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Veganism is expanding far beyond animal rights. It’s also about tackling big issues like racism, classism, and climate change. It pushes back against unfair systems in our food industry and works to make plant-based living accessible for everyone, especially marginalized groups. By connecting animal rights with social justice, veganism represents the goal of creating a kinder, fairer world for all beings.

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Exploring How Veganism Aligns With Social Justice: Animal Rights, Equality, And Sustainability – Humane Foundation

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Discover how veganism aligns with social justice by addressing animal rights, equality, and sustainability. Explore the intersection of ethical eating, systemic oppression, and environmental justice to create a kinder, fairer world for all beings. Learn how inclusivity and advocacy can drive meaningful change.

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Veganism isn’t just about food. It’s tied to social justice. Factory farms often harm low-income communities, and animal agriculture contributes to climate change and animal suffering. Choosing vegan can support marginalized people, protect the environment, and reduce cruelty, making it a meaningful step toward a more just and fair world.

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The Role of Veganism in Social Justice Movements

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Veganism is often seen as a dietary choice, but it can also be a social justice issue. As more people become aware of the environmental and…

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Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary rescued 275 pigs from a hoarding situation. I, along with a couple dozen others volunteered to set up temporary enclosures for the pregnant pigs and their piglets. I pet them, watered them, fed them. Many had never even seen the sun or felt grass before. It was overwhelming and incredibly rewarding. I took this picture of one of the pigs who had just given birth that morning amid the chaos.

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Portland is vegan paradise. There are community events, dozens of restaurants, and online hubs for sharing information and support.

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Many argue that veganism is unaffordable and only the "elite far left" can afford such an extravagance.

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Cutting Through the Cognitive Dissonance 

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Cutting Through the Cognitive Dissonance 

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Some ways vegans try to promote plant based eating is through memes that combine of humor while addressing people's cognitive dissonance.

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Historically, vegans and veganism have a pretty bad rep. Vegans are viewed as hyper judgemental. And veganism is seen as unhealthy and unsustainable.

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The vegan community may be strong. But it is also very small. That smallness coupled with a significant amount of hostility from some non-vegans makes being vegan feel pretty lonely at times.

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In a 2015 study, drug dealers were the only group less liked than vegans. Veganism stirs up a ton of emotion out in the world. Even people like me, quiet vegans, get a surprising amount of hate, even from people we view as our closest friends and family.

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In July 2019, a bare-chested, pony-tailed man turned up at a vegan market in London, and began snacking on a raw squirrel. In video footage of the bizarre incident, the pro-meat protester can be seen clutching the animal's limp, furry body - sans head - while a stunned crowd waits for him to be arrested. His mouth is encrusted with blood. At one point, a passing onlooker asks "Why are you doing this?"

This, it turns out, is a deceptively tricky question to answer.

As the popularity of vegan life continues to gather pace, a tide of vitriol has risen. To eat meat, or not to eat meat: the question has become a battleground, with passionate carnivores and vegan activists deploying some deliciously headline-grabbing tactics. There have been pig robberies. There have been defiant public carvings of deer legs. There have been nude protesters smothered with fake blood. There have been provocative sandwiches.

Though it's natural for people to disagree, the passionate rage - and even mild irritation - that veganism stirs up seems to defy rational sense. Research has shown that only drug addicts face the same degree of stigma - and the least popular vegans of all are those who cite animal cruelty as their reason. Given that most of us would probably like to see less suffering in the world, why is there such resentment towards those who do something about it?
Read more from The Vegan Factor on BBC Good Food
If you dare to ask, veganophobes have plenty of reasonable (and not-so-reasonable) sounding explanations at the ready. First up there's the hypocrisy argument - the idea that vegans have blood on their hands, too - in the form of plant massacres, the environmental cost of avocadoes, and all the field mice killed while harvesting crops.

But even when vegans are consistent, this also seems to fuel their bad publicity. In the UK, a campaigner recently caused a stir when he revealed that he won't use public transport, in case it runs down any unfortunate insects.

Other popular arguments include the perception of vegans as over-smug - as the joke goes, "How do you recognise a vegan at a dinner party? Don't worry! They'll tell you!" - and over-zealous; a rapper recently cancelled a gig after the singer Morrissey insisted on an all-out meat ban at the venue. On forums, vegans face bizarre accusations like " only psychopaths like vegans enjoy tofu bacon ".

But are these really the reasons that people hate vegans? Not everyone is convinced. Some psychologists take another view - that far from being driven by factors within our conscious awareness, the widespread resentment we have for vegans is down to deep-seated psychological biases.

Research has shown only drug addicts attract the same amount of stigma as vegans (Credit: Getty Images)

Hank Rothgerber, a social psychologist at Bellarmine University, Kentucky, thinks it all comes down to answering the question: how do we continue to eat meat?

"So basically we live in an era today, at least in the Western world, where there's more and more evidence, more and more arguments, and more and more books about how eating meat is bad," says Rothgerber. "But still, our behaviour hasn't changed significantly." He points out that 2018 looks set to be - it takes a while for the annual statistics to be released - the year with the highest per capita meat consumption in the history of the United States.

"So what I'm looking at is, how do people rationalise that, and still feel like they're a good person?" To continue to eat meat, Rothgerber suggests, requires some serious mental gymnastics. Luckily, our brains are extremely good at protecting us from realities we don't want to face - and there are a number of psychological tricks at our disposal.

