Taking a Look at Veganism

According to vegansociety.com, “ Veganism represents a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, other animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, other animals and the environment.“ People that follow this way of living are called vegans. The vegan diet is more a lifestyle choice and a philosophy than just a diet. The vegan life is the best way to live because it’s healthier, helps the environment, and is kinder to animals.

The article, “Veganism Health Hyper Is Overrated”, by Katherine Jaffe, Jaffe goes over what veganism is and how the vegan diet affects the body. She mentions that being vegan is more than not eating animal products, but also not exploiting animals in every aspect of life. In response to this, she asks: “Aren’t vegans creatures, too?” She argues that veganism is not the best choice since it causes vitamin deficiencies, like vitamin B12. Then, she mentions how a newborn had died from not getting proper nutrition because it’s mother was a vegan and chose to breastfeed. Although, Jaffe provides the more negative effects of becoming a vegan, she does that only to prepare those who want that way of life.

An experience that has greatly influenced my understanding of the world has been my participation in Florida Atlantic University’s Pine Jog Fellowship. The Pine Jog Fellowship is a three-semester program that focuses on environmental improvement and education. In the Pine Jog Fellowship I have had the opportunity to develop my own environmental service projects that would benefit my community. During one semester of my fellowship, I coordinated beach clean-ups for Lake Worth Beach. I recruited over sixty people and collectively, we recycled and threw away over one hundred pounds of trash off of Lake Worth Beach. I also spoke to local fishermen and educated them on the dangers of throwing monofilament fishing line into the ocean. During the

The argument under analysis is a Wall Street Journal article titled “Would We Be Healthier with a Vegan Diet?” The article divulges of the argument, is a vegan diet better for you. The first side explained in the article is for vegan diets, entitled, Yes: Cut Animal-Based Protein By Dr. T. Colin Campbell. Dr. Campbell is a professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University and co-author of "The China Study. With the opposing view being presented by Dr. Nancy Rodriguez, Nancy Rodriguez is a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Connecticut .which is entitled No, presents the other side of the argument: It’s a Balance. This analysis will discuss strengths and weaknesses in both arguments. The purpose is not to decide

Ever since I was a young child, I had a passion for nature. Aided by my parents, this drive was always fueled by day hikes, week long tenting trips, beach days, and long walks in the woods. This exposure to nature made me realize how precious and fragile it was. My passion for nature then escalated into a passion for the environment and protecting it. After taking Environmental Science at high school my junior year, I was able to blossom that passion for environmental protection into a reality with the inception of the Sustainability Squad. The sustainability Squad is an environmental awareness club who’s mission is, “promoting a sustainable lifestyle in and around York high school by spearheading initiatives such as the garden center and

In Cenla's community there are limited resources that encourage recycling. At Louisiana State University at Alexandria there is often an overflow of recyclable goods that can be salvaged and re-purposed to benefit our community. We propose an affordable campus project, Recycle Rally, that networks students, teachers, and those in the community through volunteer recycle days and projects that use recycled materials as an art medium. Professors are encouraged to give assignments and extra credit to motivate students to volunteer for work days, as well as, participate themselves. After completing refurbished art projects, students will need support from the community to purchase recycled art, in order to offset the cost for bins, labor, and transportation. The benefits of implementing the program inspire students to care, network, and build within their community,

On November 1, my friend and I volunteered in Tellico during the Tellico Home Tour event. We were stationed in the Yacht Club to assit the Women’s Club to raise funds for themselves. To prepare for this we needed to look and be professional; we were required to wear dresses and associate with crowds of people. The Women’s Club had baked cupcakes for the people of Tellico to sample and then buy to support the club. While I was there, I helped set up displays for the cupcakes, I served food and drink, I convinced people to buy cupcakes to support the Women’s Club, and I also helped with the clean up after the selling event.

My choice to join the Sustainability Living Learning Community was an easy one. Becoming a freshman in college is an intimidating experience, but the community atmosphere of the Living Learning Community was immediately welcoming and I have learned more about sustainability in the weeks of the seminar than I have ever known in my life. We initiated change in our community that will hopefully inspire others to do the same. This community has taught me to be an advocate of sustainable change that I will continue to develop as I continue my college career.

