Veganism is more than just a diet. 
It's a way of life.
"It takes nothing away from a human to be kind to an animal." Joaquin Phoenix

"Can you recommend me something to watch?"

Earthlings (www.nationearth.com) is about the treatment of animals for 'food', clothring, scientific research, entertainment, ...

Dominion (www.watchdominion.com) is about the meat industry in Australia.

Seaspiracy (Netflix) is about how (commercial) fishing is destroying the planet and how it involves modern-day slavery.

Cowspiracy (Netflix) is about the meat industry and the effect it has on the planet.

What The Health (Netflix) is about the corruption and collusion of government and health organisations.

The Game Changers (Netflix) is about top athletes on a plant-based diet (Hamilton, Djokovich, Baboumian, ...)

Blackfish (Netflix) is about Seaworld and how animals are kept there.

Forks Over Knives (Netflix) is about the link between obesity (in the US) and the animal agriculture industry.

Infinity and Back (Youtube) is about a vegan mountaineer who climbed Mounth Everest.

 

"Where do you get omega-3?"

Omega-3 can be found in flax seeds, brussels sprouts, walnuts and chia seeds, among others.

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"Where do you get your proteins?"

Ah, one of the questions vegans get asked a lot. Plant-based proteins can be found in almonds, chia seeds, black beans, flax seeds, walnuts, edamame, quinoa, lentins, white beans, pinto beans, adzuki beans, sunflower seeds, chickpeas, wild rice, ... the list goes on.

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"What about calcium?"

Calcium can be found in tofu, broccoli, leafy greens such as kale or collard, flax seeds, chickpeas, figs, almonds, flax seeds, brazil nuts and a bunch of beans.

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"Or iron?"

You can get iron out of soybeans, lentils, chickpeas, potatoes, black beans, cashews, brussels sprouts, tahini, oats, almonds, ...

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"And what about zinc?"

For this, look at asparagus, zucchini, peas, brazil nuts, broccoli, pumpkin seeds, ...

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"What's the deal with B12, yo?"

It is well-known that vegans need to take B12-supplements. We do so by taking a pill or tablet at a regular interval (every day, every week, ... depends on the dosage).

But, did you know that non-vegans should also take B12-supplements? Meat products contain B12 because B12 is added to the "livestock"-feed. But because the B12 has already been absorbed by the animal, it becomes harder for the non-vegan to absorb the second-hand B12.

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"What is wrong with honey?"

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Tip: replace honey with agave syrup or maple syrup, for example.

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"What is wrong with zoos / aquariums?"

Zoos and aquariums do not have an educational function, even though they like to claim that they do. It's been proven that children (in general) know more about dinosaurs than about wild animals. Books, museums, documentaries, ... those things are educational; showing off animals in a captive environment is not.

In most cases, the size of the parking lots exceed the size of the pens multiple times because the zoos ans aquariums care about money, not animals.

Tip: instead of taking your kids to a zoo or an aquarium, look for a sanctuary. They have animals in their care who have been rescued from the meat- and dairy industry; or from abusive owners. 

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The issue with commercial fishing

The big trawler ships are literally tearing the seabed open, which destroys the ocean ecosystems.

Bycath is a huge problem that occurs with commercial fishing. Bycatch is a term used for all sealife caught that is not the intended species (including whales and dolphins, seals, albatrosses, turtles, sharks, ... ). For shrimp harvest, for example, the US bycatch ratio varies between 3 to 15 to one; meaning that for every shrimp caught, 3 to 15 non-shrimp are caught. These animals are discarded, often dead or dying. 

Many protected species and endangered species are caught as bycatch, and their numbers are rarely counted.

Scientists believe that the overfishing is so severe that the oceans may be depleted by 2048.

Most of our oxygen comes from the ocean, meaning that depleting the ocean will cause an oxygen shortage, which will in effect have serious consequences for humans.

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The issue with recreational fishing

Scientists have long since proven that fishes do - in fact - feel pain. A hook through the mouth is a painful experience. Suffocation is what follows.

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"But I throw them back..."

A fish thrives in water. They will start to suffocate when you take them out. So even if you throw all your caught fish back into the water, they will have started to suffocate for the duration they were out of their natural habitat. 

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Why it's better to not eat fish

Mercury from industries all over the planet find its way into the earth's water (via air and rain, via sewage, via ground pollution, ...). The smallest of sealife (krill and such) absorb the mercury. A fish eats the krill, and absorbs the mercury. A bigger fish eats the smaller fish, and the mercury is absorbed. And so on and so on. The bigger the fish that you eat, the more mercury you're likely to ingest, because mercury bio-accumulates.

'Fun' fact, pigs consume more fish than people, since fish and some of the bycatch are ground up into pig feed. This means that pigs, too, can be riddled with mercury.

Mercury is a toxin that can affect your lungs, kidneys, skin, eyes, digestive system, nervous system and immune system. 

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Why you shouldn't eat seafood, like shrimp, lobsters, ...

It is not simply air escaping from a lobster when you boil them alive. When a human experience an excessive amount of pain, they go into shock. This causes them to feel less pain. A lobster cannot go into shock and will feel everything, until they die.

