Social justice, your health & the climate crisis converge in one place:
On your plate.
Think you would never go vegan? I did, too.
But these 10 things changed my mind. Find out in our free guide!
Social Justice
Social justice refers to a fair society in which all groups are valued. Veganism is a social justice movement because it recognizes the injustice of a world that values some animals (our pets) but exploits and kills others arbitrarily for food, clothing, entertainment and research.
As defined by the Vegan Society, it is "a philosophy and way of living that seeks to exclude - as far as is possible and practicable - all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals." Furthermore, it affirms the rights of humans not to work in exploitative industries, to live in environmentally safe communities, and to have access to healthful food.
Rights for Workers & Marginalized Communities
Animal agriculture workers endure high rates of physical injury and mental illness. Water and air pollution from factory farming affect marginalized communities and a disproportionate number of people of color, constituting environmental racism.
World Hunger
Raising animals for food is extremely inefficient. We could solve world hunger with the cropland used to feed animals who are then fed to the affluent.
Health Justice
Health justice is about about making sure that we all have what we need to be healthy, regardless of education, income level, racism, classism, or other social determinants of health.
Here you can learn about how a whole-foods plant-based diet can prevent and treat disease, and why you've never heard this before. And, how animal agriculture is the breeding ground for the next pandemic, and the wasteland of our essential antibiotics.
Plants prevent & treat disease; animal products promote disease
A plant-based diet increases your life expectancy, improves your energy, helps prevent heart-disease and stroke, lowers your risk of chronic illness (cancers, diabetes, obesity, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, kidney stones, dementia, cataracts, arthritis and more). It even alleviates constipation and improves sexual function.
Animal agriculture is creating the next pandemic
Pandemics consistently trace back to our use of animals. Crowding them in factory farms, trading them across the globe, and destroying their habitats have caused our past pandemics. Thousands more potential pathogens are ready to create much worse pandemics than COVID-19. To avoid future pandemics, we must end our use of animals.
We're rendering our life-saving antibiotics useless
Imagine a future in which minor illnesses become life-threatening conditions because our antibiotics are no longer effective against them. Unless we end the overuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture, we will face the end of medicine as we know it.
Climate Justice
Climate justice is about being stewards of the environment because the climate crisis and environmental degradation impact human rights.
We're already on a crash course for the largest mass extinction of species in 65 million years. Animal agriculture is the number 1, 2, or 3 cause of every major environmental problem.
The single-most effective way to combat the climate crisis? According to the largest-ever food production analysis in 2019: a plant-based diet. If we truly want to be environmentalists, we cannot continue to eat meat and animal products.
The animal agriculture industry knows this: that's why they "greenwash" their products. The public doesn't want to believe it; that's why people promote small-scale farming as a solution. Yet marketing and wishful thinking do not change the very real impact of farming animals. What we do to our air, land and water, we do to ourselves. Saving the planet is really about saving life on the planet. Earth would go on without us.
Air, Land & Water
The cost of animal agriculture to our air, land and water: Global warming. Annual heat waves that destroy crops and deplete rivers. Fires. Floods. Hurricanes. Deforestation. Food and water scarcity. Biodiversity loss. Ocean acidification and dead zones.
The greenwashing hoax of animal agriculture
In a desperate attempt to protect its public image, animal agriculture "greenwashes" its products through deceptive ecolabels, like "grass-fed beef," "marginal land," and "sustainable seafood." The industry intentionally underreports emissions and offers empty promises of "net zero" targets.
Why small-scale, local animal farming is not the solution
Small-scale animal farming does not provide an ecological, public health or ethical solution. It results in more environmental impact, not less. It continues to pose a threat of pandemic emergence. Finally, the problem isn't just how we kill animals unnecessarily - it's that we do at all.
Government Collusion
Through powerful lobbying of the animal agriculture industry in collusion with the government, Westerners have been socialized since childhood to believe that animal protein is necessary to build muscle and cow’s milk builds strong bones. These are unfounded claims created for marketing purposes and perpetuated by financial and legal support.
Subsidies & Buy-backs
The U.S. government uses taxpayer money to subsidize and buy-back leftover animal products and processed foods, keeping them artificially cheap.
USDA nutrition guidelines are sponsored by animal agriculture
The government disseminates nutritional guidelines that have been influenced by major food lobby groups.
Ag-gag laws & veggie libel laws
Certain states have ag-gag laws that keep factory farming conditions concealed and veggie libel laws that allow corporations to sue for criticism of their product.
Plant-Based Recipes
Crowd it out; don't cut it out! Rather than feeling deprived by "cutting out" animal products, many people find that their diets naturally expands by transitioning to a vegan diet. It's not that these options weren't available to you before; it's just that you may not have considered them because you were eating a more traditional Western diet. Here you can explore some of these abundant, health-promoting, eco-conscious, and compassionate culinary options. We can even do it on a budget!
Breakfasts
Berry Smoothies, Almond Ricotta Toast, Savory Oatmeal, Reese's Smoothies, Breakfast Tacos, Scrambled Tofu "Eggs," Banana Walnut Bread and more.
Lunches & Dinners
Grain Bowls, Garlic Hummus Lasagna, Pistachio Pesto Pasta, TVP Tacos, Lemon Tahini Salad, Southwest Salad, Smoky Sweet Potato Stew, Mexican Mole, Veggie Sausage Jambalaya, Moroccan Couscous, Cheesy Tahini Veggie Pasta and more.
Desserts
Tahini Billionaire Bars ("vegan twix"), Lemon Lavender Shortbread, Caramelized Coconut Macaroons, Reese's Mousse, Vegan Caramel Sauce and more.
Connect & Advocate
Many people find that the social aspects of transitioning to a plant-based diet are more of a challenge than learning to adopt a vegan lifestyle. Here you can find resources to connect with others on the journey. As author Jonathan Safron Foer observed, "One person deciding to eat a plant-based diet will not change the planet, but the sum of millions of such decisions will… Our food choices are social contagions, always influencing others around us."
Local
To connect with other vegans in person and promote veganism in your local community, you can attend vegan festivals, plant-based conferences, and vegan climate marches; join a MeetUp or Facebook group; download vegan apps; join an activism group and more.
Online
With a plethora of online platforms to meet other vegans - like Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, MeetUp, apps and more - you're sure to find connection and support in the online vegan world.
Advocate
Anyone can become an advocate! First, educate yourself. Then, share what inspires you to choose a vegan lifestyle with those around you. Join a vegan organization, host a Vegan Chef Challenge or Veganuary Party, participate in social media activist campaigns, give talks at local civic clubs, and write to your legislators, newspapers, schools, and groups with overlapping missions and much more.
Resources
Documentaries
The End of Medicine (2022), Eating Our Way to Extinction (2021), Seaspiracy (2021), The Gamechangers (2019), PlantPure Nation (2018), Cowspiracy (2018), - the number of documentaries highlighting this most urgent issue keeps growing.
Books
Eating Animals, We Are the Weather, The China Study, How Not to Die, This is Vegan Propaganda, Eat for the Planet - authors continue to roll out more and more books citing incredibly compelling, research-based evidence propelling us to tackle this problem.
Podcasts & YouTube Channels
The Disclosure Podcast, The Exam Room, Nutrition Facts, Plant Based News, Our Hen House, Food for Thought - there's a broad reservoir of podcasts and corresponding YouTube channels dedicated to sharing the vegan message and providing helpful tips for a vegan lifestyle.