Animals. Friends not Food

A simple enquiry is all that is required to transform your universe.

A summer morning in 2016, my first thought of the day was a question to myself. A question that would go on to change my life for the better. Why do I eat animals? A simple question, and a moment of clarity broke away an unconscious program I had been running my entire life. It was the break of this program that allowed me to begin transcending my senses and never again be tempted by the thought of eating animals. Over 50 billion land animals and over 90 billion marine animals loose their lives each year due to humans not making these enquiries with themselves. We live by a false perception, believing the nutrients from animals are required for a healthy life. There are an abundant amount of reasons to choose a plant based diet, science has proven this in the past, it is proving it now, and it will continue to prove it in the future.

Consuming meat creates an immune response that causes inflammation in our bodies. Inflammation causes a biological response, such as cell deterioration and infections. The saturated fats and endotoxins from meat consumption act as a stimuli for the inflammation to thrive within your body in the wrong conditions. Cooking meat including organic, forms compounds which are carcinogenic, pro-inflammatory and pro-oxidative, these can contribute to chronic diseases. The only way to remove this risk is to choose a fully plant based diet.

There are fruits that boost your mood, and vegetables that are naturally anti-inflammatory due to their high antioxidant and fibre content.

This goodness provided through our soils offer our bodies an enhancement to our immune systems. Therefore these food types should be seen as medicinal. Turmeric has been a part of my diet since childhood. My mother would add it to every dish she cooked. Every injury, cold or health concern was always fought with turmeric. Only in recent years Turmeric has become widespread in the western world, known for its anti inflammatory and anti septic properties, the wonder food has become mainstream for the world to benefit from. Whilst preparing a piece of fruit or vegetable, an observation of its beauty should show you these are wonder foods that have been overlooked as mere accompaniments to our everyday meals. The consumption of acid forming animal products such as meats, eggs and dairy can lead to a high dietary acid load. By contrast, fruits and vegetables are naturally alkaline foods.

By avoiding animal products, the quality of gastrointestinal microbiome improves drastically in our bodies. However our digestive system becomes overridden with harmful bacteria when consuming meat that adds a strain on the liver, which as a consequence creates a toxin called trimethylamine oxide. At high levels this toxin is responsible for increasing the risk of heart disease and high cholesterol. Insulin in our bodies helps control blood glucose levels. Consuming animal products with carbohydrates can lead to insulin resistance by causing an insulin spike, while plant sourced foods such as fruit and vegetables mitigate this effect and balance blood sugar levels.

There is nothing provided by meat that cannot be plant sourced, this includes the popular concern about the presence of B12 in a vegan diet. While it is possible for both vegans and non-vegans to experience deficiencies, it is easy to get all necessary nutrition from a plant based diet, especially as many products are already fortified. B12 is actually not of animal origin, it is made by bacteria in soil and the gut. In their natural state before cleaning, the water and vegetables we consume would have B12 present from soil. Animals ingest the B12 as they graze the ground. However, pesticides and antibiotics widely used on farms kill the bacteria that produce B12. The outcome is that the majority of B12 supplements are fed to farm animals, not humans. Therefore, you can bypass the supplemented meat and take a high quality, additive free vitamin B12 supplement yourself. Recent discoveries show that certain plants actually contain B12 as they absorb it from the ground. It is recommended to all, vegan or not, to check levels of vitamin B12 and vitamin D3.

It is worth noting that Omega-3 from fish sources can contain contaminants including metals, industrial products, and pesticides that may cancel out any health benefits. Therefore, if you want to take Omega-3 it is advisable to purchase supplements sourced from organic algae. Although I have focused on the aspects of nutrition and health related to a vegan diet, there are several interesting reasons to embrace veganism. Aside from acquiring benefits for your individual wellbeing, a vegan lifestyle has a positive impact on the environment, global health, and moral values.

The environment is depleted of natural resources by meat farming as it is exhaustively unsustainable. It releases greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, and requires an excess amount of pesticides, fertiliser, fuel and water. Animal farming is greatly subsidised with taxpayers money, while plant farming is not. When presented with this information, many would prefer for the funds to be allocated in providing a more valuable service to the public, such as supporting a clean environment. It requires up to three times less water, ten times less plants and twenty times less land to feed a vegan than it does a non-vegan, this is because of the extensive amount of crops used to raise animals, along with the land and water usage. Therefore veganism vastly reduces the use of land, water and crops, while also lowering the amount of rainforest deforestation.

Coronaviruses and many other diseases or infections are zoonotic, meaning they are transferred from animal to human. According to the World Health Organization, at least 61% of all human pathogens are zoonotic, and have represented 75% of all emerging pathogens during the past decade. These pathogens are born from animals being kept for human consumption in inhumane, unnatural conditions. Humanity has collectively come to realise that this is extremely irresponsible and a threat to global health.

Lastly, veganism promotes the moral value of goodness. It alleviates the unnecessary suffering in our world and raises consciousness. This leads us to include avoiding causing harm to any sentient being in the true definition of our morality. The act of choosing kindness is continuously karma healing and life changing, and reminds us that animals are friends, not food.

- Space Apricity

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