What is Veganism?

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Definition of a Vegan
While Vegetarians don't eat any form of meat, a Vegan eats no animal product whatsoever. This means practicing Vegans do not eat milk, cheese, eggs or honey. Some go so far as excluding Omega 3 Fish Oil, white sugar, bread, beer, marshmallows, jelly and some salad dressings (Ecokaren, 2011).

The reason why some Vegans exclude:

• some white sugar
• some beer
• marshmallows
• jelly
• some bread
• some salad dressing

is because some white sugar contains bone char; some beer is filtered using tiny amounts of gelatin derived from fish bladders; marshmallows and jelly contain gelatine which is a protein made from boiling skin, bones, and other animal parts; some breads contain whey which is a dairy product. When you look at the  ingredient list on some salad dressings - you will often find lecithin, which helps keep oil and vinegar from separating, and this is derived from animal tissues or egg yolk (Ecokaren, 2011).

Reasons why people become Vegans

It is surprising how much animal product is evident in the day to day food we eat. The number one reason why people become Vegan is because they disagree with animal cruelty. And it isn't just about the meat. According to The Vegan Society:

"Millions of male chicks and calves are killed each year as 'by-products' of the egg and milk industries, considered worthless since they cannot produce milk or eggs.  The dairy cows and egg-laying hens themselves are killed at a fraction of their natural lifespan, when they become too worn out to produce enough milk or eggs to be profitable".

Another reason people choose to become Vegan is to protect our environment due to the meat-hungry human population. The Vegan Society claims:

"World meat production has quadrupled in the past 50 years and farmed animals now outnumber people by more than three to one. In other words, the livestock population is expanding faster than the human population and is projected to continue to expand as the Chinese middle classes increasingly adopt meat-centred diets and as the Western taste for meat, eggs and dairy products continues to grow".


Video
Below is a 30 minute video broken down into 8 chapters which explores the benefits of becoming Vegan. The chapters cover  delicious, healthy food, tackling many of the ethical and global challenges facing us today and into the future and features a dietician, an MP, chefs, farmers, an elite athlete, and environmental groups. It explains how becoming vegan is good for your health, good for the environment, good for the animals and can help to feed a growing world population (The Vegan Society, n.d.).

Chapter 1: Making t/ Connection Chp 1 Food: The Vegan Society

Chapter 2: Making t/ Connection Chp 2 Fitness: The Vegan Society

Chapter 3: Making t/ Connection Chp 3 Nutrition: The Vegan Society

Chapter 4: Making t/ Connection Chp 4 Global Food Security: The Vegan Society

Chapter 5: Making t/ Connection Chp 5 Farming: The Vegan Society

Chapter 6: Making t/ Connection Chp 6 Environment: The Vegan Society

Chapter 7: Making t/ Connection Chp 7 Ethics: The Vegan Society

Chapter 8: Making t/ Connection Chp 8 A few thought: The Vegan Society

Videos courtesy of: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheVeganSociety?feature=watch

References:
Ecokaren, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.ecokaren.com/2011/01/what-vegans-dont-eat/

The Vegan Society (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://www.vegansociety.com

YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/user/TheVeganSociety?feature=watch