In
a nation of devoted carnivores, dedicated vegans are a miniscule minority. CNN reports 1.5% of American adults are
self-described vegans; that is, they neither eat nor consume any animal
products whatsoever. More a cause than a
diet, veganism is gaining widespread support among environmentalists and many
mainstream healthcare professionals.
Compare
vegans’ steadfast refusal of all animal products against prevailing American
trends. Last year, American meat
consumption hit an all-time high—more than 230 pounds of meat for every man,
woman, and child in the country. Despite
difficult economic times, domestic meat consumption has increased more than 12%
since 2008; meat consumption has more than doubled since 1950. Chicken and beef lead meat-eaters’ shopping
lists, totalling eighty-seven and sixty-six pounds respectively; beef
consumption is down a little bit from its historic 1985 high, but consumption
of pork has more than made-up the difference.
The average American ate nearly sixty pounds of pork, ham, bacon, and
sausage last year, and popular food networks are reporting “a bacon-craze”
sweeping the nation. If current trends
persist, the USDA forecasts annual per capita meat consumption to top 300
pounds by 2014.
Of
course, public health officials note the correspondence between increased meat
consumption and increased obesity. “In a
nation where the average person eats nearly seventy pounds of pork every year,
it’s a little difficult to feel surprised that two out of three adults are
clinically obese,” says one dedicated vegan.
Doctors also connect baby-boomers’ problems with cholesterol and heart
disease with their dedication to the traditional American meat-and-potatoes
diet.
Vegan represents a
major commitment—to health and to a cause.
Along
the continuum of vegetarian practices, vegan represents the most extreme—and
the most principled. Whereas moderate
vegetarians will allow for some fish and dairy products, and some more ardent
vegetarians at least will make allowances for consumer products, dedicated
vegans steadfastly decline to use any animal products. Zero.
None. Vegans stress not only the
health benefits of their practice but also the environmental and economic
benefits of their commitment to the cause.
Vegan health benefits
After
giving up all animal products, living strictly on organically grown fruits,
vegetables, and soy products, vegans report significantly lower body fat and
cholesterol, lower heart and respiration rates, and generally improved
health. They also report fewer
environmental toxins in their systems, and dermatologists observe they have
healthier complexions and hair than meat-eaters. Long-term studies of veganism’s health
benefits are still in progress, and researchers generally decline comment on or
speculation about their results. Most
vegans, however, agree with Claire Sommetrfield, who asserts, “I don’t need a
clinical study. I have the proof of my
own body and brain. I am more fit,
active, alert, and generally healthy than ever before in my life.” Currently a college sophomore, Sommerfield
has strictly practiced veganism for two and a half years.
Vegan benefits for
animals
Many
people become vegans on the strength of their devotion to animals. They not only refuse to eat meat and dairy
products but also refuse to use products derived from or tested on
animals. Cosmetics and beauty products
especially have inspired vegans’ concerns for well over a decade, because
animal-testing has an exceptionally lurid history of cruel, inhumane treatment
of all kinds of laboratory animals.
Leading cosmetics manufacturers finally are responding to vegans’
demands. Sephora and other leading
purveyors of beauty products now feature vegan products, pricing them comparably
and competitively.
Economic benefits for
local organic farmers
Many
vegans regard their strict dietary requirements as a statement about the future
of American farming. Just as leading
economists forecast the imminent death of the big American corporation, and
just as leading political scientists predict the imminent demise of the big
American city, so vegans look forward to the decline and fall of the huge
American corporate farm. Vegans pointing
to statistics about how mega-growers’ use of chemical fertilizers and
pesticides has poisoned ground water and contributed to increases in juvenile
cancers in major agricultural areas.
They characterize the data and related medical studies as “irrefutable.” Similarly, vegans point to recent outbreaks
of e coli in vegetables from
corporate farms, and they especially rest their case on the recent recall of
millions of “factory produced” eggs.
Claire Sommerfield, college athlete and dedicated vegan, challenges, “No
one can look at the pictures of those chickens and their conditions without
utter shock, abhorrence, and inspiration to take some meaningful action.”
Sommerfield
suspects major super-market chains collude with corporate farmers to keep
organic produce out of the marketplace and to discourage shoppers by
artificially inflating prices of organic fruits and vegetables. She shops at local farmers’ markets where
growers bring their produce straight from the field to the stand. “I mean literally from the ground to my
shopping bag!” Sommerfield exclaims. “It
could not be any fresher, riper, or more nutrient-rich.” She says she appreciates many growers’
refusal to wash fruits and vegetables before bringing them to market, because
“I carefully wash all my produce in purified water, and I store it in
environmentally friendly containers.”