April 2013

Facts 16 billion animals are killed for

food every year in the U.S. - have little legal protection from cruelty that would be illegal if it were inflicted on companion dogs or cats.

2.27 million animals used in experiments (Can)

1.13 million animals used in experiments (excluding rats, mice, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and agricultural animals used in agricultural experiments), plus an estimated 100 million mice and rats (US)

Every year, millions of animals are killed for the clothing industry.

Terminology

A vegan will not eat any animal products, for example: No meat, fish nor other products

that come directly from killing an animal, such as animal fats and gelatine.

No dairy products such as cows milk, cheese and yoghurt; nor goats milk.

No eggs nor foods containing eggs No honey.

Terminology Vegetarian

a person who does not eat or does not believe in eating meat, fish, fowl, or, in some cases, any food derived from animals, as eggs or cheese, but subsists on vegetables, fruits, nuts, grain, etc.

Lacto-vegetarian is used to describe a vegetarian

who does not eat eggs, but does eat dairy products.

Ethical Vegetarians Ethical vegetarians believe that eating animals is unnecessary and unethical so they eat mostly plants (some still eat animal products (milk, eggs, etc)Their argument usually goes something like this:

If you can bring about less suffering in the world, then you should.

Eating meat in general causes a vast amount of unnecessary suffering in the world.

By not eating meat, you can decrease the demand for meat and thus decrease unnecessary suffering.

Therefore, you shouldn’t eat meat.

Law on Animals The law still allows people to squirt weed killer in a

baby’s eyes, inject it with poison, grow cancers on its back, burn its skin off, expose it to radiation and eventually kill it, in experiments.

So long as it’s only an animal.

Reasons for Veganism Moral/Ethical

Religious Environment

Health

Looking Out for the Little Guy: Ethics and Animals

Modern life seems to be expanding the sphere of ethical consideration. Discouraging racism and sexism is now mainstream, whereas 200 yeas ago women and slaves were considered property. Should we now enlarge the ethical sphere further to protect animals? Or is it enough to look out for the interests of our own species?

Animals don’t have dominance over the planet, and they can’t stand up for themselves the way humans can. So, if ethics requires humanity to protect animals, it’s really humanity’s job to take the lead. The fact that animals suffer seems to suggest that they deserve some kind of protection, so humanity has a lot of work to do.

ANIMAL RIGHTS and ANIMAL WELFARE

The difference between animal rights and animal welfare has been summed up like this:

“Animal rights advocates are campaigning for NO cages, while animal welfarists are campaigning for BIGGER cages.

Animal Welfare – denotes the desire to prevent unnecessary animal suffering (that is, whilst not categorically opposed to the use of animals, wanting to ensure a good quality of life and humane death.)

Animal Rights – denotes the philosophical belief that animals should have rights, including the right to live their lives free of human intervention (and ultimate death at the hand of humans. Animal rightists are philosophically opposed to the use of animals by humans.

Animal Liberation Movement•Animal rights began to start in the 17th century•Animal liberation is a RADICAL idea, not a reformist one, in that it demands not better treatment of animals within the present structure of our relations to them, but rather a fundamental transformation of those relations.

Philosophical Views Utilitarianism Rights View Contractarianis

mFeminist Theory

Considering whether a being is sentient (able to feel or perceive things) and thus has an interest in avoiding pain and experiencing pleasure

If reducing pain and promoting pleasure is what morality is all about, then sentience is the dividing line between those beings that are morally considerable and those that are not.

Considers whether a being possess the requisite ability to conduct their life as he sees fit and so is entitled to be fee from unnecessary interference in doing so.A right is a claim to something, that is recognized as a legitimate on the basis of some moral or legal principle.

We only have moral obligations towards someone when we have reached an agreement. We have no obligations to animals at all, because animals cannot enter into conversations with us.

It sees moral rights as a social agreement, in doing so, it by large excludes animals from the moral community.

I.E – Kicking someone's dog

Divided on vegetarianism – meat eating symbolizes and reinforces male dominance in human society.

Eco-feminists see an inherent link between hierarchy and domination in human society, particularly the historical domination of women by men, and attitudes and practices of human domination over the non-human world.

Ethical

Factory Farms

•Debeaking•Chickens are unable to turn around or spread their wings•Dairy Cows chained at the neck induced with hormones•Veal – Calves denied mother milk•Bulls – dehorned and castrated without any aesthetic•Killing Methods

Religious Ahimsa – Theory of Nonviolence

In Hindu, Jain and Buddhist traditions the concept of nonviolence is translated into the practice of the following virtues:

non-injury to all living beings not causing pain and suffering to others

including plants and animals. compassion towards all living creatures abstaining from animal and human

sacrifices cultivation of forgiveness, universal love and

friendliness non-violent reaction to violent thoughts,

words and actions mental and verbal nonviolence towards self

and towards others abstaining from meat eating abstaining from hunting, animal fights and

similar practices in which animals are subjected to cruelty and suffering.

