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Calculate your impact
Calculate how much water, grain, forest, CO2 and animal lives you could save while thriving on a vegan lifestyle.
General
Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.
There are many ways to embrace vegan living. Yet one thing all vegans have in common is a plant-based diet avoiding all animal foods such as meat (including fish, shellfish and insects), dairy, eggs and honey - as well as products like leather and any tested on animals.
It's probably much easier than you think!
Let’s be honest. If you grew up eating meat, milk, and eggs in almost every meal, the idea of going vegan certainly seems hard—maybe even impossible!
But most vegans discover the switch is far easier than they ever imagined. All you have to do is focus on crowding out animal-based foods rather than cutting them out. That is, don’t eliminate a meat, dairy, or egg product from your diet until you’ve found two or three great new vegan foods than can take its place. When you focus on crowding rather than cutting, you eliminate all feelings of strain and sacrifice. Your diet actually becomes more interesting, varied, and delicious as you fill it with more and more vegan foods.
Some ideas for beginning your transition:
Remember that you’re not the first person to do this, so you don’t have to figure it all out by yourself. Read vegan related books to help you find the answers to your questions, you can visit out Must Read page to find out books.
- Check out our page "Your Vegan Journey" »
- Visit your closest natural foods store, and buy at least ten vegan products you’ve never before tried.
- Pick up a good vegan nutrition book like Vegan for Life to make sure you steer clear of any needless nutrient deficiencies.
Don’t put pressure on yourself. Just make a point of constantly trying new vegan foods, and move at whatever speed you feel comfortable. If you make a mistake and end up consuming animal products, don’t call the whole thing off. You’ll find that over time, it gets easier and easier to stick with a mostly or entirely vegan diet.Vegan answers
People choose to become vegan for various reasons, including concerns about animal welfare, environmental sustainability, and health benefits. Some adopt a vegan lifestyle to reduce animal suffering and exploitation in the food industry, while others are motivated by the environmental impact of animal agriculture, such as deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and water usage. Additionally, many people transition to a vegan diet for potential health benefits, such as reduced risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers.
Veganism contributes to environmental sustainability by reducing the demand for animal agriculture, which is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, habitat destruction, and water pollution. Plant-based diets generally require fewer natural resources, such as land, water, and energy, compared to diets that include animal products. Transitioning to a vegan lifestyle can help mitigate environmental issues and promote a more sustainable food system.
Transitioning to a vegan lifestyle may present challenges or obstacles for some individuals. Common concerns include navigating social situations, finding suitable vegan options when dining out or traveling, and ensuring adequate nutrient intake. Additionally, some people may experience resistance or criticism from friends, family, or society. However, with proper planning, education, and support, many people successfully overcome these challenges and thrive on a vegan diet.
Nutrition
You'll soon find a whole new world of exciting foods and flavours opening up to you. A vegan diet is richly diverse and comprises all kinds of fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, seeds, beans and pulses - all of which can be prepared in endless combinations that will ensure you're never bored. From curry to cake, pasties to pizzas, all your favourite things can be suitable for a vegan diet if they're made with plant-based ingredients. Check out our vegan recipes for ideas.
Despite what you may have heard, protein is actually not much of a worry for most vegans.
Not so long ago, conventional wisdom had it that vegans and vegetarians would inevitably develop dangerous protein deficiencies. But over time this myth has largely died out, doubtless due to the fact that have been virtually no instances of vegans dropping dead from lack of protein.
Unfortunately, a harmful counter-myth has arisen within the vegan world: that plant-based foods are so loaded with protein that vegans need never give the topic a thought. That’s an unreasonable belief that has set a lot of vegans up for inadequate protein intake, even if they’ll never be hospitalized for deficiency. Protein is a vital nutrient and falling short of your needs is harmful in a variety of ways. So it’s worth making sure you’re incorporating several rich sources of protein into your everyday diet. Here are some protein-rich vegan foods that will help ensure your needs are met.
