Minnie Explains it All

Ellen Degeneres: Why Go Vegan?


Living a Cruelty-free Lifestyle
It is obvious that in order to eat meat, an animal had to be slaughtered, but the issues of cruelty go far beyond just the death of an animal. The lives of animals raised to be slaughtered are miserable. Often packed into close quarters, many animals are unable to lie down or turn around, and the hygiene is terrible. Many slaughter methods are imperfect and cause great suffering before death.

Even animals that are not raised for food are poorly treated. Chickens that provide eggs for consumption often spend their entire lives in a cage no bigger than a piece of notebook paper, and dairy cows face abuse and mistreatment in addition to being injected with hormones to facilitate milk production. A person who wishes to live a cruelty-free life chooses to remove him or herself from any participation in this process.

Help the Environment
Farms used for meat and dairy production are incredible sources of waste and air pollution. One large farm can create more waste than the entire city of Los Angeles! The Environmental Protection Agency considers manure one of the top 10 pollutants, and US farms create 2 billion tons of it each year.

Reduce Famine
More than 70% of grain produced in the US is fed to animals raised for slaughter. In order to get just one pound of meat, it takes a full 15 pounds of grain. If this grain were given directly to people, there would be enough food to feed everyone. Also, the land that the animals are raised on can be used to grow significantly more food than the land currently provides.

Save Water
With drought-like conditions all across the country, water is getting more and more valuable. It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce just one pound of meat, as opposed to just 25 gallons for one pound of grain.

It's Never Been Easier!
Major supermarkets are carrying more vegan-friendly options than ever before, and thanks to the Internet, you can have food sent directly to your own home. It has never been easier to make the transition to being vegan, so why not now?

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