Why Plant-based? – Resilient Roots

The Benefits

Consuming a plant-based diet is on the rise and it might have you wondering why millions of people are cutting meat and dairy out of their diets and turning toward fruits and vegetables. There are so many reasons why someone might transition toward a plant-based diet, and I’m excited to share some of those reasons with you here today.

If you’re someone who wants to make a positive impact on the world and yourself, but you don’t know how, you’ve come to the right place!

Eating plant-based is a great way to make a difference for yourself and others. In fact, you could make this difference three times a day if you’d like!

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

“We are, quite literally, gambling with the future of our planet – for the sake of hamburgers.” -Peter Singer

It’s no secret that our planet is suffering and has been taken for granted in a major way. Many people wonder what they can do to help reverse the negative consequences, and it can seem undefeatable. Especially when the majority of destruction is caused by big businesses, looking to make some money. Not to mention that as a society, we are not really clearly told what we can do (if anything) to slow climate change, deforestation, animal extinction, etc. It’s important to always keep in mind that your decisions matter. Every time you decide whether or not to purchase from a business who practices in ways in which you do or do not agree with, you are choosing whether or not to finance and support them.

So how does agribusiness affect the planet?

Land Use

As the population consistently grows, the demand for meat is quickly rising along with it. Animal agribusiness occupies about 50% of Earth’s habitable landmass and accounts for 75% of deforestation world wide (29)(30). Almost half of all worldwide deforestation takes place in Brazil and Indonesia (30). Deforestation occurs because a great deal of land is needed to create farms to grow soy and corn (to feed the cattle), build slaughterhouses, and create areas for grazing. Agriculture is the leading cause of global deforestation, which also makes it the leading cause of species extinction (10). In addition, animal agriculture is a leading cause of water and air pollution (31).

While people say that vegans and plant-based people are responsible for deforestation through their consumption of soy (which is heavily farmed), about 80% of all soy is fed to animals in slaughterhouses (13). Research suggests that by far, the biggest driving factor of deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest is beef production (13).

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Modern food systems, especially in the agriculture sector, have a highly unsustainable impact on the planet, ecosystems and environment. As you know, the greenhouse effect is the result of solar heat getting trapped close to the earth, thereby heating the planet and causing global warming. Greenhouse gasses are what trap the heat, and there are several different kinds of greenhouse gasses. Some of the most common greenhouse gasses include carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and nitrous oxide (7). Unfortunately, animal agriculture is the second largest contributor to man made greenhouse gas emissions, right behind fossil fuels (31). Livestock accounts for approximately 44% of all methane in our current atmosphere and each gram of beef protein generates 3 times more greenhouse gas emissions than would staple plant foods (5).

Water Supply

While it may appear that there is plenty of water to go around for everyone on the planet, the clean water that we use to cook, drink, and bathe in is being stressed and depleted. We can only use freshwater for these purposes and there is less available than you may think. Only 3% of the water found on our planet is freshwater, two-thirds of which are unavailable, being tucked away in frozen glaciers (16).
About 2.1 billion people currently live without safe water, which puts them at risk of death by consuming or bathing in this water. Nearly 4 billion people (two-thirds of the world’s population) experience severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year. Agriculture accounts for up to 70% of our water usage today, 92% of which is being used to farm animals. This includes growing crops for them to eat, much of which is wasted through accidental leaks and spills during the process (17).

Not only does the agriculture business take freshwater from its original source, but it also returns much less of it, polluted with animal feces and animal feed, ruining the water for our fellow humans. As stated earlier, agribusiness is the leading cause of water pollution (31). It is also incredibly destructive to freshwater ecosystems. Our water usage dries up rivers, lakes, and aquifers. More than half of the world’s wetlands have disappeared (16).

“A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth…It is far bigger than cutting down on your flights or buying an electric car. Agriculture is a sector that spans all the multitude of environmental problems.” – Joseph Poore, University of Oxford, UK (12).

PERSONAL HEALTH

If you want to ensure a healthy and long lasting life, it’s important to take good care of your body. Many people are encouraged to transition toward a plant-based diet when they contract some sort of disease or illness, but why wait until your life depends on it to make a positive change?