- Legumes (alfalfa, clover, beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils, lupins, soybeans, peanuts, etc)
- Seitan
- Nuts
- Tofu
- Quinoa
- Tempeh
- Edamame
- Nutritional Yeast
- Hempseed
- Spirulina
- Oats and Oatmeal
- Wild Rice
- Chia Seeds
- Protein-Rich Vegetables (broccoli, spinach, asparagus, artichokes, potatoes, sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts)
Maybe the best approach to making this happen is to make sure that most of your meals include a solid source of protein. That can mean using nuts, seeds, or gomasio as a garnish. It could mean adding sautéed tempeh or vegan meats to your spaghetti sauce. Or it could mean making a side-dish of fried tofu mixed with a little barbecue sauce and a dusting of nutritional yeast. If you construct your diet with protein in mind, you’ll find an abundance of vegan foods to meet your needs. But protein is just the start of nutrients worth paying attention to: also keep an eye on zinc, iron, calcium, and especially Vitamin B-12. For more on these and other nutrients, visit our vegan nutrition page.
Vegan answersWhile a well-planned vegan diet can provide most essential nutrients, some may require supplementation. Vitamin B12, vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, iron, calcium, and iodine are nutrients that may need special attention. Vegans should consider fortified foods or supplements to ensure adequate intake of these nutrients.
Calcium-rich plant-based foods include fortified plant milks, tofu, tempeh, fortified orange juice, almonds, tahini, leafy greens (such as kale, collard greens, and bok choy), and fortified cereals. Consuming a variety of these foods can help meet calcium needs on a vegan diet.
Plant-based sources of iron include lentils, beans, tofu, tempeh, fortified cereals, spinach, kale, pumpkin seeds, and quinoa. Consuming vitamin C-rich foods, such as citrus fruits, bell peppers, and broccoli, alongside iron-rich foods can enhance iron absorption.
Yes, a well-planned vegan diet can provide sufficient protein for muscle building. Plant-based protein sources such as beans, lentils, tofu, tempeh, seitan, quinoa, nuts, and seeds are excellent options. Consuming an adequate variety and quantity of these foods can help meet protein needs for muscle growth and repair.
To maintain a balanced vegan diet, focus on consuming a variety of whole plant foods, including fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. Ensure adequate intake of essential nutrients such as protein, iron, calcium, vitamin B12, vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, and iodine. Planning meals, reading labels, and consulting with a registered dietitian can help ensure nutritional adequacy.
Health
Numerous studies have demonstrated the health benefits of a vegan lifestyle. Plant-based diets tend to be rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, while being lower in saturated fat and cholesterol compared to diets containing animal products. Research has shown that vegan diets are associated with lower rates of heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and obesity. Additionally, a well-planned vegan diet can provide all the essential nutrients your body needs for optimal health, including protein, iron, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids.
Yes, it's entirely possible to obtain sufficient protein from plant-based sources. Legumes such as beans, lentils, and chickpeas are excellent sources of protein. Soy products like tofu and tempeh, as well as seitan (wheat gluten), also provide substantial amounts of protein. Additionally, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and even vegetables contain protein. By including a variety of these plant foods in your diet, you can easily meet your daily protein needs.
While a well-planned vegan diet can offer numerous health benefits, there are some potential risks to be aware of. Certain nutrients that are abundant in animal products, such as vitamin B12, vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, iron, calcium, and iodine, may require special attention on a vegan diet. It's important for vegans to include fortified foods or supplements in their diet to ensure they get an adequate intake of these nutrients. Additionally, some individuals may find it challenging to obtain enough calories or certain nutrients on a vegan diet if they don't plan their meals properly.
Research suggests that adopting a vegan diet may aid in weight loss. Vegan diets tend to be lower in calories and higher in fiber compared to omnivorous diets. Fiber-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes help promote satiety and reduce overall calorie intake. Furthermore, plant-based diets are associated with lower body mass index (BMI) and a reduced risk of obesity. However, the effectiveness of a vegan diet for weight loss ultimately depends on factors such as food choices, portion sizes, and overall dietary patterns.
Animals
Total estimate of animal killed per year
These are the numbers of animals killed worldwide by the meat, egg, and dairy industries since you opened this webpage. They do not include the millions of animals killed in laboratories, fur farms, animal shelters, zoos, marine parks, rodeos, circuses, human negligence, blood sports, or extermination attempts.