If you bring your cod and chips home to eat in front of your beloved goldfish, or tuck into a rabbit stew mere moments after cooing over various #rabbitsofinstagram, you're likely to encounter "cognitive dissonance", which occurs when a person holds two incompatible views, and acts on one of them. In this case, your affection for animals might just start to clash with the idea that it's OK to eat them.

Some psychologists call this the "meat paradox", though it's also been couched in stronger terms - as " moral schizophrenia ".

The tension that results can make us feel stressed, irritated, and unhappy. But instead of resolving it by changing our beliefs or behaviour, it's quite normal to blame these feelings on something else entirely - all without realising we're doing it. For example, when stockbrokers make a loss on certain investments, they tend to blame their managers. This allows them to continue believing that they make excellent decisions, while facing the fact that they've achieved the exact opposite of what they're paid to do, and actually lost money.

In the case of eating meat, Rothgerber suggests we have a number of strategies - around 15 - which allow us to avoid facing up to the meat paradox. These include pretending that meat has no link to animals, imagining that we eat less of it than we really do, wilful ignorance about how it's produced - helped by the cartoons of happy farm animals that we're exposed to from childhood - and only eating meat from animals which are "humanely" farmed.

Unfortunately, most of these are derailed by the presence of vegans.

According to Rothgerber, people tend not to think of meat eating as an ideology. The dominance of meat eating around the world helps the omnivores among us to avoid the idea that it's a choice - it's just what everyone else is doing. But when a vegan turns up at a dinner party, suddenly we're bumped out of the comfortable "mainstream diet" category and into the unsettling "meat-eating" category. By their mere existence, vegans force people to confront their cognitive dissonance. And this makes people angry.

Meat eaters show "cognitive dissonance" when they can balance their meat eating with a love for animals (Credit: Getty Images)

One popular way to resolve cognitive dissonance is by reasoning our way out of it.

Decades of psychological research have shown that, when making a decision, people tend to allow themselves to reach their preferred conclusion, as long as they can invent a rational-sounding justification. For example, one study found that when participants wanted to believe that they would be academically successful, they were more likely to recall their past successes than their failures, to creatively tack together an explanation that seemed to support this.

In the case of meat, this "motivated reasoning" might lead people to find explanations for why eating animals is the correct decision. And one of these is that vegans are bad.

In a study led by Julia Minson, a psychologist from the University of Pennsylvania, participants were surveyed about their attitudes towards vegans and then asked to think of three words that they associated with them. Just under half the participants had something negative to say, and intriguingly, 45% included a word which referred to their social characteristics. For example, vegans were allied with the words "weird", "arrogant", "preachy", "militant", "uptight", "stupid", and - mysteriously - "sadistic".

The reputation of vegans probably isn't helped by the fact that non-meat eaters really do think they're better than everyone else; vegetarians tend to rate the virtuosity of other vegetarians more highly than that of non-vegetarians. But it's also true that most of us agree with them - and this is a major source of animosity.

In line with this, the more righteous the study participants expected the vegetarians to be, the harsher the words they chose to describe them.

"There's a lot of research on how we don't like members of groups who are potentially morally inferior, or which society sees as wrong," says Benoit Monin, a psychologist from Stanford University who was also involved in the study. "But it's intriguing to me that we also reject members of groups who have made laudable choices on purpose."

There's mounting evidence that we're particularly threatened by people who have similar morals to us, if they're prepared to go further than we are in order to stick to them. In the end, our fear of being judged far outstrips any respect we might have for their superior integrity.

For a second study, the team asked some participants to think about how vegetarians would judge their morality, before rating the degree to which they're likely to possess a series of personality traits. Others were asked to do the same thing, but the other way around. They found that those who had thought about being judged by vegetarians first, tended to associate vegetarians more strongly with negative words.

Believing the cliche of happy farm animals is one such psychological trick meat eaters rely on to justify their habit, research suggests (Credit: Getty Images)

In fact, Monin says this fear of reproach is so potent, vegetarians are likely to be more threatened by vegans than non-vegetarians are. "They agree that there is something wrong about raising animals for food, and now they're faced with someone who's putting their money where their mouth is, more than they do."

They're right to be afraid; research shows that vegans think vegetarians are hypocritical. According to Rothgerber, "do-gooder derogation" might be a way of shifting attention away from our own dubious decisions, to help to soothe the uncomfortable feelings that cognitive dissonance creates.

The finding also explains why ethical vegans and vegetarians are more irritating to omnivores than those who choose the lifestyle for health reasons.

"It's really hard to say "I don't think it's cool to be complicit in a system of animal slaughter. But, you know, you should do what you want... I'm not judging you"," says Monin. Instead, arguments which sidestep morality entirely are much less aggravating. For example, suggesting that you're a vegan because of some idiosyncrasy, such as that you grew up on a farm, lets carnivores off the hook. It's not your fault if you didn't, and this experience would be impossible to replicate as an adult.

Ironically, the same psychological biases also mean that pro-veganism adverts which focus on animal suffering could have the opposite of the intended effect; while some people might react by eating less meat, those who choose not to change their behaviour are likely to deal with the discomfort they feel by trying harder than ever to justify their actions - leading them straight through the door of the next chicken shop.

So the next time a squirrel-eating activist hits the headlines, just think: deep, deep down, they might actually be an animal-lover, going to elaborate lengths to cover it up.

--
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The hidden biases that drive anti-vegan hatred

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People love to moan about vegans: research shows only drug addicts inspire the same loathing. Now psychologists may understand why - and the reasoning isn't entirely rational.