Studies show that eating a plant-based diet lowers your risk of cardiovascular disease, all kinds of cancers, diabetes, cholesterol issues, blood pressure issues, inflammation, heart disease, hypertension, strokes, and obesity (which leads to tons of health complications on it’s own). People who eat a plant-based diet actually live longer than those who do not, because they are at less risk of developing health issues (1)(2). In fact, eating plant-based has been shown to also reverse chronic diseases. One illness that can be reversed is heart disease. Heart disease is a form of cardiovascular disease, which is America’s #1 cause of death (25).

While we have been taught that there are tons of health benefits to eating meat and dairy products, a lot of those story lines come from marketing strategies. An example of a marketing strategy is: A dairy producer says their milk is “a great source of calcium!”. While milk does indeed contain calcium, it is certainly not the only (or best) source of calcium. Whole milk has about 110mg of calcium per 100g, while kale has around 250 mg of calcium per 100g. (26).

It is important to note that simply eliminating meat and dairy products is not enough to gain all of the health benefits of a plant-based diet. That is the true difference between veganism and plant-based. Veganism is concerned with cutting out meat and dairy, and while plant-based does the same, plant-based is also focused on incorporating fruits and vegetables for the health benefits. Getting fruits and vegetables into your diet is essential and is where the true health benefits begin! This can be a challenge at first, especially if your taste buds are used to oil, greasy, sugar filled foods. However, your appetite for vegetables is acquired and before you know it, you’ll find yourself craving broccoli and carrots. When you invest in your body, the payoff will be huge.

The plant-based diet and COVID-19

A study done in six different countries on people who were diagnosed with COVID-19 found that consistently eating a plant-based diet resulted in a 73% lower risk of the virus continuing to develop to moderate-to-severe COVID-19 (15). This means that once diagnosed with COVID, you are 73% less likely to experience anything other than mild symptoms.

“But where do you get your protein from?”

A question that simply doesn’t come up often is, “How much protein does the average person need per day?”. To the surprise of many, the answer is not ‘as much as possible’. In fact, consuming excess amounts of protein has been correlated with the increased risk of developing cancer, diabetes, osteopenia, osteoporosis, seizures, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and more (3 and 4). Just like many other aspects of life, it’s all about balance.

Protein is not only found in meat and dairy, and the daily suggested amount is easy to obtain so long as you’re eating a reasonable amount of calories (2). Protein is found in: corn, peas, quinoa, peanut butter, nuts, tempeh, tofu, edamame, buckwheat, seeds, grains, spinach, broccoli, whole wheat bread, soy milk, beans, and so much more (4)(27). There are nine essential amino acids in a complete protein, and quinoa contains all of them! While a lot of plant proteins might be low in one or two amino acids, they can easily be made up for throughout the day by diversifying your food intake. For example, grains like rice are a little too low in lysine to be considered a complete source of protein. Yet, by adding lentils or beans, you can be sure to obtain all nine essential amino acids (27).

Let’s Talk About Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is responsible for making red blood cells and DNA in your body. While it is common to assume that a plant-based person would be deficient in protein, the more common stumbling block is actually vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 can be found in some plant-based foods including plant-based milk, fortified cereals, nutritional yeast and fermented foods like tempeh (2). However, it can become difficult to ensure you are getting enough B12 through diet alone, without a supplement. Vitamin B12 can be found in animal products, however, that is only because most animals are being fed vitamin B12 supplements themselves.

In an ideal world, B12 is naturally found in soil. Farm animals were meant to ingest grass and therefore B12 into their bodies. However, most meat on the market today comes from animals in factories who never actually see sunshine or make physical contact with grass or soil. In addition, the soil that animals on farms might be in contact with, is typically damaged, and usually does not produce B12. Today, most farm animals are artificially injected with B12 (28). So in truth, relying on animal products for B12 is only adding an unnecessary middleman between you and a supplement.

In addition, it is worthwhile to note that B12 deficiencies are very common amongst all people who eat all kinds of diets. Up to 40 percent of people in Western countries have low or marginal B12 status, regardless of their dietary choices, so this is not a plant-based person only deficiency (28).

