What are the pros/cons on eating vegan?

Question

Starting on the 18th of July, I want to start eating vegan. (Dont ask me why not now because its just extremely inconvienent) Im not ready to adopt the lifestyle, just the diet portion so far. Im already a vegetarian, and Im a really good cook. What are the benefits? The downfalls?

Any tips, recipes or websites? =)

Answer 1

Congratulations and kudos for making 'the move' :)

The Pros: I've been feeling much healthier, lighter and calmer since making the move from vegetarian to vegan.

The Cons: Since you're one of the early birds, everyone may not understand immediately.

P.S. Make sure to take enough vegan calcium to keep away the dairy cravings.

Answer 2

Trust me, the only hard part about being vegan is DECIDING to be one. Once you do it, it's really easy. If cheese is an issue for you ( it is with a lot of people), then just think of it as not a choice. Research the animal rights issues with cheese, then decide that it is no longer an option.

Also, you might want to look into some nutrition facts. A lot of people think they're better nutrition experts than you (even though they've probably done NO research and have no knowledge, except for maybe the milk industry commercials which are totally false). But it looks like you know your stuff with the b12 thing and such.

Good luck!

Answer 3

There are no cons whatsoever if you eat the correct vegan diet and foods, except not everyone or place is vegan/vegan friendly. And you have to make sure you read ingredients. There are many pros mainly you would be eating better food for your health, taste buds, environment and cruelty and animal free. Vegan foods contain great nutrients and a lot of vegan foods help prevent and fight diseases. Also all vegan foods are cholesterol free which is good because cholesterol is bad for you, as well as low in bad fat. High in fiber, calcium and protein without going overboard which is good for your intestines and helps cleanse you out and helps you to grow. Also some vegan foods help with depression and make your skin glow.

Sites to check out:

http://veganpeace.blogspot.com/2008/03/v...

http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/eat.html

http://veganmenu.blogspot.com/

http://www.veganimprov.com/

http://www.vegcooking.com/

http://www.tryveg.com/cfi/toc/?v=07groce...

http://www.vegcooking.com/guide-favs.asp

http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/

http://vegweb.com/

http://veganpeace.blogspot.com

http://vegetarian.about.com/

For information on vegan nutrition check out:

http://veganpeace.blogspot.com/2008/02/v...

Recipes:

http://veganpeace.blogspot.com/2007/08/v...

http://veganpeace.blogspot.com/2007/09/o...

http://veganpeace.blogspot.com/2007/09/v...

Answer 4

Vegans obviously have far fewer health problems like cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, etc. In fact, a lot of the nutritional treatments available for those conditions involve a vegetarian or vegan diet. The downfalls would be that it is fairly hard. I am going vegan for my pregnancy and I'm not a big veggie eater, so I am going to buy a juicer. That way I can just juice a bunch of veggies together and store it in the fridge for a few days so that when I get hungry I can just drink some juice without having to go to great lengths to prepare a vegan snack (since a lot of processed foods aren't vegan friendly). You might want to look into some herbal supplements as opposed to vitamin supplements. Vitamins are synthetically derived, sometimes from petroleum sources, so they are not as easily assimilated as their vegetable counterparts. There is a tea out there called calc tea that is an herbal tea VERY high in calcium and it is assimilated better than milk. They simple key to a vegan diet, as told to me by my herbalist:

Fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds.

It has a nice ring to it and if you can remember that, you will be fine.

Just a note: vegetables and herbs with tap roots are higher in minerals because they go deep into the soil (think dandelion and alfalfa). Molasses has iron in it (1 TAB a day should suffice). and dark leafy greens are generally better for you than the light green things like celery and iceburg lettuce (although celery is still a great source of fiber and iceburg lettuce is a nutritional joke.)

Answer 5

2 main pros are avoiding cotributing to eggs and dairy industry. So I'll just focus on these two things, otherwise it'll be too long. But there is a whole lot more.

Dairy production places massive environmental stresses on the planet. Each dairy cow produces 28,000L of waste water per cow per year (dairy shed effluent management guidelines Aust). This waste water comes from processing, runnoff, urine, yard and equipment washdown, plate cooling. It is a rather conservative estimate too, since it doesn't include the water required for feed or crop irrigation, or the water consumed by each head of cattle.

Cows produce between 250 to 500L of methane per cow per day (journal of animal science). Methane is a green house gas that contributes to global warming. Methane is also 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide. (new york times)

Dairy production requires waste lagoons for storing large volumes of untreated excrement and liquid waste. This waste has the potential to run off and pollute streams, ground water, soil, plants ect.

Also milk contributes to unnecessary death and suffering. Just like humans cows only lactate a few months after birth. For cows to produce a constant supply of milk they must be continually artificially inseminated and give birth. Their babies are taken away from them soon after they are born. If they are male they will be trapped in veal crates, fed an anaemic diet and confined in darkness and eventually killed. If they are female they will go on to also be dairy cows (or more correctly milk machines). This separation causes distress to both mother and calf. Drinking milk supports the veal industry. Cows are also pumped with hormones and antibiotics to increase milk production. This often leads to mastitius, a painful infection of the udders. Constant milk production leaches calcium from cow's bones leaving them eventually lame or crippled. Milk is produced to nourish calves, not human. We are essentially stealing nutrients from baby animals.

Egg laying hens are tortured, debeaked, force moulted, crammed with between 4 and 12 other birds, stacked in crates, thrown, covered in one another’s excrement, suffer from painful cuts and lacerations due to sharp wire cages, male chicks are killed and considered an industry waste product, they have less than an A4 piece of paper in which to live, they never see the light of day, and are never allowed to exhibit natural behaviour.

Only cons I can think of is sometimes people can be rather prejudiced towards vegans.

Answer 6

I really don't think that there is a down fall. You will be eating very health, which is most definitely a plus for you. Good Luck.

Answer 7

To me veganism is not a choice, but must.

This is a free country. You may have whatever freedom, drive in any speed or rate, but don't get caught by police!