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A recent study published in Nature, thoroughly examined the environmental impact of the dietary habits of 55,000 people: from vegans to heavy meat eaters, and everyone in between. The study followed the diets of these people and used data (greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use, etc.) collected from 35,000 farms in 119 countries to calculate the environmental impact of each type of diet. The results were even more staggering than I anticipated: “vegan diets resulted in 75% less climate-heating emissions, water pollution, and land use than diets in which more than 100g of meat a day was eaten,” (Carrington, D). Interestingly, the study also showed that how the food was produced (using different methods in an effort to reduce the environmental impact) had little to no effect in reducing pollution related to meat production. Additionally, while there is some reduced environmental impact by eating less meat or gravitating toward a pescatarian or vegetarian diet, the real impact benefiting the environment is in eating a plant based diet.

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Vegan diet massively cuts environmental damage, study shows

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Detailed analysis finds plant diets lead to 75% less climate-heating emissions, water pollution and land use than meat-rich ones

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Another unexpected famous vegan, Pythagoras.

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Another unexpected famous vegan, Pythagoras.

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The Departure of Prince Siddhartha by Abanindranath Tagore

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Siddhartha, the original Buddha was vegan as well

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Siddhartha, the original Buddha was vegan as well

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The Vegan Society was formed in 1944...

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I think what makes the vegan community so close-knit is that we've all lost friends/family because we don't consume animal products. Even if you are the most laid back, apologetic vegan on the planet, some people will be unusually angry about your choices. It's a surreal experience. And that shared shunning we experience makes us feel even more relieved and safe when we are around each other. We can relax, breathe, and not worry someone will come for us if we order tofu. lol.

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This brief video by The Economist describes how globalization and the spread of veganism affects and could affect the world.

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This websites breaks down the number of vegans and vegetarians around the world. It also shows whether those numbers are increasing or decreasing.

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Discover population, economy, health, and more with the most comprehensive global statistics at your fingertips.

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This is a cool little graph that shows the popularity of the google search "vegan" over the last decade or so.

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Intersectionality Between Race and Veganism

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Intersectionality Between Race and Veganism

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Veganism used to be thought of as a white, upper middle class movement. The reality is far from that. In the last few years, intersectionality has become more and more important to vegans when pushing for rights and change.

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Black Americans are almost three times as likely to be vegan and vegetarian than other Americans. Why is giving up meat so popular?
When Louis Hunter woke up on the morning of 31 May he didn't know what to do.

His hometown of Minneapolis was in disarray after a week of protests following the death of George Floyd, and many businesses - including his own restaurant, Trio Plant-Based - were shut down.

"God just touched me and told me to go out and pass out all the food that I had prepared the day before," he told the BBC.

In total, Mr Hunter gave away 300 vegan meals and bottles of water to Black Lives Matter protesters. The cause and his restaurant are inextricable in his heart.

In 2016 he was facing 20 years in jail on felony rioting charges after participating in a Black Lives Matter protest following the death of his cousin, Philando Castile.

Mr Hunter has always maintained his innocence, and charges were eventually dismissed, but he lost his landscaping business and apartment while the sentence hung over his head for over a year.

Through his legal battle, he met white activist Sarah Woodcock, who introduced him to the concept of veganism.

He says he also started to connect how racial injustice contributes to the poor diet that many African Americans eat.

"At first I knew nothing about vegan, plant-based food at all," he said. "After that I started seeing the other ways we were being treated wrongly, as far as our eating habits."

The pair went into business, and after a series of pop-ups, opened Trio in the autumn of 2018. Now he is the sole proprietor, making Trio the first black-owned vegan restaurant in the state.

The growth of Trio mirrors national trends, with everyone from athletes to pop stars jumping on board.

But nowhere has the vegan diet taken off more than in the African-American community. According to Pew Research Center survey, 8% of black Americans are strict vegans or vegetarians, compared to just 3% of the general of the population.

Recently, a January poll by Gallup found that 31% of non-white Americans had reduced their meat consumption in the past year, compared to only 19% of white Americans.

The trend is sparking a new generation of vegan influencers, like actress Tabitha Brown, who is getting her own cooking show after her vegan videos blew up on Tik Tok and Instagram (there is even an online petition to make Ms Brown the voice of Apple's Siri).

Allow Instagram content?

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Meanwhile, established celebrities like Beyonce, Lizzo and tennis star Venus Williams have all either gone vegan or tried veganism, with Beyonce even partnering in a "plant-based" meal delivery service.

The singer made headlines a few years ago when she promised to give free tickets to her and her husband Jay Z's concerts for life to a fan who made the switch to veganism.

So why has veganism become so popular with African-Americans?

'To nurture my community'

For many black vegans, their journey begins with a quest for a healthier lifestyle.

African Americans have a higher rate of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, obesity and cancer than most other groups, in part because their diet is on average higher in salt and fat and lower in fruits and vegetables, research shows.

But socioeconomic factors like poverty, living far from a greengrocer and easy access to fast food have made it harder for African Americans to eat healthily, according to the Food Empowerment Project, a non-profit aimed at ending food inequality.

Is a vegan diet healthy?

Numerous studies have showed that plant-based diets are associated with a lower-risk of developing chronic conditions.

Food quantity, aside from food quality, is also a key factor in maintaining a healthy body weight.

Those issues have inspired several black-owned charities, like Compton Vegan, to deliver vegan meals to predominantly black inner-city communities.

It's also one of the reasons why Mr Hunter wanted the menu at Trio to focus on foods his community would be familiar with and want to eat, comfort foods like burgers and soul food like collard greens and mac-and-cheese.