Wild Fish Caught | 1.008.000.000.000 |
---|---|
Chickens | 61.171.973.510 |
Ducks | 2.887.594.480 |
Pigs | 1.451.856.889 |
Rabbits | 1.171.578.000 |
Geese | 687.147.000 |
Turkeys | 618.086.890 |
Sheep | 536.742.256 |
Goats | 438.320.370 |
Cattle | 298.799.160 |
Rodents | 70.371.000 |
Pigeons and other Birds | 59.656.000 |
Buffalo | 25.798.819 |
Horses | 4.863.367 |
Camels | 3.243.266 |
Donkeys | 3.213.400 |
Would it be alright to kill and eat people if they’d had a good life? And what do we mean by a ‘good’ life, anyway? In the case of animals, we certainly don’t mean a long one. ‘Meat’ animals are killed as babies in the case of pigs and lambs between 6 - 8 months old - never get to lead any kind of adult life. Animals, of course, want to live just as much as we do. The first instinct every animal has is to survive. By killing them at all, we are taking away from them the most important thing they have; we are denying their intrinsic right to life.
It is also naïve to imagine that any farmed animals lead good lives: the overwhelming majority of them are exploited, neglected and frustrated on factory farms – forced to lead lives of misery by a farming systems which sees them only as ways of producing a profit. They then face a violent, frightening death in the slaughterhouse: despite supposedly humane stunning, millions of animals are still conscious when their throats are cut. Even free range and organic animals suffer on farms and they face the same shocking death at a young age as factory-farmed animals.
This is a very intricate question to answer. Although there are different calculation methods out there, we've come up with a different approach. We've have collected the consumption of animals per region and calculated a weighted average between the animals consumed per year per region and the total population of the world. This numbers came up to be:
1 Day | 5 Days | 1 Month | 1 Year |
---|---|---|---|
0.22 | 1 | 7 | 80 |
Animal save calculator »Animals consumed per region statistics »
Environment
In an industrial beef production system, it takes on average three years before the animal is slaughtered to produce about 200 kg of boneless beef. The animal consumes nearly 1,300 kg of grains (wheat, oats, barley, corn, dry peas, soybean meal and other small grains), 7,200 kg of roughages (pasture, dry hay, silage and other roughages), 24 cubic metres of water for drinking and 7 cubic metres of water for servicing. This means that to produce one kilogram of boneless beef, we use about 6.5 kg of grain, 36 kg of roughages, and 155 litres of water (only for drinking and servicing). Producing the volume of feed requires about 15,300 litres of water on average. The water footprint of 1 kg of beef thus adds up to 15,500 litres of water
The water footprint of foodLivestock and their byproducts account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, or 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.
Livestock and Climate ChangeStudy claims meat creates half of all greenhouse gasesThe production of meat and other animal products places a heavy burden on the environment - from crops and water required to feed the animals, to the transport and other processes involved from farm to fork. The vast amount of grain feed required for meat production is a significant contributor to deforestation, habitat loss and species extinction. In Brazil alone, the equivalent of 5.6 million acres of land is used to grow soya beans for animals in Europe. This land contributes to developing world malnutrition by driving impoverished populations to grow cash crops for animal feed, rather than food for themselves. On the other hand, considerably lower quantities of crops and water are required to sustain a vegan diet, making the switch to veganism one of the easiest, most enjoyable and most effective ways to reduce our impact on the environment.
Miscellaneous
Plants do not feel pain. A plant lacks a central nervous system, pain receptors and a brain which means that they don’t have the ability to feel pain as we or other type of animals do.
Even if plants did feel pain, the average meat eater is responsible for ten times more plants being killed than vegans do, because all the animals that are bred for meat, dairy and egg eaters, eat huge amounts of plants themselves. It takes up to 12 kilograms of plants to create 1 kilogram of animal flesh 1 , meaning vastly more plants are killed in the production of animal products than they are vegan products.
There are several common misconceptions about veganism, including the belief that vegans lack essential nutrients or protein, that vegan diets are restrictive or boring, and that veganism is only about food choices. In reality, a well-planned vegan diet can provide all essential nutrients, and there is a wide variety of delicious and diverse plant-based foods available. Veganism extends beyond diet and encompasses a lifestyle that seeks to minimize harm to animals, the environment, and human health.
Yes, it is possible to follow a vegan diet on a budget. Plant-based staples such as grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and tofu are often affordable and can form the basis of inexpensive and nutritious meals. Buying in bulk, shopping seasonally, and utilizing frozen or canned fruits and vegetables can help reduce costs. Additionally, planning meals, minimizing food waste, and cooking at home can further optimize expenses while following a vegan lifestyle.
Calculate your impact
Calculate how much water, grain, forest, CO2 and animal lives you could save while thriving on a vegan lifestyle.