Why Should I Go Vegan?

Most people go vegan because they have become aware of the pain that animals have to suffer during their lives and at the end of their lives at slaughter. More than 100 million farm animals are killed each year in Ireland, and more than 120,000 are used in animal testing. Animals are also used for sport and entertainment. None of this is necessary, and humans can live very healthy lives without animal products.

For the Cows

Cows, like humans and every other mammal, only produce milk after giving birth. They are made pregnant by artificial insemination. If the calf that is born is male there is usually no use for it, so it is either killed or sent abroad for veal. Cows have been bred to produce up to 10 times more milk than a calf would need. After about 5 years their bodies are considered ‘spent’ and they are sent to slaughter.

For the pigs

Pigs are kept indoors in dark sheds where they cannot indulge in their normal behaviours. Frustration and being in close contact with others causes them to bite each other’s tails, so the tails are cut off and their teeth are ‘clipped’. Pigs who have given birth are kept confined in a gestation crate for many weeks where they cannot get up and turn around. Pigs used for food are killed at 6 months.

For the Chickens

Chickens bred for meat have short, miserable lives in large indoor sheds surrounded by hundreds or thousands of others. They have been bred to grow very fast in a short space of time. This can cause lameness or broken legs and the animal dies from lack of food and water as they cannot move.

Chickens bred for eggs are usually kept confined indoors in small cages with slatted floors and limited space. They have been bred to produce up to 300 eggs a year, whereas their wild counterparts produce only 10-15 eggs a year.

For the Turkeys

Turkeys are highly intelligent and sensitive creatures. Like chickens, they have been bred to grow very fast in a short space of time. This can result in lameness and broken legs. They are slaughtered at around 6 months.

For the lambs

Lambs are slaughtered when they are only a few months old.

For the Fish

Many people believe that fish do not feel pain. However, a University of Liverpool study concluded that fish can and do feel pain, with a similarity to that experienced by mammals including humans. Fish also suffer on fish farms. They are packed closely together in a small space and suffer from various diseases as a result.

Veganism also has huge benefits for the environment and climate. A large number of research papers in recent years have illustrated the detrimental effects of animal agriculture on the climate and environment.

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Land Biodiversity

In Ireland animal agriculture is responsible for 60% of all biodiversity loss.
Animal agriculture has eroded biodiversity by removing habitats occupied by wildlife such as trees, ponds, hedgerows and scrub.
According to the EPA State of the Irish Environment 2016 Report, only 7% of land based ecosystems are considered to be in a favourable ecological condition.
Transitioning to plant-based diets has the potential to reduce diet-related land use by 76% (Source).
Since 1970 wild species have declined globally by 60%.
A plant-based diet would free up 75% of the world’s land for wildlife (Source).

Ocean Biodiversity

90% of the world’s marine stocks are now either fully exploited or over-exploited.
Around 40% of all fish caught by trawlers are thrown back into the sea – mostly dead, dying or badly injured. These are usually the types of fish that people don’t normally eat – referred to as ‘bycatch’.

Deforestation

Amazon rainforests are being cut down at the rate of 10 football fields every minute in order to create pasture for grazing cattle or to grow crops to feed animals.
More than 90% of fires in the Amazon are started deliberately to clear trees so the land can be used for cattle ranching or crop cultivation.
There are now 90 million cows in the Amazon, grazing on an area of cleared land the size of France.
The world’s rainforest has degraded perilously close to a stage where it can no longer regenerate.

Greenhouse Gases

Agriculture is responsible for 37.5% of Ireland’s emissions, according to the EPA.
The livestock sector produces more greenhouse gases than the direct emissions from all forms of transport.
Even if fossil fuel emissions were immediately halted, current trends in global food systems would prevent the achievement of the 1.5°C target and, by the end of the century, threatening the achievement of the 2°C target (Source).

Food and Water Security

Animal Agriculture consumes crops, water and other resources that could be used by people.
Plant based foods produce 10-20 times more protein per hectare than beef.
It takes 15,000 litres of water to produce one kilogramme of meat.
According to research, current levels of crop production are sufficient to provide enough food for the projected global population of 9.7 billion in 2050 only if there is a global move to a plant-based diet.

Pollution

Ireland’s farm animals produce approximately 50 times more waste than the human population. This waste is spread untreated on our land polluting its streams, rivers and lakes.

Pandemics and Diseases

Intensive animal agriculture presents a real threat in the form of zoonotic diseases and pandemics.
Most of the world’s antibiotics are fed to animals. Because of these high levels of antibiotic use, bacteria are becoming resistant to drugs, leading to increased drug resistance in humans.

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