Why We Are A Vegan Family?
If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian. ~Paul McCartney
Fist off I realize this is a very sensitive topic, I have no judgment on you if you choose to eat meat, many of my friends do. But, I wouldn’t be a good Vegan if I didn’t share my understanding.
My family and I have been Vegan for almost 8 years and in that time my knowledge and understanding of Vegetarianism has expanded greatly.
I want to share the three top reasons we choose NOT TO EAT MEAT and let me know what you think about this…
Firstly when you take a big bite of meat, whether it looks bloody or not, the blood from the animal get between the gum’s which sends of a chemical reaction in your brain. This Chemical reaction stimulates fear and survival in your body. You see the blood of the animal contains all the pain, fear, agony, and suffering that it went through in it’s painful life and while it was being brutally murder, now that blood is in your body and you can bet your body takes it on as it’s own suffering. This is the very reason that people suggest that you eat more meat if you’re fatigued, of course you’re going to get a energy bust right after you eat meat, but what you’re really feeling is the need to survive.
Secondly although some historians and anthropologists say that man is historically omnivorous, our anatomical equipment teeth, jaws, and digestive system favors a fleshless diet. The American Dietetic Association notes that “most of mankind for most of human history has lived on vegetarian or near-vegetarian diets.”
And much of the world still lives that way. Even on most industrialized countries, the love affair with meat is less than a hundred years old. It started with the refrigerator car and the twentieth-century consumer society. But even with the twentieth century, man’s body hasn’t adapted to eating meat. The prominent Swedish scientist Karl von Linne states, “Man’s structure, external and internal, compared with that of the other animals, shows that fruit and succulent vegetables constitute his natural food.” The chart below compares the anatomy of man with that of carnivorous and herbivorous animals.
When you look at the comparison between herbivores and humans, we compare much more closely to herbivores than meat eating animals. Humans are clearly not designed to digest and ingest meat.
Meat-eaters: have claws
Herbivores: no claws
Humans: no claws
Meat-eaters: have no skin pores and perspire through the tongue
Herbivores: perspire through skin pores
Humans: perspire through skin pores
Meat-eaters: have sharp front teeth for tearing, with no flat molar teeth for grinding
Herbivores: no sharp front teeth, but flat rear molars for grinding
Humans: no sharp front teeth, but flat rear molars for grinding
Meat-eaters: have intestinal tract that is only 3 times their body length so that rapidly decaying meat can pass through quickly
Herbivores: have intestinal tract 10-12 times their body length.
Humans: have intestinal tract 10-12 times their body length.
Meat-eaters: have strong hydrochloric acid in stomach to digest meat
Herbivores: have stomach acid that is 20 times weaker than that of a meat-eater
Humans: have stomach acid that is 20 times weaker than that of a meat-eater
Meat-eaters: salivary glands in mouth not needed to pre-digest grains and fruits.
Herbivores: well-developed salivary glands which are necessary to pre-digest grains and fruits
Humans: well-developed salivary glands, which are necessary to pre-digest, grains and fruits
Meat-eaters: have acid saliva with no enzyme ptyalin to pre-digest grains
Herbivores: have alkaline saliva with ptyalin to pre-digest grains
Humans: have alkaline saliva with ptyalin to pre-digest grains
Based on a chart by A.D. Andrews, Fit Food for Men, (Chicago: American Hygiene Society, 1970)
Clearly if humans were meant to eat meat we wouldn’t have so many crucial ingestive/digestive similarities with animals that are herbivores.
And Thirdly “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” livestock is a major player in climate change, accounting for 18 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions (measured in carbon dioxide equivalents). That’s more than the entire transportation system! Unfortunately, this incredibly important revelation has received only limited attention in the media.
Truly there is so much more I could write, so many more startling facts but now the choice is yours. I love to answer questions about this topic, I love to share recipes and help new Vegetarians or Vegans get started. I can remember wondering what I would eat, I had the image that all I could ever eat again was veggies, far from it, we eat the most flavor full food now, plus being a vegetarian isn’t what it used to be.
Please let me know if you need help.
You put a baby in a crib with an apple and a rabbit. If it eats the rabbit and plays with the apple, I’ll buy you a new car. ~Harvey Diamond.
Love,
Sir Shakti