This year, 2019, will mark the 75th anniversary of the Vegan Society. Here’s an article I did on Veganism and it’s impact on today’s society. Click the link below to see the article as it appeared in magazine format or keep scrolling to see a text only version.
Veganism – Fact or Fiction – Text only version:
While the number of people embracing the Vegan lifestyle increases, most people would be surprised to hear that the Vegan Society will be celebrating its 75th birthday in 2019. It is important to note that the Vegan lifestyle is about much more than diet. The Vegan ideology that was introduced by Donald Wilson in 1944 espoused a lifestyle that would exclude “all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.”
But the original image of the lentil-eating hippy is fast being replaced by that of militant, almost feral protest groups coordinating high profile attacks and stunts. Social Media is policed by ‘Meat-Shamers’ that bombard the unwary for their choices. There have been pickets and attacks on abattoirs and retailers. One London steak restaurant was invaded by Vegans who were playing the sounds of a slaughterhouse while chanting ‘My food didn’t die screaming!’ However, the more tolerant Vegan will employ a reasoned approach to highlight the benefits of a Vegan lifestyle.
A recent report by the Environment secretary, Michael Gove suggests that a switch to a meat-free and dairy-free diet in the UK would slash the UK’s CO2 emissions by 60-90 Million tons per year. Britain emits about 1 Billion tons of CO2 each year – about 250 Million tons is caused by food production (including transport, packaging etc.). Moving to a healthy diet (less meat and sugar) would deliver a 12% reduction in CO2. Moving to a vegetarian diet would deliver a 26% reduction in annual CO2 , while moving to a Vegan diet would deliver a 36% reduction.
Adopting a Vegan diet not only reduces our Carbon footprint, but reduces our impact on the planet in other areas. According to a recent study by Oxford University, animal agriculture is the 2nd largest emitter of greenhouse gases after transport. Today it is estimated that 80% of our agricultural land is devoted to rearing livestock. A reduction in livestock would see a significant reduction in methane emissions (cow-farts). But if that land were given back to nature we would see a restoration of habitat for many of the world’s endangered species and the reduction in cow-farts would be augmented by new forests of trees absorbing CO2.
There is a trend towards comparing Beef with cereal crops like wheat and soya. For example, it is estimated that it takes between 15,000 and 20,000 litres of water to produce just 1KG of beef, compared to 4,000 litres for 1KG of wheat, 2,500 litres for 1KG of rice and 280 litres for 1KG of potatoes. It is important to note that the cow does not drink 15,000 litres of water, rather this figure includes all of the water used in the production of feeds, transport etc.
However it is important to note that 1KG of Beef contains significantly more proteins and 2.5 times more digestible amino acids than soya (and 5.3 times more than wheat). Meat has long been the source for obtaining proteins and minerals that are essential to our general well-being. When we cut out the beef we often need to take mineral and vitamin supplements. Producing and packaging supplements might part-negate the ecological gains of Veganism.
But while Vegan’s occupy the moral high ground as they decry ‘evil-beef’, it is also worth looking at the environmental impact of the ever increasing popularity of Veganism. Many of the most popular foods in the Vegan diet are not produced in the UK and their transport has a large carbon footprint. Also, the demand for speciality foods has had serious repercussions. Chile has suffered extreme droughts resulting from intensive avocado farming. Drug cartels in Mexico have been cashing in by extorting farmers for protection or even stealing their land.
The popularity of the almond as a non-dairy alternative to milk has led to a surge in their production – each individual almond nut takes 4 litres of water to grow. Do Vegans know that the Californian almond industry transports 3 Billion bees to their farms each year in order to pollinate their crops? Another questionable crop is the cashew nut. Workers in India suffer severe burns while opening the hard, caustic Cashew shells. This work is also carried out by Vietnamese drug-addicts in forced labour camps. Can Vegans really claim that these are ethical practices? Do these products really fit with the Vegan ethos when countless animals (and people) are so heavily impacted to meet the rising demands of Western markets?
In a 2015 World Health Organisation (WHO) report, there was an established link between diets rich in processed meats and cancer, with Vegans claiming that eating processed meats was as dangerous for our health as smoking. In actual fact, it is estimated that there are around 34,000 deaths per year resulting from diets that are rich in processed foods which compares to 1M deaths from smoking and 600,000 deaths due to alcohol consumption. There have also been claims that eating 1 egg per day is equivalent to smoking 5 cigarettes. Yet the British Heart Foundation regards eggs as part of a healthy diet.
A common misconception is that a Vegan diet equates to a healthy diet. A fact that is being exploited by food manufacturers and forms part of the Vegan version of ‘Project Fear’. Just because a deep-fried spring roll is Vegan does not make it healthy. Substitute foods are often laced with refined sugars, for example, a type of Vegan ‘pulled pork’ contained 11g of sugar per 100g, while some vegan ‘chocolate’, made from cocoa butter, creamed coconut cream and coconut sugar has 626 calories per 100g. But diet is only one branch of the tree that is the Vegan Lifestyle. Many ‘hard-core’ vegans take their dedication higher, protesting the use of fur, leather, wool and cotton in clothes. Yet their good intentions may not be delivering the impact they hope for. By doing ’the right thing’ there is a risk of endorsing practices that are extremely harmful to the environment and have a serious impact on animals. Fake furs and Nylon fibres are a perfect example. They are made from refined petro-chemicals and can take more than 1,000 years to biodegrade. Furthermore, Friends of the Earth estimate that washing one load of synthetic clothes releases up to 17M microfibres into our waterways. These are similar to the micro plastics that work their way into our food chain, poisoning fish, birds and many other animals on the way.
One of the most exploitative areas of the Vegan marketing machine relates to cosmetics, with lifestyle websites offering a Vegan eye-serum for only £235! One can’t help but be sceptical when it comes to Vegan. There is little doubt that many manufacturers, on realising that their products have always been vegan, merely see the opportunity to repackage their wares and add a huge mark up.
So it would seem there is no definitive ‘right’ option, but what is the best option? I would suggest that a balanced diet with a number of meat-free days in each week is a solution. Show a bit of consideration when we buy things – weigh up the impact on the planet. But if Vegans do want us to stop eating animals, perhaps they should breed less tasty ones!
