Vegan Facts and Myths
Typical questions and answers faced by vegans explained.
"We are born meat-eaters and need meat to survive."
♥ In fact, the contrary is true. If you really think about it, when we are born, the only thing we need for survival is our mother's breast milk. Children and adults alike do not look at animals and think "Mmm, lunch." Generally, a person's natural reaction on seeing an animal is "Aww, cute." Many meat-eaters would not kill an animal themselves. Look at English TV presenter George Lamb, who had to kill a goat as part of a reality TV show and felt so guilty afterwards, he made the compassionate decision to become vegetarian. Vegetarians and Vegans are living, breathing proof that we do not need meat in our diets to survive.
"We need meat for protein. It's also the best source of iron. Without it, we would be anemic."
♥ Where meat contains high protein, it certainly isn't the
best source, in fact the worst. Red meats are high in fat and is extrememly
unhealthy. It is associated with high cholesterol levels, increased chance of
heart disease, stroke and certain cancers. There are many healthier sources of
protein which can be obtained from beans, chick peas, lentils and green peas,
to name a few.
"We are at the top of the food chain. Wild animals eat other animals to survive, it's natural that we do it also."
♥ I hate this argument. When I hear the words "at the top
of the food chain" I just want to scream "bully". Just because
we CAN do a thing, doesn't mean we should. Yes, wild animals like foxes hunt
rabbits, which does make me sad but I understand that they DO need to do that
to survive. You wouldn't see a fox or a lion walking about your local Tesco
with a trolley would you? But WE can! We can live on rice, pasta and fresh
vegetables that other species do not have access to.
"Just because I stop eating meat, it won't make a difference. Animals will still continue to be killed for food anyway."
♥ Is just the kind of attitude that keeps the meat industry
going. Think about it this way, we will not ever be able to stop child abuse
from happening. But does this mean we should take part in it? Or keep queit
about it? NO! Absolutely not. The fact is, if you can open your heart and eyes
just a little bit, you too can make the change for a better world. Remember
that one person really CAN make a difference!
"God put animals here for us to eat. Remember the caveman days?"
♥ I'm not religious, but I will give you a reminder of that song with the words "all God's creatures great and small" that I remember singing so often in school. Animals are God's creatures too. If God put them here for us to eat, he wouldn't have provided so many delicious vegetables which provide us with protein. I will also remind you of a quote from the Bible: "Thou shall not kill". A burger was once a cow, it was once alive, only to lie a short life to be killed for somebody's dinner plate. We are not cave people any more. Read above and remind yourself of all the delicious options we have in our local stores. Think about all the food-related diseases that have originated from animal consumption: E-coli, food poisoning, cross-conatimation from raw meat-fresh vegetables, BSE, Bird Flu, Swine Flu. Perhaps this is God's way of telling us not to eat animals. If Jesus were alive today, he'd be a Vegan!