Hundreds marched for better access to healthy food in 2017 in a neighbourhood of Washington, DC

But those foods don't have to be laden with bacon grease and full-fat cream, Mr Hunter says. The menu at his restaurant Trio veganises many soul food classics, using things like liquid smoke to give collard greens that bacon-y taste and cashews to make mac-and-cheese creamy without the cream.

At first, most of his customers were white, but now about half of his business is black.

"To nurture my community, is amazing. I pinch myself almost every day to see if it's real," he says.

'To see yourself represented'

For Omowale Adewale, the founder of Black VegFest, a vegan festival created by and for the black community in New York City, connecting veganism to black culture is essential.

But when the festival first debuted, it drew puzzled looks from many white vegans.

"The vegan community has been white for so long, and sometimes it feels like they want to keep it white," he says.

While the diet has been stereotyped as something exclusively for soy-latte swilling, upper-middle class white hipsters, there is a long history of black veganism in the US and abroad, he is quick to point out.

"You love to see yourself represented. That's one of the main reasons why the black community has really galvanised around the vegan idea," he says.

While many vegan organisations lobby to improve animal welfare, and Black VegFest is no exception, Mr Adewale also makes sure its platform addresses wider issues in the black community like the fight to end police brutality.

After battling high-blood pressure as a young man, Mr Adewale was introduced to vegetarianism by his brother, and then later adopted a vegan diet after being introduced to it by members of the Rastafari religion, which emerged in Jamaica in the 1930s.

A central tenet of Rastafarianism is eating "ital" foods - foods that are organic, locally grown and plant-based. Rasta-owned vegan and vegetarian restaurants can be found in cities around the world with a large Caribbean diaspora.

Traditional African cuisines, while not strictly vegan, are also largely plant-based and rich in dark leafy greens and legumes - staples in a healthy diet.

A recent study involving 48,000 people over 18 years compared the health of meat-eaters, pescatarians - who eat fish and dairy but not meat - and vegetarians, including vegans. They found that people who eat vegan and vegetarian diets have a lower risk of heart disease, but a higher risk of stroke, possibly partly due to a lack of B12.

The vegan movement also has deep roots with the American Civil Rights Movement. Dick Gregory, a famed civil rights activist and comedian who marched alongside Martin Luther King, gave up meat in 1965 and later became a strict vegan.

"Because I'm a civil rights activist, I am also an animal rights activist. Animals and humans suffer and die alike. Violence causes the same pain, the same spilling of blood, the same stench of death, the same arrogant, cruel and vicious taking of life. We shouldn't be a part of it," he said.

'Eat well to fight battles'

It was Gregory who introduced Tracye McQuirter to veganism over 30 years ago, when he gave a speech at Amherst College's black student union.

Now, Ms McQuirter is one of the many writers and influencers who are helping make veganism mainstream in the black community. Her 2010 cookbook, By Any Greens Necessary, was specifically aimed at black women, and this year she is launching an online campaign to try and get 10,000 black women to go vegan.

Ms McQuirter says that veganism is more important now than ever before, as Covid-19 ravages many black communities, in part because of their higher rate of pre-existing chronic conditions.

Chronic disease and systemic racism are inextricable, she says.

"While the root cause is systemic white supremacy, one of the symptoms is we have access to the unhealthiest foods," she says.

As thousands march in Black Lives Matter protests, Ms McQuirter says it is "urgent for us to take care of ourselves and eat well so we have the energy to fight these battles".
Correction 26 March 2021: This article was amended to make clear the BMJ study about vegetarians included vegans.

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Why black Americans are more likely to be vegan

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African Americans are almost three times as likely to be vegan than white Americans.

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Intersectionality between Veganism and Feminism

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Intersectionality between Veganism and Feminism

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The dairy industry is the most obvious example how feminism extends and mingles with veganism. The way cows are treated is abhorrent. Repeatedly and forcefully impregnated. Delivering calves that are immediately taken from them, and if male slaughtered as veal. If female, they are raised to be dairy cows destined to the same lives as their mothers before them.

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The Inconvenient Intersection Between Veganism and Feminism

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It’s the females of all species that are exploited and suffer the most

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The Impact of Global Demand for Certain Crops

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The Impact of Global Demand for Certain Crops

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While this is not directly related to veganism, there is a point that western demand for certain crops (quinoa, avocado, etc.) impacts the producers of these items in both negative and positive ways. In the case of quinoa: it is a food staple in the diet of many of the people living in the Andes. When the global demand for quinoa exploded, it was more advantages for people to export quinoa than not. Land grabs followed. So again, the few reaped the rewards while the many did not.

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Viewpoint: How quinoa exemplifies the ethical challenges of global agriculture

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As science and business strive to solve societal problems, there is a need to ensure that new ones aren’t being created. So, how can areas such as social sciences and economics bring an ethical viewpoint to ongoing R&D and create better, more sustainable outcomes for the planet and people? Professor Sandra Schmöckel, at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Germany and Co-Editor in Chief of SCI’s Journal of Science Food and Agriculture shares her perspective on how research aimed at improving Europe’s biodiversity needs to take account of potential impacts on the other side of the world.

