Why Go Vegan?
As an individual, one of the best ways you can help reduce the suffering of animals is to stop eating them. Adopting a plant-based diet may seem difficult or restrictive, but it’s never been easier or more popular! If you’re not sure you can make the change, consider taking smaller steps toward a more compassionate diet. Every animal-free meal you eat is a step in the right direction and has a positive impact on the animals, our environment, and your health. Let’s dispel the assumption right here and now that people who love food cannot be vegan and vegans cannot really love food. Many vegans take an active interest in food and as a result, we live in a world of plenty today when it comes to resources for eating compassionately.
Whether you are jumping in with both feet or want to dip a toe in the water for ethical, health or environmental reasons, it’s important to have a joyful relationship with your food. Explore … experiment … share … read … think. So come along on the journey! You’ll eat delicious foods, learn reasons to embrace this lifestyle change, and experience the health benefits first-hand. Catskill Animal Sanctuary is here to help. Give yourself a pat on the back. You’ve taken the first step by just visiting this page, so congratulations! Click here to get some simple tips on transitioning.
Nine billion chickens are killed each year at 7 weeks old. Chickens are bred and drugged to grow so large, so quickly that their legs and organs can’t keep up, making heart attacks, organ failure, and crippling leg deformities common. Many become crippled under their own weight, are unable to move or to reach water and die, all in an effort to get bigger chickens to market more quickly.
A recent study funded by the National Cancer Institute reported that vegans have lower rates of cancer than both meat-eaters and vegetarians. Vegan women had 34 percent lower rates of female-specific cancers such as breast, cervical, and ovarian cancer. Numerous studies point to improved health and reduction of chronic disease by eating a plant-based diet.
Nearly half of all water used in the U.S. goes to raising animals for food; It takes about 2,400 gallons of water to produce just one pound of beef as compared to only 25 gallons of water needed to produce one pound of wheat. Imagine how many people could be fed if those same 2,400 gallons of water supported plant-based food that fed people instead of animals.