8 Facts That Prove Vegans Are on the Right Side of History

I think a lot about the past, where we are, and where we should be. And I often wonder how my present day-to-day actions will affect the future.

One of the many reasons why I’ve committed to a vegan lifestyle is because I want to make sure that in 50 years, when I look back, I can proudly say I lived my life while striving to be kind—to others, the planet, and myself. I don’t want to have regrets. I want to make sure that when I’m older, I can say I was on the right side of history.

So how does veganism relate? Keep reading.

1. Vegans protect the planet.


The facts are irrefutable: Climate change is real. If we don’t take action now to curb climate change, scientists warn that the planet faces disastrous consequences—from intensified storms and rising sea levels to the extinction of millions of species. And while not everyone can afford a fancy electric car or pricey solar panels, there is something we can all do: go vegan.

Raising animals for food produces more greenhouse gas than all the cars, planes, and other forms of transportation combined. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, carbon dioxide emissions from animal agriculture make up about 15 percent of global human-induced emissions, with beef and milk production as the leading culprits.

There is no such thing as “sustainable meat, and plant-based alternatives to meat, dairy, and eggs take a mere fraction of the resources to produce as their animal-based counterparts. Let that sink in for a minute.

2. Vegans stick up for the rights of exploited workers and immigrants.

The meat industry is infamous for exploiting the most vulnerable to maximize profits. By boycotting the industry’s products, you stand up for the rights of workers and immigrants. Consider this: Poultry processing is one of the most dangerous jobs, with more than 27 workers a day suffering amputations or other injuries severe enough to require hospitalization. With high demands for how many animals they “process per day, workers are sometimes denied bathroom breaks. Some have even resorted to wearing diapers. Additionally, slaughterhouse workers have been found to suffer from PTSD and illnesses caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

With an unknown percentage of undocumented workers, the meat, dairy, and egg industries prey on vulnerable people. According to a recent Vice article, “The Department of Labor officially puts the number of undocumented farmworkers at 46 percent, but industry experts and labor advocates estimate that the number is much, much higher—possibly closer to 70 percent.

Many undocumented workers are reluctant to go off the farm for fear of being caught and deported, a fear reinforced by demeaning or intimidating comments from their supervisors. Some remain on the farms for more than 11 days at a time.

3. Vegans fight racial inequality and environmental racism.


The meat, dairy, and egg industries have a long history of racial discrimination. In fact, populations near factory farms are often low-income communities of color. These farms pollute the surrounding areas so badly that residents suffer a host of illnesses.

A 2002 study examined more than 60 factory farms in Mississippi and found that most were located in low-income areas with a high percentage of people of color. Similarly, a 2005 study found that in North Carolina low-income areas had seven times more hog farms than affluent ones and that communities of color had five times more hog farms than predominantly white communities.

4. Going vegan would make everyone healthier.

Eating meat is linked to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and even cancer. In fact, the World Health Organization has placed processed meats in the same category of cancer risk as cigarettes. And the Mayo Clinic found that long-term vegetarians lived on average 3.6 years longer than their meat-eating counterparts. More people going vegan would improve public health, saving thousands of lives and billions of dollars.

5. Vegans protect wildlife from extinction.


We all know that the meat industry kills billions of farmed animals every year, but did you know that it also has millions of wild animals killed each year?

Yes, you read that right. Millions of wild animals, including wolves, bears, river otters, eagles, and coyotes, are killed because they are seen as a threat to animal agriculture industries. From grazers to predators, animals are killed on a massive scale to feed the profit-hungry meat industry. Awful, right?

In addition to inflicting unspeakable cruelty on farmed animals and devastating wildlife populations through hunting, animal agriculture takes a terrible toll on wildlife through deforestation, habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, overfishing, and capturing untargeted “bycatch.

6. Vegans protect female bodies.


The meat, dairy, and egg industries not only exploit our environmental resources; they continually exploit female bodies for milk, eggs, and reproduction of new animals to use, mutilate, and kill for human consumption.

Consider this: Cows in the dairy industry are repeatedly and forcibly impregnated to ensure a continuous supply of milk. Their young are ripped from their sides within hours of being born. Female calves are forced into the same generative cycle, while males are slaughtered for veal. The suffering this all causes is immeasurable and indefensible.

7. Vegans fight world hunger.

With close to a billion people in the world without enough food, it’s impossible to ignore the link between meat consumption and world hunger. According to a 2012 study from McGill University and the University of Minnesota, humans produce enough grain to feed the world, yet we choose to feed most of it to animals just so we can eat meat.


8. Vegans are creating a more compassionate world for animals.


Veganism is great for a lot of reasons, but first and foremost, it is a lifestyle that seeks to reduce animal suffering. Animals at factory farms are bred into a world of unimaginable cruelty: extreme confinement, filthy conditions, and brutal mutilations. And in the end, they’re all violently slaughtered. Sadly, the meat industry is legally allowed to abuse billions of them in ways that would warrant felony-level animal cruelty charges if the victim were just one dog or cat.


Want to be on the right side of history and help tackle some of the world’s most pressing issues? Go vegan.

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