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‘Food is the most culturally accepted form of genocide’: how an LA district went from a food desert to a vegan oasis

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Olympia Auset started SÜPRMARKT to provide her community easy access to food and healthy produce

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A Vegan Diet is Shown to Decrease the Chance of Disease, Lowering Healthcare Costs

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A Vegan Diet is Shown to Decrease the Chance of Disease, Lowering Healthcare Costs

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Health and environmental benefits of dietary change based on global guidelines on healthy eating (HGD), vegetarian (VGT) and vegan (VGN) diets. The value of environmental benefits is derived from estimates of the social cost of carbon (SCC); and the value of healthcare benefits is based on estimates of the costs of illness (CoI). (From a study PNAS.org

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Written by Ashley Slud

Buying milk at the store used to be an easy feat. However, the task is a bit more daunting now, as the grocery store shelves are lined with a multitude of milk varieties showcased in all sorts of packaging: almond, oat, macadamia, coconut, amongst others. This diversification demonstrates the newfound popularity of the plant-based diet in our society and the impact it is having on consumers and the economy as a whole.

The push to add more plant-based alternatives into one's diet, without fully removing animal products, has made the lifestyle more attainable and attractive to many. While vegetarianism and veganism have become increasingly popular in the United States, a new movement pushes to incorporate more plant-based alternatives without omitting animal products entirely. Flexitarianism is a diet that one is centered on plant foods with the occasional inclusion of meat. These plant-based diets boast not only health and environmental benefits, but economic benefits as well.

Food prices have soared, meat in particular. According to the USDA, beef, pork and poultry make up about half of the recent increase in at-home food prices since December 2020. These high prices are not sustainable for consumers, nor the economy. Additionally, supply chains have been further put under stress due to the pandemic, as many processing plants were forced to shut down. Beef, pork, poultry and other meats require many steps in their production process, including butchering, grading, packaging and distributing. When certain plants or facilities are shut down and the process is interrupted, farmers and factory workers must compensate for this inconvenience with delayed production time and increased prices to compensate for this lack of supply. Paying higher prices for food means sacrificing these funds elsewhere, whether that be in travel, home payments, technological purchases, etc. In the initial stages of the pandemic in 2020, personal consumption expenditures fell by more than 10 percent, as many businesses closed or reduced services, and stay-at-home orders were instituted across most of the United States. In the second half of 2020, this statistic remained well below year-ago levels due to high unemployment and health risks associated with services such as indoor dining, travel, and mass gatherings (Felix, Shampine 2021).

Another key factor that plant-based diets influence is healthcare costs. When following a plant-based diet, it has been found that people have fewer nutrition induced health issues, saving both the individuals and the healthcare system millions of dollars. New data from the Tzu Chi Vegetarian Study, where 12,000 Buddhist volunteers compared consuming a vegetarian diet to a more omnivorous diet, reveal these findings. Those who followed a vegetarian diet required "15% lower medical expenditure and a 13% lower outpatient medical expenditure, compared with omnivores in the cohort." (Lin CL, W JH, Chang CC, Chiu THT, Lin MN, 2019) Vegan or vegetarian diets are highly effective for weight loss and thus, people on these diets have lower rates of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity. Lower BMIs, which are associated with vegetarian diets according to epidemiological studies, result in a lower pervasiveness of obesity; is a significant cause of heart disease, and the number one cause of death in the United States. Vegetarians in the study had a 24% reduction in ischemic heart disease death rates when compared with non-vegetarians (Appleby PN, Thorogood M, McPherson K, Mann, 1995). While this data is from vegetarian subjects, it reflects a population that eats less meat than the average consumer. These reduced health complications indicate a lower medical expenditure, and thus, higher expenditure in other areas. Employers, if providing health insurance, will incur lower costs, possibly allocating this money towards higher wages or towards business improvements.

The diversion to plant-based diets substantially decreases agricultural land usage as more land is needed for meat and dairy production versus non-animal crops. R esearchers from Bard College, the Weizmann Institute of Science, and Yale University found that beef uses 28 times more land per calorie consumed and 11 times more water than other livestock categories. Additionally, it takes almost 100 times as much land to produce a gram of protein from beef or lamb, versus peas or tofu ( Ri tchie, 2021). Around 80% of agricultural land is utilized for meat and dairy production. If we ate less meat and dairy, we would be using the land as cropland, as we would be instead eating more crops (cereals, grains, corn, etc.) which requires less hectares. This would free up billions of hectares for natural vegetation, forests and ecosystems.

With less land designated to livestock, new buildings, community centers, apartment complexes, and other infrastructures can be built to bolster economic growth. With land being such a scarce resource, any potential growth should be explored and utilized.

So how does this move away from animal-based foods and towards plant-based foods impact the job market? According to data released by the trade group Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA), the plant-based food industry has created 55,634 high-paying jobs in the U.S. Greenleaf Foods, the parent company of PBFA members Lightlife and Field Life launched a plant in Shelbyville, Indiana that, when fully operational in 2021, will employ 460 people (PBFA, 2019). Additionally, Oatly, a dairy alternative company, plans to open a new 19,000 square foot production facility in Melville, New Jersey. Oatly's newfound popularity actually caused a U.S. shortage in 2018, emphasizing its unexpectedly high demand (PBFA, 2019). Both companies' recent developments and employment opportunities will also attract more residents to these towns, further strengthening the communities' wealth. On average, jobs in the plant-based industry paid $59,300-approximately $12,500 more than the average American income. Plant-based food companies pay $1 billion in federal and state taxes and contribute $5.6 billion to gross domestic product (GDP) each year. (Starostinetskaya, 2019) Although this growth is fantastic for a new and growing industry, it is important to take into account the effect that this increase in jobs in the plant-based industry has on meat-industry jobs. For example, if plant based jobs increased by 10k but meat-based jobs decreased by 20k, then this might actually be considered a bad outcome by many in the same way that some people consider green energy bad from a job perspective as it causes people to lose jobs in coal/oil/gas and while the green jobs created might not be greater in quantity than the jobs lost. However, as companies that are also environmentally beneficial, their contributions are crucial assets and therefore offset meat-based job losses.