Our Phi Theta Kappa Chapter partnered with Little City, a non-for profit organization, to create a vegetable garden, where we work throughout the summer and beginning of fall. I was part of the project from day one when we started setting everything up, until the day when we harvest some of the vegetables. A few Little City’s residents cooked the vegetables and we had the opportunity to eat some of

Like the majority of teenagers today, I was just browsing YouTube when I stumbled upon a video that has since changed my life. “Earthlings.” The documentary revealed how millions of animals are mercilessly slaughtered in factory farms. Just watching such brutality- void of any type of humanity- was immobilizing. Somehow I made it to the end and came across copious recommended videos, including “Forks Over Knives” and “Cowspiracy.” While they weren’t as graphic as the first, they were definitely informative. After watching these documentaries, I decided to go vegan. This decision wasn’t made lightly, and it wasn’t just for myself. Veganism has long been disputed over, but animal rights activists, environmentalists,

Even before this assignment was introduced, I was fully aware that this class was to be mainly focused on community health promotions and the importance of it. I was aware that we were going to learn about the fundamentals of health promotion and how it was done in different parts of the world. But what I wasn’t aware of was that the entire class was to partake in promoting good health in our own community via the Health Fair! When the assignment was first introduced, my initial thinking was that working in groups was something I personally never really favored in the past. Then there was the actual interaction with the community, specifically those who are at the flea market. I have been to the flea market before and I was

I listen to a podcast where they talked about many subjects. The first and longest subject was about how veganism is a feminist protest and battle. The guest went into detail about how she became a vegan which started with her pony that she had since she was little that in college was shot by accident by some teenage boys and Timmy, the pony, died. Then she went on to talk about for dinner that night her family had burgers and she couldn’t eat it because it reminded her of Timmy and that she wouldn’t eat Timmy so she became a vegetarian then went on to become a vegan and how meat is sexuallized like women and women are refered to in some situations as meat. Also how the world accepts that women and meat are treated alike and that

My school’s Earth Club has been a central part of my life since freshman year because of my understanding of the need for environmental preservation and conservation. While others may see us doing the menial work of collecting the school’s bottles and cans for recycling, we do much more. I and many others have attended multiple environmental restorations/clean-ups, but we also do work at the local level. The club organizes several school clean-ups throughout the year where teachers typically offer some credit or passes to students who help. Our advisor, as a social activist, has also encouraged us to take part in marches meaningful to us because “Earth” Club means more than preserving the environment. It means caring about and considering all

This essay analyzes the ethical argument for veganism through the lens of philosophy using Utilitarianism defined by John Stuart Mill, and Deontological ethics according to Immanuel Kant. Through the use of these theories, I will justify the moral worth and legitimacy of the animal welfare debate that is often used to promote a cruelty-free and vegan lifestyle by analyzing questions of animal sentience, the worth of an animal’s happiness, and the right humanity supposedly has to the lives of other living creatures. Utilitarianism and Deontological ethics will provide two philosophical insights into the reasoning of a life abstaining from harming animals.

According to a recent poll 6 to 8 million American’s do not eat meat, fish, or poultry. From these studies, they have been researching about the effects of a vegetarian diet on the body. Compared to most meat based diets, vegetarians consume less saturated fat and cholesterol from not eating meat. Choosing this route will have a person what would be considered a better quality of life and overall good health. Research so far has shown that a vegetarian diet reduces the risk of heart disease. In recent years a study was done using different participants and the results showed that vegetarians were 25% less likely to die from heart related problem. “This is because vegetarians tend to consume more high-fiber, whole grains, and legumes which have a low glycemic index and the body digests slowly. This keeps blood sugar levels steady. Another food item that helps reduce the risk of heart disease is walnuts” (Sixwise). This is because the omega-3s in walnuts help reduce total cholesterol. There is some controversy over this specific topic, thus, are they really that healthy? What does it mean to be a vegetarian, and what do professionals have to say about being a vegetarian?