Environmental Reasoning

Massive meat consumption has led to numerous environmental problems such as, water pollution, soil erosion, energy shortages, and it requires an immense amount of land.

A 1995 Canadian study proved that the production of meat requires 10x more energy than it would to produce grain products

Animal production has a tremendous effect on soil due to overgrazing

Amongst many other reasons

According to the ADA, vegetarians are at lower risk for developing:

Heart disease Colorectal, ovarian, and breast cancers Diabetes Obesity Hypertension (high blood pressure)

This is because a healthy vegetarian diet is typically low in fat and high in fiber. However, even a vegetarian diet can be high in fat if it includes excessive amounts of fatty snack foods, fried foods, whole milk dairy products, and eggs. Therefore, a vegetarian diet, like any healthy diet, must be well planned in order to help prevent and treat certain diseases.

Health - Cancer Cancer mainly plagues western countries

like Canada, Britain, USA – all countries that have a high intake of animal products

Numerous scientific studies have proven that non-vegetarians are 50% more likely to die of cancer than vegetarians

1975 – Japanese study –Japanese women who consumed dairy products and had a traditional western diet were 8x more likely to develop breast cancer than those that followed a traditional Japanese diet.

Health-Heart Disease

Meat causes heart disease due to the large amount of saturated fat along with the high amount of cholesterol found in animal products.

A vegetarian diet high in fibre helps reduce cholesterol levels therefore helping to reduce heart disease.

Are there any health risks in becoming a vegetarian?

Some vegans may have intakes for vitamin B-12, vitamin D, calcium, zinc, and occasionally riboflavin that are lower than recommended.

Meet your Meat

Why we love dogs, wear pigs..

Earthilings

Omnivores Strike Back! Omnivores respond to the vegetarians’ main

argument in two ways: however, these responses aren’t all that difficult for vegetarians to counter. Omnivores deny that eating meat causes vast amount of

suffering in the world. Veg – the modern realities of meat production aren’t at all like an animal’s life in the wild. In all likelyhood, the steak you find in supermarkets comes from an animal that lives out a short, unpleasant life on a factory farm – not from a wild cow.

Omnivores deny that abstaining from meat would cause a decrease in demand for it. Veg – The argument that one person has no effect doesn’t measure up. Ethical vegs works a lot like voting. One person’s vote alone can’t elect a politican, but many like-minded people voting together can. Although an individual veg may not make much a difference, the ethical veg movement as a whole makes a huge difference. As wise man once said, “A waterfall must begin with a single drop of water.”

Vegans Save 198 Animals a Year The average meat eater eats a half a pig a year. These figures come courtesy of PETA member and mathematician extraordinaire Noam Mohr, who has studied government and industry figures and compiled a report on the number of animals served up on American tables.

Based on these figures, the average person in a year consumes:Roughly 130 shellfish40 fish26 chickens One turkey Nearly half a pigA little more than a tenth of a cow

Since vegans eat no animals, each vegan saves nearly 200 animals per year. Of course, these are animals who won't be torn out of their ocean homes or confined to cramped, filthy barns, cages, and pens before being hung upside down on the slaughter line and having their throats cut. Yay, vegans!

So the next time someone asks you why you're a vegetarian, tell him or her that you have about 200 really good reasons.

Summary – Why I’m Vegan

1. Ethics - Killing any living creature is wrong. Might does not make right.

2. Religion - Ahmisa – Theory of Nonviolence 3. Environment - Eating vegan is more

environmentally efficient than feeding the animals in a meat-based diet. Veganism also greatly reduces the wastes, pollution, and deforestation caused by mass raising of animals.

4. Health - The primary benefits are: weight loss, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, less use of medication, avoiding surgery and cancer, feeling more energized, and looking great.

Conclusions According to Aristotle, the Greek

philosopher, the main distinguishing factor that differentiates humans from animals is the ability to reason.

Although humans are animals, we are also rational beings and have the ability to use reason. Humans should use this sense of reason and follow a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, as that is the only ethical solution.

Questions? The question is not, can they reason? Nor,

can they talk? But, can they suffer? Jeremy Bentham,

Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution.  Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.  ~Thomas A. Edison

"If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian." -- Sir Paul McCartney