After enduring the pandemic, people everywhere had time to think about their nutrition choices, and many proceeded to try vegan, vegetarian and flexitarian diets. The desire to avoid animal products was strongly impacted by the publicized COVID-driven issues in the meat supply chain during the pandemic's early stages; however, it remained prevalent as people valued animal welfare, environmental impact and personal health. By metamorphosing eating patterns towards plant-based, we are improving our health, our environment and creating new opportunities for businesses and communities to thrive.

Sources:

Appleby PN, Thorogood M, McPherson K, Mann JI. (1995 October)

Associations between plasma lipid concentrations and dietary, lifestyle and physical factors in the Oxford Vegetarian Study. J Hum Nutr Diet. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-277X.1995.tb00324.x. [ Google Scholar]

Felix, Alison; Shampine, Samantha (2021, February 17) Consumer Spending Declines,

Shifts in Response to the Pandemic. Kansas City Fed https://www.kansascityfed.org/research/economic-bulletin/consumer-spending-declines-shifts-in-response-to-the-pandemic/

Kochanek KD, Xu JQ, Arias E. (2019) Mortality in the United States, 2019.

NCHS Data Brief, no 395. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db395.htm

Lin C-L, Wang J-H, Chang C-C, Chiu THT, Lin M-N. (2019, November 9)

Vegetarian Diets and Medical Expenditure in Taiwan-A Matched Cohort Study. Nutrients. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11112688

McCausland, Phil.(2021, October 2) The Price of Meat is Going Up. Ranchers and

corporations are split on why. NBC News https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/farmers-biden-admin-push-change-meatpackers-status-quo-rcna2511

PBFA. (2019, April 10) G rowing Plant-Based Companies Creating New Jobs and Boosting our

Economy. Plant Based Foods Association https://www.plantbasedfoods.org/growing-plant-based-companies-creating-new-jobs-and-boosting-our-economy/

Ritchie, Hannah (2021, March 4) If the world adopted a plant-based diet we would reduce

global agricultural land use from 4 to 1 billion hectares. Our World in Data https://ourworldindata.org/land-use-diets

Starostinetskaya, Anna. (2019, August 30) Plant-Based Industry Creates

55,000 High-Wage Jobs in the US VegNews https://vegnews.com/2019/8/plant-based-industry-creates-55000-high-wage-jobs-in-the-us

Publishing Team (2021, February 24) The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way

people think about plant-based eating and its role in protecting personal and planetary health. Food & Beverage Insider https://www.foodbeverageinsider.com/vegetarian/covid-19-fueling-rise-plant-based-diets

Images:

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Planting the Seed for Plant-Based Diets and Their Effect on our Economy

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Written by Ashley Slud Buying milk at the store used to be an easy feat. However, the task is a bit more daunting now, as the grocery store shelves are lined with a multitude of milk varieties showcased in all sorts of packaging: almond, oat, macadamia, coconut, amongst others.

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New dietary guidelines urge Americans to cut back on red meat and saturated fat in favor of fiber-rich, plant-based foods like beans, nuts, and vegetables. These shifts align with vegan principles and could help reduce chronic diseases, while also supporting sustainability and animal welfare.

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Leave the meat, keep the legumes: Experts release 2025 dietary recommendations

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The recommendations build on existing evidence that foods like red meat and sugary drinks can be linked to health risks.

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Plant-based school meals could have a big impact on shifting food food systems toward sustainability. This review suggests that schools are one of the key places to enact change. The benefits of shifting toward plant based school meals include health, intersectionality, and the environment. Some school districts across the US have already started offering plant based meals.

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More About Plant Based Lunches in Schools

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More About Plant Based Lunches in Schools

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Here’s why schools are introducing plant-based options to the menu

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More and more schools are introducing plant-based options as part of lunchtime menus to help reduce their carbon footprint and to improve children’s health. Schools working with our Healthy Zones team work towards serving nutritious plant-based meals at least one day a week - a change the students welcome.

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The Jain diet includes a variety of legumes and pulses (Credit: Rawf8/Alamy)

While many in the West are partaking in Veganuary this month, few know about the 2,500-year-old faith that eschews anything that could potentially harm another living creature.

Although the term "vegan" was coined nearly 80 years ago by the British animal rights advocate Donald Watson, it is only in the last couple of decades that veganism (and Veganuary, the month long challenge to eat solely plant-based food) has really come into its own as an influential lifestyle trend. However, in many Eastern cultures, the practice of shunning meat as an act of kindness towards animals is ancient, going back more than two millennia.

In particular, Jainism, the Indian faith that originated in north India sometime between 5th-7th Century BCE, predating even Buddhism, comes closest to the modern-day vegan principles of avoiding animal products. "Non-violence or ahimsa is the basic principle of life for all Jains," explained Kusum Jain, retired professor of philosophy at the University of Rajasthan. Professor Jain, who has done extensive research as well as advised doctorate students on this subject, added, "This includes all living things - not just human beings, but also animals, insects and sometimes plants, even those living in water or under the earth. For Jains, hurting or harming any living being in any sense is violence."

