VEGANISM
The kindest way of life, for all life.
HAUS OF CONSERVATION
WHAT IS VEGANISM?
Veganism is a plant-based lifestyle with the aim of creating a more compassionate and greener world for all life. Veganism in its broadest terms is based on kindness, empathy and compassion and consists of a plant-based diet that does not contain meat, dairy, fish, or poultry. Veganism does not use any animal products for diet, clothing, cosmetics, or cleaning products and seeks to reduce animal byproducts in as many other aspects of life as possible. By leading a vegan lifestyle, you reduce animal suffering and exploitation, reduce climate change and use less natural resources. There are four reasons why people choose to be vegan: ethical, environmental, health or spiritual.
ETHICAL
The "Ethical Vegan" is a person who has a high moral standpoint against animal exploitation, discrimination, cruelty and seeks to exclude ALL animal products from their lifestyle in as many forms as possible. An "Ethical Vegan" has a high awareness of speciesism and seeks to aid the liberation of animals in as many ways as they can. An “Ethical Vegan” see’s animal for what they are: living, breathing, sentient beings with thoughts, feelings, emotions and desires of their own. An "Ethical Vegan" sees all animals as individuals with their own needs, choices, life and considers the wellbeing of all animals as well as the environment.
ENVIRONMENT
The "Environmental Vegan" is someone who leads a vegan lifestyle because they are concerned about the health of the planet and climate change. Veganism is the biggest impact you can make as individual to reduce climate change and protect the natural world for many reasons. A vegan diet uses less natural resources, takes less space and a study from Oxford University has shown a vegan diet can cut down your carbon footprint by 73%, making it the most successful way in reducing your CO2 footprint as an individual. The "Environmental Vegan" is also someone who is energy aware and will often choose this lifestyle because it reduces energy consumption and water usage particularly in agriculture and the manufacturing of food. Veganism ultimately protects against environmental degradation and soil infertility.
HEALTH
The "Healthy Vegan" is someone who chooses a vegan lifestyle for health reasons or to promote better health. A vegan diet is one of the healthiest lifestyles you can lead. A vegan diet tends to provide you with more antioxidants, fiber, vitamins: A, C, & E (123), and even iron on a complete balanced vegan diet. A vegan diet can be extremely varied with fresh whole foods, dairy alternatives, nuts, pulses, and you are even able to get your protein, omega-3 and fatty acids by eating vegan foods. We would always recommend anyone leading a vegan lifestyle to take a B12 supplement (see: tips, facts, myths, and inspiration below). The benefits of eating a healthy vegan diet include: weight loss or lower body mass, reduced risk in heart disease and cholesterol levels, helpful in diabetes management, better gut health and studies claim plant-based diets even reduce the risk of cancer.
SPIRITUAL & RELIGIOUS
Some people lead a vegan lifestyle due to spiritual or religious beliefs. Veganism & vegetarianism are deeply rooted in Hinduism, Jainism, Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Rastafari, and Buddhism.
Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism all have one thing in common "Ahimsa". Ahimsa means nonviolence which is a key virtue which is applied to all living things, hence many that follow these religions become vegan or vegetarian depending on how far they practice this virtue due to the "ethical" reasons or veganism.
Seventh-Day Adventist's that practice this religion eat a vegan or vegetarian diet due to (Genesis 1:29) " God created plants, seeds, and fruits to be human food, and therefore human diets should be entirely plant-based’.
Rastafarians that practice Rastafari eat a diet free from meat, additives, and chemicals to stay healthy and connected to the earth. This style of vegan eating by the Rastafari is known as "Ital cooking" and more commonly phrased by Rastafarians as "Ital is vital".
Many spiritual but non-religious people also follow a vegan lifestyle due to the fact of not wanting to cause harm, to create more peace and respect the same spark of energy or divine light in all living things "the soul", ultimately following the line of natural life energy from start to end with kindness, empathy, and compassion.
WHERE TO START...
If you want to study more about veganism we have listed some helpful resources below:
HUMANE SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL UK
