Typical questions- answered!

As a vegan, I am often asked questions by people who are not familiar with the concept. 

I don't mind answering them, as I am happy to educate people about living a life that is free of animal enslavement and murder. It does however sometimes prove difficult when people ask questions that you feel have an 'obvious answer' or questions that challenge your moral grounding.

For me it's simple... "The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than blacks were made for whites, or women for men."  Alice Walker, American author, The Color Purple 

Photo from here

I recently came across this post which answers typical questions asked by non-vegans.

It was quite a relieve to see it in black and white because it is now easier for me to stand my ground when challenged with such questions.

Here are some of my favourites:

We’re cutting down all the rainforests to grow soybeans; we wouldn’t have enough land to grow soybeans if everyone went vegan because deforestation in the developing world to grow cheap soy for human and animal feed is a major issue in climate change.

In the U.S., most of our corn, wheat, oats and soy are fed to the 10 billion land animals who are killed every year for human consumption. Worldwide, the majority of plants are fed to 60 billion farmed land animals. The answer is in ending the breeding of farmed animals which takes up much of our planet’s land space. To quote Dr. Will Tuttle, PhD (author of The World Peace Diet) “...the driving force behind deforestation is animal agriculture. We’re cutting down approximately 1 acre per second of Amazonian rainforest every day right now, and the driving force behind it is eating meat, dairy products and eggs: growing soybeans to feed imprisoned chickens, cows, pigs, and factory-farmed fish.” With the gradual reduction of grazing farmed animals, the land would become available for growing crops, such as soybeans, without cutting down valuable forests.

People have been eating meat since millions of years ago, so it must be the right thing. 

People have been participating in wars, rape, hate crimes, and slavery since a million years ago....are those things we should continue the tradition or something we should work towards ending? We have reached a point in human evolution that we are able to live vegan. Our ancestors did not have the same opportunity.

 Milk, eggs and cheese do not kill the animal.

The fact is that the “dairy cow” is killed to be eaten when she is no longer producing. The dairy cow is riddled with pain as a result of her exploitation, sexually abused, has her newborn stolen from her over and over, and killed to be eaten typically at around 5 years of her otherwise 20-25 year lifespan. The dairy and egg industries are literally built on the control of the reproductive systems of female nonhumans. It is deeply troubling that the reproductive system of any species of female is being perceived as nothing more than an economic resource. It’s a feminist issue. Animals used for their milk or eggs lead lives of misery and when they are no longer profitable enough, they are killed to be eaten. The animal-harming  industry is all one big business, with different branches of it supporting each other. Veganism is the only ethical stance in our relationship to other animals. Vegetarians that consume dairy and eggs are funding animal exploitation and animals being killed.

Vegans are unhealthy.

Vegans are healthy, very healthy, and a few are not so healthy. Non-vegans are somewhat healthy, not healthy at all, and some are healthy. Statistically, vegans get less heart disease and cancer and other dreaded diseases, and have far less obesity. If a vegan eats whole foods; grains, legumes, seeds/nuts, fruits and vegetables (especially dark leafy greens), (plenty of raw foods), gets some sunshine, and sprinkles B12 fortified delicious cheezy tasting nutritional (or savoury) yeast on their meals, daily…they should have excellent health. But since veganism is not a diet, but an ethical position, there are some vegans who don’t find eating and living healthfully that important. There are many healthy long-time vegans. "The China Study" or the China-Cornell-Oxford Project, was a 20-year study conducted by the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, Cornell University, and the the University of Oxford, directed by T. Colin Campbell (not a vegetarian, at the time). The study examined mortality rates, diets, and lifestyles of 6,500 people in 65 rural counties in China, and concluded that people with a high consumption of animal-based foods were more likely to suffer chronic disease, while those who ate a plant-based diet were the least likely. The authors conclude that people who eat a plant food/vegan diet will minimize or reverse the development of chronic diseases. They also recommend adequate amounts of sunshine to maintain sufficient levels of vitamin D, and dietary supplements of vitamin B12 in case of complete avoidance of animal products, and to minimize the usage of vegetable oils. One thousand vegans were studied in the United States and they found that vegans had 40% less body fat and achieved healthy weight:  http://nutritionfacts.org/videos/thousands-of-vegans-studied/