Vegan Resolutions: 3 Reasons to Consider Going Vegan & Living a Kinder Lifestyle by Sara Saidy

Have you ever considered a vegan lifestyle? Believe it or not it’s not as scary as you might think! A vegan lifestyle is one where you would avoid consuming animal products by choice.There are many reasons to consider a kinder lifestyle in the new year. Let’s explore some of the more important ones:

• Animals: I love the way PETA puts it: “Animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment or abuse in any other way.” I believe it is our responsibility to stand up for those who can’t defend themselves and living a vegan lifestyle is a great way to do that. Lead by example! More so, it is absolutely not necessary for animals to suffer for us. There are better, smarter and safer alternatives.
  

• Your Health: The American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics considers a vegan diet healthful, nutritionally adequate and appropriate for all ages, in all stages of life cycle. Research has linked vegan diets with lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, lower risk of type 2 diabetes, lower rates of heart disease, weight loss, lower rates of some types of cancer and premature death.
  

• The Planet: A vegan diet requires far less land, crops and water than a meat and dairy diet. Factory farming is a major contributor to deforestation, water and air pollution. Factory farming is a system of raising livestock using intensive methods, by which the animals are confined indoors under strictly controlled conditions. Factory farms are the main sources of greenhouse gases and a major contributor to climate change.
  

Even though a vegan diet is beneficial to our health and our planet’s health, it is only a part of the lifestyle. There are many other ways that animal products creep into our lives including the clothes that we wear, medications and supplements that we take, cosmetic products that we use, wine that we drink and much more. Although it’s extremely difficult to avoid animal derived products completely, there are many ways to minimize their use and thus minimize the impact on your health, the animals and our planet.

What’s important here is progress, not perfection! And let me tell you something you may not know: nobody is a 100-percent vegan. We are all “vegan-ish.” Going vegan-ish is a process and for most people it doesn’t happen overnight and that’s OK. I recommend taking it slow and having fun with it!

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