least 50% of grain is fed to livestock
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82% of starving children live in countries where food is fed to animals,
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and the animals are eaten by western countries
The waste from a farm of 2500 dairy cows is equal to the waste from a city of 411,000 people - that’s the size of Canberra!