ANIMAL WELFARE

There is no easy way to educate yourself on this topic. Most people, while learning about animal cruelty, will feel uncomfortable. However, the truth is important and valuable, and therefore should not be ignored.

“If it makes you that uncomfortable to even think about it, it’s worth asking if you really want, ever, to pay people to do those things to animals.” – Bruce Friedrich, The Good Food Institute

Much of the cruelty that goes on inside of the agriculture business is difficult to expose because slaughterhouses typically have tight security and do not allow people inside. There are also state laws that make whistleblowing and animal cruelty exposure illegal. These are called “Ag-gag” laws – originally instituted in the 1990’s. These laws were instated to prevent the public from learning about animal cruelty by penalizing whistleblowers who would report or vocalize animal cruelty. Many states however, have found many ag-gag laws unconstitutional, and have overturned them. But there are still states with very active ag-gag laws, which make it illegal for whistleblowers to vocalize inhumane treatment of animals (19).

From what we do know about what goes on inside of slaughterhouses, there is so much to be said. If you truly do in-depth research, you might find that the conditions these animals live in is torturous. Since the owners of agriculture businesses view animals as money, and therefore economical objects, animals live their lives in a mechanical system that robs them of any livelihood. These mechanical systems maximize efficiency and profit, without taking into consideration any kind of compassion for the lives of these beings, and that is putting it lightly.

Regular occurrences in slaughterhouses include:

Chickens are bred to have an unnatural amount of meat on their bones, to the point where they can no longer walk (32).
Cows are artificially impregnated using a metal probe, only to have their babies taken at birth so that we can take the mother’s milk (33).
Male cows placed in metal cages with their heads tightly confined, and castrated and dehorned. Most times, without any anesthetic or pain killer. One of the main purposes for this procedure is because the meat of castrated cows is less tough, and sells better in the marketplace (34)(35).
Chickens being aggressive due to stress and pecking at each other. This, in turn, leads to the cutting off of their sensitive beaks, so as not to allow them to “damage the goods” of the chicken next to them (36).

In addition, there have been reports of the following occurrences:

Failure to completely kill a cow before it is hung upside down, which can result in it being dragged around alive and maybe accidentally skinned alive (20).
Chickens undergo a process called “forced molting”, in which they are deprived of food and water for up to 18 days, and kept in total darkness, to shock their bodies into another laying cycle. Many of these birds die from fatigue (37).

“If slaughterhouses had glass walls, we’d all be vegetarians” -Paul McCartney

EMPLOYEE WELFARE

An aspect of the meat and dairy industry that is not commonly discussed is the harsh work environments that people who work at slaughterhouses endure. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor put the number of undocumented workers in the agriculture industry at 46%, although industry experts advocate that the number is most like much higher, around 70% or so (21).

In fact, many undocumented workers are lured to the U.S. by the agriculture and farming industry itself, according to The National Human Trafficking Hotline (22). Since many workers can’t speak English and fear deportation, they settle for very low wages and inhumane work environments and conditions. For example, there have been cases of adults in the industry wearing diapers because they are not given the opportunity to use the restroom (38).

Unfortunately, some of these same undocumented workers who were actually lured to the U.S. by the agriculture industry, were also recently faced with massive arrests, deportations, and the tearing apart of their families; specifically during the year of 2018 when I.C.E. was more actively doing mass raids at workplaces (23).

EVOLUTION

Evolution can be defined as a gradual positive development/adaptability of something or someone, usually in the direction of survival or efficiency. During our specie’s time on earth, we have evolved toward eating meat and monopolizing the rest of the food chain. We now have the ability to breed and eat as many animals as we wish.

If however, the goal of evolution is to survive, then the way that our actions are affecting our body’s health and our planet’s health should be of concern as well. Change is an essential part of evolution, and if we learn that our actions are causing our own destruction, it would make sense for us to evolve toward some sort of solution, to ensure our species survival.

The current state of the entire agriculture industry is causing tons of destruction to our planet and to our bodies, not to mention the pain it is causing other living creatures. To learn more about how, please see the sections above, on this page.

The question is, are we as a species, willing to make essential changes, to ensure our survival? Or are we more interested in shortly lived sensory pleasure?

CITATIONS