Female shrimp have their eyestalks cut off. It makes them more obedient.

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Why you should avoid gelatin

Gelatin is made by boiling animal bones and skin into a gelatinous goo, which in turn is often used for making candy. No one in their right mind would knowingly consume bones or skin.

Tip: more and more candy brands are stepping away from gelatin, so take a moment to read the ingredient list. The most common alternative is xanthan gum. When looking to bake something with gelatin, replace it with agar agar or xanthan gum (do read up to see if you need an equal amount to the gelatin, or more, or less).

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The deal with milk

Unlike popular belief, a cow is not a machine that automatically makes milk. A cow is a mammal. A mammal only produces milk when she is pregnant and/or had a child.

First, a bull is anally penetrated with an electrode in order to stimulate and force ejaculation. The semen is collected.

Then the cow gets an arm inserted in het anus. This hand guides the syringe with bull semen in her vagina. The cow carries the calf for nine months.

When the calf is born, he or she is almost always immediately taken away, so none of the milk is wasted on the calf and all of the milk can be sold to humans.

If the calf is male, he is raised for veal (read up about the life of a veal calf below).

If the calf is female, she will endure the same fate as her mother.

When a "milk cow" doesn't produce enough milk to be financially viable, she is killed (so yes, the kill cows for milk). The natural life span of a cow is around 20 years. Dairy cows are usually slaughtered after 4 to 5 years.

The dairy industry = the meat industry.

Tip: there are so many plant-based milk alternatives available. Chances are there's at least one to your liking. Enjoy!

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The issue with meat

All animals in the meat- and dairy industry are either babies or children.

Veal: A veal calf is deprived of the necessary first milk (colostrum). To keep the meat pale (for esthetic reasons), the calf is fed almost exclusively liquids, which in turn causes almost constant diarrhea. He is confined in a small box to limit any movement, lie down, run, ... He is often chained as well. He is slaughtered when he is between 16 and 18 weeks old.

Beef: Cows raised for beef are fed plenty of food in order to fatten up. Not all of this food is healthy for the cow. A cow slaughtered for beef, is advised to be no older than 36 months, because after that age 'the profit margin only goes down', since the weight will likely not increase anymore. A beef cow can be slaughtered as early as after 5 months of age.

Pork: Piglets have their tails cut, testicals pulled off and teeth clipped, without analgesics. The teeth are clipped so that the animals don't bite each other. The tail is clipped so that other piglets don't bite or pull on the tail, which can cause infections and thus costs the farmer doesn't want. The testicals are pulled off or cut off to reduce agression and to reduce the risk of 'boar taint' (a distinct smell that can affect the meat). Pigs are fed so much just to gain weight and are usually slaughtered between 24 and 29 weeks of age.

Chicken: 

Lamb:

Horse:

Game: Game meat often comes from animals raised and bred just like cows, pigs, sheep, chicken, etc. For "true wild" animal meat, see below for the topic about hunting.

The way the animals are kept:

The way the animals are transported:

The slaughtering process:  

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"I can't stop eating cheese!"

Cheese and milk contain casomorphine. Dr. Barnard explains: "These opiates attach to the same brain receptors that heroin and morphine attach to. Casomorphine is nowhere near as mind-numbing as drugs like morphine or heroin, but they do affect the brain in the same way, attaching to the same receptors, just in a much smaller way."

Cheese contains a concentrated dose, compared to milk, which is why cheese feels so addictive.

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"What's wrong with eggs?"

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Wearing animals

Leather: 

Fur: 

Wool: 

Downs: 

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"What is wrong with hunting?"

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"Hitler was a vegetarian"

Hitler is often brought up to paint off vegetarianism (and veganism) as evil and extreme things. This is, of course, silly. Other famous historical vegetarians and vegans include Gandhi, Benjamin Franklin, Leonardi DaVinci, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Pythagoras, ... are they all evil, then?

Did you know that Stalin (who had more people killed than Hitler) ate meat? Or Genghis Kahn, or Julius Caesar, or ... basically most of the evil dictators or rulers ate meat. One person's dietary preference does not say anything about the whole group op people who follow the same diet.

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"It's part of a tradition"

If your tradition is based on something cruel or included cruelty, then maybe it's okay to let that tradition evolve into something less cruel.

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"Plants feel pain!"

Plants don't have a central nervous system, like animals.

'Livestock' are fed plants and people are literally destroying rainforests to sustain the meat- and dairy industry. A carnist diet consumes up to fifteen times more plants than a vegan diet.

The argument "plants feel pain" is, in fact, an argument in favor of veganism.

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"But plants are alive"

They are, no one denies this.

I have a dog and a lettuce in front of me. If I kick the lettuce, it will roll away, and you wouldn't bat an eye.
If I kick the dog, the dog would react. The dog would either run away (preventing me from kicking him or her again) or the dog would defend himself or herself and attack me. And people would stop me from kicking the dog.  The same would happen if the animal in question was a pig or a chicken, an animal no one really seems to care about when they're eating.

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