Instinctively, most of us will feel that being vegan for the animals is the most obvious and logical reason to pursue this lifestyle. Health and nutrition are métiers that need to be studied. Whereas facts around the positive impact of veganism on the environment, sustainability and humanity can sometimes feel a little abstract. However, “vegan for the animals” just makes sense even for many people who thus far have never considered being vegan themselves.
According to recent numbers published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), about 200 Million land animals are killed daily for the production of meat, dairy and eggs. This number does not include fish and other marine life.
As for fish, the British organisation Fishcount.org.uk estimates that between 2.2 and 6.3 billion individuals are killed on a daily basis. Other marine life including shrimp, squid, lobsters and clams would increase this number by at least an estimated further billion of animals.
Being vegan means not being a customer to the industries behind the meat, fish, dairy and egg production. Therefore, it is plain logic that the more humans are vegan and/or plant-based, fewer animals will be killed over time.
Vegan for the animals – why vegetarianism doesn’t help
A gruesome fact that mostly vegetarian people ignore is that the dairy and egg industry is responsible for just as many deaths and often months and years of pure misery for the animals concerned. In order to produce milk, a dairy cow has to be pregnant over and over again. Her calf will be taken away immediately. If the calf is male he will be sent to the slaughter house for veal production.
If the calf is female she will go down the same route as her mother. That means years of artificial insemination and pregnancy. Machines then painfully extract the milk biologically intended for her calf. After four to five years her body won’t play along anymore and becomes “useless” for the industry. Therefore all dairy cows also end up in the slaughter house.
The egg industry works very similarly. Female chicken are only useful as long as they lay eggs. Thanks to hormones given to the hen eggs are produced a lot more frequently and in unnatural large sizes.
While the unfertilised eggs are being sold as food the fertilised ones will be used for the next generation of egg laying hens. That is, if the chick turns out to be female. Male chicks will be killed immediately either by being shredded alive or gassed.
As upsetting as all of this is, it is the reality of our world. Every vegan at some point has decided to not ignore this reality anymore. It is an uncomfortable truth and the reason why being vegan for the animals can be overwhelming and heart-breaking.