A Classic Argument for Veganism

I read a lot of them and many were very good in their defense of a vegan diet. But out of all of them -- I liked the one Samantha sent in quoting David Coats from Old McDonald's Factory Farm.

For me it is brilliant in its simplicity, truth, and clarity. I believe it will stand

on its own merits in this short post. If you are in a straddling position about

whether to make a diet lifestyle change, I think Coats' reflections on veganism will certainly enlighten and help. Here it is:

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"Isn't man an amazing animal? He kills wildlife--birds, kangaroos, deer, all kinds of cats, coyotes, beavers, groundhogs, mice, foxes and dingoes--by the million in order to protect his domestic animals and their feed. Then he kills domestic animals by the billion and eats them. This in turn kills man by the millions, because eating all those animals leads to degenerative--and fatal--health conditions like heart disease, kidney disease, and cancer. So then man tortures and kills millions more animals to look for cures for these diseases. Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being killed by hunger and malnutrition because food they could eat is being used to fatten domestic animals. Meanwhile, some people are dying of sad laughter at the absurdity of man, who kills so easily and so violently, and once a year, sends out cards praying for Peace on Earth."

While I could relate many more good comments, I rather just let the reader reread Coat's "classic." Who could say better and more succinctly than he the many solid reasons why adopting a vegan lifestyle makes a lot of sense? In that ONE paragraph I gleaned SIX reasons why veganism should be sought. They are: WILDLIFE DESTRUCTION, FARM-ANIMAL FACTORIES, HEALTH PROBLEMS, RESEARCH CRUELTY, WORLD HUNGER, AND HYPOCRISY.

And guess what--I thought of a SEVENTH reason. Have you also? Think on it, and then scroll down to mine. I think many of you will not latch on to it on your own. I hope I am wrong.

While reading other people's comments, I had to smile recalling one woman's defense of eating meat was that we need B-12 which can only be gotten from a meat diet. I replied to her--it's too bad that when God made Adam and Eve vegetarian--He didn't know this.

Then a man questioning my reference to the Old Testament said that the world was 200 million years old and our first ancestors were meat eaters. Wow-- what a stat! When I looked up how old the earth was--quite of few of the sites said that the earth was billions of years old. Whether these scientific "facts" are true or not -- whether our first ancestors ate meat or not, for me at least--I think that I will stick with the Old Testament.

And of course, I'll stick with Coats' rationale. It seems to me very current, relevant, and true. And now to my SEVENTH REASON for becoming vegan.- -THE ENVIRONMENT. Did you also get it?

Re this reason--ask the people living near Toledo who this past year found their portion of Lake Erie polluted with algae bloom -- a result of the factory-farm seepage of animal waste from nearby factory farms.

Can you imagine what it must be like to suddenly not have a clean water source? I hope the state of Ohio will address this problem so that the people depending on a clean Lake Erie will never live through this nightmare again.

Hopefully, these 7 reasons will help people searching for a better and more healthful lifestyle will come to realize that veganism is a benevolent lifestyle--one that most of us will never find a reason to abandon.

And to the lady who said that we need B-12 from meat--when I recently sprained my foot and had occasion to see a doctor (a rarity), I asked for a B-12 shot-- thinking I might need it. Wrong -- a required blood test not only revealed that I didn't need a B-12 shot but I found that my blood work was good for this vegan of 31 years. That's a testimonial I think anyone would be happy with, and it is all due to the compassionate lifestyle I adopted in 1983 -- thanks to the inspiration of my beautiful dog Peaches.