She went on to elaborate that Jains also try to limit unkind thoughts or verbal expressions of ill-will, as they believe that "everything has consequences of karma". These beliefs emerge from the teachings of the 24 spiritual gurus known as tirthankaras - the last of whom was Mahavir, a contemporary of Buddha - that Jains follow in lieu of worshipping a creator deity. As professor Jain explained it, "Tirthankaras were human beings who became saints because of their actions. Since they got enlightenment and attained nirvana, they show us the path to liberation."

Although Jains constitute a miniscule 0.4% of India's population (according to the 2011 census), Jainism is still a living - indeed thriving - religion in the country. Jains are found all over India, with larger communities in the western states of Gujarat and Rajasthan, home to some exquisite Jain temples such as Ranakpur and Dilwara (or Delwara). Jains are also among the most prosperous communities in India, influential enough for upscale restaurants to offer separate Jain menus or Jain versions of their popular dishes (think of this as similar to "veganising" food with ingredient swaps or omissions).

These are the 24 spiritual gurus known as tirthankaras (Credit: History and Art Collection/Alamy)

Many of Jainism's strictest non-violent principles are now followed primarily by monks and nuns who have taken religious orders. Not only do they wear soft, unstitched robes, but they also cover their mouths with a mask in order to accidentally avoid breathing in any flying insects and sweep the path ahead of them as they walk so as to not step on ants or tiny critters.

But one aspect of life where most Jains tend to be stringent is in their food habits and rituals. In general, they follow a vegetarian diet, strictly avoiding meat, seafood and eggs. Jainism also prohibits eating any plant that grows under the soil - such as onions, potatoes, carrots and garlic - since uprooting them could kill insects that thrive in that ecosystem. To replace the flavour of onion and garlic, Jains add a dash of asafoetida to their dishes. This extract of gum from a variety of giant fennel has a pungent, garlicky smell and is used across India.

Chef Aruna Vijay, a recent finalist on MasterChef India and a practising Jain, spoke about the seasonal nature of their diet. "During the time of chaturmaas - meaning four months, roughly from June to October - which coincides with the monsoon season in India, we stay away from green leafy vegetables such as spinach, amaranth, coriander and mint. This is because lots of micro-organisms grow during the wet season and we could unknowingly kill small insects and worms when we chop and eat these plants."

She also added that for eight days during the peak of the rainy season, during a time known as paryushan, Jains avoid all vegetables and fruit, consuming only pulses, legumes and lentils, also leaning heavily on dairy, specifically yoghurt-based gravies.

A plate of vegan Indian food includes a variety of flavours (Credit: Victor Koldunov/Alamy)

Although the Jain diet is guided by the principle of compassion and non-violence, Jains are allowed to consume dairy and don't see any ethical dilemma in adding dairy to their diets. "In fact, ghee is considered one of the purest forms of food," said professor Jain.

Vijay surmised that it was perhaps because traditional dairy farming tended to be ethical and kind to the animals, and the scriptures were written at a time when there was no commercial mass production. "When I was growing up, we had cows at home for the household dairy needs such as milk, curd, butter and ghee. We used to always let the calf have her fill of the milk first before taking for our own consumption," Vijay said.

While Jainism doesn't fit the purest form of veganism, the two concepts are linked. In her 2021 book, Whose Samosa is it Anyway?, food writer Sonal Ved explained that Jain dietary principles are tied to the idea of ahimsa and the cosmic repercussions of consuming meat. "Although Jain and vegan diets are different from one another, it is the act of eating cruelty-free food that is common between them," she said.

Taking a broader view of food habits across India, it is interesting to note that Indian cuisine has many dishes that are naturally vegan. Ved, whose most recent book, The Indian Vegan published in November 2023, said that when she was doing research for her books, she came to understand just how vegan friendly regional Indian food was. "I realised that from Malvani cuisine that originates on the banks of the Arabian Sea on the west coast of India, to Bengali food in the east, Indians have been savouring plant-based textures in place of meat for over several decades," she said.

The Jain Temple in Ranakpur, Rajasthan (Credit: Jan Wlodarczyk/Alamy)

"In the South Indian thali, for example, except for the curd, everything is vegan - rice, kootu, poriyal, sambhar, rasam," said Vijay, enumerating the vegetable and lentil dishes served along with steamed rice in these traditional platters.

Given how easy it is to be a vegan in India, it is not surprising that many people from the younger generations - both living in India and elsewhere - are adopting this lifestyle, with many Jains also moving to a dairy-free, completely vegan diet. "Indian eating habits are definitely changing, especially post Covid," noted Vijay. "There is now a strong focus on health, and I am seeing many of my own friends turning vegan."

According to Ved, "The Indian vegan food market was valued at $1,372.3m in 2022 and is expected to grow further. This shows veganism is clearly not a fad but is becoming a way of life." Ved welcomes this, "considering veganism's obvious links to living a sustainable lifestyle, plus slowing down climate change's snowballing effects," she said.

Professor Jain sees this as an extension of the fundamental principles of non-violence that the Jain community follows. "The last Tirthankara was born more than 2,500 years ago, so I would say veganism is a very new concept compared to Jain philosophy," she said with a laugh.

Irrespective of the term used to describe them, the important thing, as Vijay noted, is that "[Jains] try their best to avoid harming anything, even by mistake. Our motto is 'live and let live'."

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While many in the West are partaking in Veganuary this month, few know about the 2,500-year-old faith that eschews anything that could potentially harm another living creature.

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Ethical Veganism Ticks All the Boxes to Qualify as a Religion

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Ethical Veganism Ticks All the Boxes to Qualify as a Religion

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Key Takeaways

Early Christianity provided a foundation for compassionate eating, with an emphasis on simplicity and purity in dietary choices, aligning with modern vegan practices.

