Veganism
Disclaimer: This post is not meant to offend anyone, it’s just giving the other side of the story of veganism.
A vegan is, by definition, a strict vegetarian who consumes no animal food or dairy products and does not use animal products. Veganism is a belief just like Christianity or Islam. It requires that you live your life by it. My thoughts on this are that veganism is an extension of vegetarianism by the ignorant. I say ignorance because they act without knowing the true facts. Here are some of the facts from a agricultural point of view:
Fact #1: Vegans cannot eat dairy. Many think it is a crime to take away the milk of a cow from its calf or that it is cruel and unnatural to milk a cow.
The truth is that cows have four teats and 1 calf on average. 1 calf cannot possibly drink all the milk it’s mother produces and it is weaned before its mother stops producing milk. Cows need to be milked everyday because if they are not milked, their udders will become swollen and sore. The milking machines that are used in modern farming are also thought to be inhumane to the cows by vegans, but they are designed to simulate a calf sucking on the teats. The fact is that cows need to be milked and it does neither them nor their calves any harm to use the milk in an efficient and useful manner.
Fact #2: Wearing wool is inhumane because you are taking away the animals protection.
Shearing sheep is a little like milking a cow. It does the sheep no harm whatsoever unless the shearer is unexperienced, which is very rare. Sheep grow wool continuously. If they are not sheared at least once per year they can become very uncomfortable and stressed, especially when it is hot and humid. The wool will become matted and more difficult to shear if it is not removed in a timely basis. When sheep are sheared, it is the equivalent of us getting a haircut, except that wool is very useful and can be used to make blankets and clothing. There really is no reason not to use fleece unless you are allergic or of similar difficulty.
Fact #3: Everyone can get along just fine without exploiting or using animal products.
This “fact” bothers me the most. Yes some people can get along without meat or animal products, but these people have jobs such as journalism or being a lawyer. What those who use this fact to defend veganism often forget is people. Here are some facts from the Future Farmers of America (FFA) website about the people behind the animals:
1. Agriculture is the nation’s largest employer with more than 22 million people working in some phase-from growing food and fiber to selling it at the supermarket.
2. There are 2.19 million farms in the United States. The average size of U.S. farms in 1999 was 432 acres.
3. Individuals, family partnerships or family corporations own 99% of U.S. farms with fewer than 10 stockholders. Non-family corporations own only 0.4% of America’s farms and ranches. (Many vegans argue about inhumane treatment of animals, but this is only on non-family farms or factory farms…also, 4.5 Farmers and ranchers provide food and habitat for 75% of the nation’s wildlife.)
4. The American farmer regains 20¢ of every dollar in agricultural products sold, 39¢ goes to labor, 6¢ goes to taxes and interest, 8.5¢ goes to packaging and the remainder goes to fuel, electricity, transportation, advertising, etc.
As you can see from just these 4 and a half facts, if everyone were to become vegan, thousands of people would go bankrupt. There are so many people in the world that live off the money they make from farming. If the world went vegan, economy would fall into chaos and world hunger would skyrocket. It’s fine for the vegan population now, but the entire world couldn’t survive vegan.
Veganism is an honorable belief because it takes such discipline and hard work to keep up with what you can and cannot do. It’s just another belief in the world.
