Change.
What was your response? “Fat chance”? “Next question”?
If so, you’ve got company. Many of us have spent a lifetime settling into our routines—recalibrating isn’t on our radar. And even if we know that making a change is the right thing for ourselves and those we love, doing it isn’t always easy.
I wrestled with that when I decided that it was time to make a big change and live healthier by going vegan. It wasn’t like my doctor was raising red flags, but once you start sprouting gray hairs (and losing a few), you want to tilt the odds a little more in your favor. So, after researching (and doing some soul-searching), I realized that switching to plant-based foods is one of the best changes that we can make for our health.
A couple of recent studies helped cement my decision.
Last year, the World Health Organization put processed meat—such as sausage, bacon, and hot dogs—on the same list of carcinogens as tobacco and asbestos and warned that red meats are “probably carcinogenic.” Its study concluded that eating as little as 1.8 ounces of processed meat a day (less than two slices of bacon) can increase your likelihood of developing colorectal cancer by 18 percent. Another study found that eating only plant-based foods lowers the risk of developing prostate cancer by 35 percent. Being vegan also cuts the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes; fights obesity; and may slow Parkinson’s disease.
Making the switch was easier than I thought it would be. Supermarkets seem to stock new, tasty, easy-to-prepare vegan options every day. And dining out has been a whole new experience. I’m still salivating at the memory of a sesame tofu and broccoli entrée—bathed in a to-die-for sweet sauce—that I had weeks ago.
The effect on my health has been terrific. My blood pressure and cholesterol levels have taken a healthy dip below the recommended national averages, soon I’ll be looking for a smaller belt, and I have energy to burn. My doctor’s prescription? “Keep doing what you’re doing.”
My decision to go vegan has been a good change for those I care about, too—but I don’t mean just my wife, sons, and grandkids.
Like most people, I also care about animals. Yet I’d pile my plate with their legs, thighs, and other body parts. That always bothered me, but I finally stopped rationalizing it when it occurred to me that the billions of cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and other animals who are slaughtered for their flesh each year are as personable and intelligent as the five dogs and cats I love and share my home with.
I’d never hurt an animal, yet by eating meat, I was paying someone else to do it for me. Chickens are crammed by the thousands into fetid, windowless sheds and are killed before they’re even 2 months old. Turkeys receive no pain relief when portions of their beaks and toes are cut off. It’s the same for pigs when they’re castrated. Their tails are cut off, the ends of their teeth are clipped, and their ears are mutilated. After their beloved newborn calves are torn away from them, mother cows are tethered to milking machines until their bodies wear out. Then they’re slaughtered. Male calves spend their brief lives in tiny crates that prohibit exercise and cause their muscles to atrophy so they can be sold for veal.
Each vegan meal spares animals this suffering. That’s a change I can live with.
Here’s another: Being vegan puts me on the frontlines in combating climate change. The Worldwatch Institute has reported that at least 51 percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide can be attributed to animal agriculture. It’s a great feeling knowing that just by changing what I put on my plate, I’m helping to leave a cleaner, cooler planet for my grandkids’ kids.
So let’s try that word-association quiz one more time.
Change.
It doesn’t really sound so hard, does it?
Visit PETA.org, and ask for a free vegan starter kit today.
Great article! I went vegan about 24 years ago and it was the best decision ever. Sometimes we just need to learn to embrace those healthy, humane changes.
I definitely agree! Vegan foods are best for human health, the environment, and animals.
My dad went vegetarian 25 years ago and today, at 76, unlike all of his friends, he’s on no medications for blood pressure or cholesterol. As I write this, he’s sailing a boat from Maine to Maryland. I’d say that change was one that has stood the test of time.
For me, this sentence is everything: “I’d never hurt an animal, yet by eating meat, I was paying someone else to do it for me.” I hope that more people make the same connection the author did and eat plant-based foods instead of animals.
This is right on. I hate change, too, but going vegan was one of the best changes I’ve ever made, and I’d never go back. I hope others reading this will give it a try for 21 days and see how much better they feel.
This is such a thought-provoking piece. Another question could be, “Why wouldn’t you give vegan a try?” There are so many options today and there’s simply no reason not to start the transition.