Hinduism and Buddhism emphasize the principle of Ahimsa (non-violence), advocating for plant-based diets as an expression of compassion toward all living beings.

Islam promotes mercy and compassion, with a growing number of Muslims interpreting these values as supportive of veganism and ethical dietary practices.

The anticipated launch of the Medium Partner Program in India represents a potential boon for writers focusing on veganism, health, and ethical living, highlighting the global interest in plant-based lifestyles.

Early Christianity and the Roots of Compassionate Eating

The intersection of veganism and religion finds intriguing roots in Early Christianity, where the diet was not just about sustenance but also a manifestation of faith, compassion, and a simpler way of life. The early Christians, in their pursuit of purity and ethical living, often adopted dietary practices that closely align with modern Vegan products and plant based foods. The emphasis on cholesterol free foods and fat-free butter like alternatives can be seen as an extension of the ascetic lifestyle that prioritized abstinence from animal products, not just for health but as a moral choice.

The teachings of compassion towards all beings, a central tenet in early Christian texts, resonate with the vegan ethos. The notion of mercy and kindness extends beyond human interactions, including our treatment of animals. This aligns with the contemporary vegan movement's emphasis on Vegan Cheese, plant-based cheese, and unsalted butter alternatives, illustrating a continuity of values from early Christian practices to modern dietary choices.

Furthermore, the concept of Unprocessed Cheese and Cashew Butter reflects a return to unadulterated, simple foods, mirroring the early Christian emphasis on natural, unprocessed diets. This historical perspective not only enriches the narrative of veganism in religious contexts but also underscores the ethical and health-conscious choices inherent in vegan food products today.

Hinduism and Buddhism: Ahimsa and the Ethical Diet

Hinduism and Buddhism share a profound respect for all living beings, encapsulated in the principle of Ahimsa, or non-violence. This principle is a cornerstone of both religions and serves as a guiding light for followers to adopt plant-based foods and vegan products as expressions of their faith. The reverence for life inherent in Ahimsa directly influences the dietary choices of millions, encouraging the consumption of vegan butter, vegan mayo, and other vegan items that do no harm to animals.

In Hinduism, the cow is considered sacred, a belief that underscores the religion's preference for plant-based cheese and vegan cheese over traditional dairy products. Similarly, Buddhism's emphasis on compassion and mindfulness fosters a diet that excludes animal products, highlighting the ethical dimensions of consuming plant-based products and cholesterol-free foods.

The integration of garlic butter and unsalted butter alternatives in traditional Hindu and Buddhist meals showcases the religions' adaptability and commitment to principles that align closely with veganism. This adaptability not only reflects the religions' historical roots but also their ongoing evolution in embracing vegan food products as part of a compassionate lifestyle.

Islam and Muslims: Compassion in Dietary Laws

In the Islamic tradition, compassion and mercy are paramount virtues that extend to all creatures. This ethos is reflected in the dietary laws of Islam, which, while permitting the consumption of meat, emphasize humane treatment and animal welfare. A growing number of Muslims interpret these principles in a way that aligns with veganism, choosing vegan food products and plant-based foods to embody the true spirit of compassion in their daily lives.

The concept of vegan mayo, vegan butter, and other vegan items is gaining traction within Muslim communities as alternatives that honor Islamic teachings on kindness. Fat-free butter and garlic butter alternatives are becoming more popular in culinary traditions, offering health benefits in addition to ethical considerations. By adopting plant-based cheese and vegan cheese, Muslims are finding ways to reconcile their dietary habits with the values of mercy and compassion that Islam holds dear.

Medium Partner Program: A Glimpse into Its Future in India

The Medium Partner Program, known for enabling writers worldwide to monetize their content, has seen varying levels of accessibility across different countries. Its launch in India is highly anticipated, given the country's burgeoning digital content market. Factors such as regulatory requirements, payment processing logistics, and local content moderation standards play a significant role in determining the program's availability in different regions.

For Indian writers interested in topics like vegan products, cholesterol-free foods, and plant-based products, the program's introduction could open new avenues for sharing and monetizing content on veganism and health. As the platform evaluates these factors, the potential for a vibrant community of Indian writers offering insights into vegan cheese, cashew butter, and unsalted butter alternatives grows, promising a rich exchange of ideas and information in the near future.

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The Intersection of Veganism and Religiona

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Key Takeaways Early Christianity provided a foundation for compassionate eating, with an emphasis on simplicity and purity in dietary choices, aligning with modern vegan practices. Hinduism and Buddhism emphasize the principle of Ahimsa (non-violence), advocating for plant-based diets as an expression of compassion toward all living beings.

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European Academy on Religion and Society

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Is veganism a religion? - European Academy on Religion and Society

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Ethical veganism (avoidance of any animal exploitation) has recently been legally identified as a philosophical belief. What does that mean?

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Oftentimes the message gets lost in bramble of inane worries and questions.

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Portland is a Vegan paradise. And it isn't just the plethora of restaurants and grocery stores. it's the many ways vegans and vegan-curious people can connect.

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Animal Rights Collective Portland (ARCPDX)

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Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

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Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

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The Physicians Committee promotes plant-based diets and ethical research, aiming to prevent disease, improve health, and replace animal testing with humane, effective scientific methods. PCRM offers endless, thoroughly vetted information and research.

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Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

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Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

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The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit health organization that promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research, and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research and medical training.