Top 10 (+2) Reasons to Go Vegan for the Animals

(And there are so, so, many more)

1.  In 2020, about 78 billion farmed land animals were slaughtered so human animals could eat them. Fish are more difficult to track, but in the US in 2017, an estimated 51-167 billion fish were killed.

2. Globally, about 90% of farmed animals will suffer their entire lives in factory farms. In the USA, that number rises to 99%. Factory farms are houses of horror that may include devices of extreme confinement, absence of medical care, lack of natural stimuli, sleep and seasonal manipulation, pain, fear, filth, and more. It is a well-known fact that the air inside these buildings is so toxic, that the animals inside suffer lung diseases—as do the workers.

3. Philosopher Jeremy Bentham famously asked: “The question is not, Can they reason?, nor Can they talk? but, Can they suffer? Why should the law refuse its protection to any sensitive being?” There is no doubt that farmed animals are born into terrible conditions, suffer their entire lives, and are then killed savagely. And now, science has provided an answer for Bentham: Yes, they can suffer. They can also feel joy, sorrow, hope, and fear. When you exploit an animal, you are implicit in causing that animal’s suffering.

4. Like us, farmed animals of all species have rich social lives. They choose mates, mourn their passing, they have best friends, like our goats Sheldon and Pinky. There’s no reason to think their lives are any less important to them, than ours are to us.

5. Rather than change farming conditions to fit an animal’s needs…the industry mutilates animals to meet their need for higher profit. Factory farms are such torture, that they cause stress-induced aggression where there would be none in nature. To prevent profit loss, animals are subject to painful mutilations—without anesthesia or pain preventative. Six-day old pigs have their teeth and tails cut to reduce biting. Chickens are debeaked to avoid cannibalism in the tiny battery cages in which they’re kept. Other mutilations include punching ear holes through, cutting ears, dehorning, and castrating animals.

6. Animal agriculture is rooted in forced pregnancy. Animal ag requires billions of animals every year. For this reason, females of all species are kept alive, impregnated, and forced to give birth over and over—until their bodies give out and they’re sent to slaughter. It’s torture. Pregnant pigs spend their lives in cages too small to turn around in. Birds lay eggs, which are incubated in a factory, rather than by her.

7. There are two types of chickens raised for our food preferences. The first is egg layers. Seventy percent of egg layers in the United States live in battery cages: these are wire cages, sloped downwards so eggs fall out. They are about 15 inches tall, and just a few feet wide. Each cage is stuffed with between 5-10 chickens. Chickens never even have the chance to spread their wings. The cages are stacked so that feces falls from the top to the bottom cage. Birds break legs, are cannibalized, or starve because they cannot reach food. There is no escape, no help. When they begin producing fewer eggs, they are killed.

8. It seems like common sense, but people often overlook it:

Mammals must give birth to produce milk.

All baby cows, for example, are separated from their mothers within hours, with no regard to the tender bond shared between a baby and his mother (The non-graphic video below shows how this bond is broken). The newborns are denied their mother’s milk so that human adults can drink it. This is absolutely necessary for the dairy industry to continue.

Veal calves are moved into solitary crates. They live indoors, in the dark, in stalls too small to move, tethered at the neck. Along with a formula low in iron, these immobile the calf, and ensure he is anemic: pale stays is better for profit. A veal calf lives his entire life in this extreme confinement, until he is killed at less than 4 months old. As for his mother, she will be impregnated again immediately. Once she is too weak to birth babies, she is sent to slaughter. Dairy cows can live 20 years naturally, but can only endure 3-6 years on a dairy farm.

9. Over 500,000 animals are still used in arcane cosmetic tests. These include tests of chemicals on shaved skin, in the eyes of restrained animals, and through forced feeding, often until death. Forty-two countries have banned cosmetics tests on animals, but only 8 states have followed suit. What’s worse, the Animal Welfare Act does not include the majority of animals the US uses in tests: reptiles, rates, mice, crabs, fish, turtles, birds, and more. They have no protection at all. But these are not the only animals used to test cosmetics. You may know that rabbits and pigs are used, but so are cats, dogs, sheep, hamsters, and primates.

10. Vegans don’t wear animals, either. Leather is a byproduct of the meat and dairy industry. Some animals, like sheep (and llamas, and alpacas), are kept alive in inhumane conditions because they can be fleeced over and over again for their wool. Like dairy cows, dairy sheep are also kept imprisoned and forced to give birth so that the cycle can continue. Shearers are paid by volume, or per sheep. They’re motivated to move fast—not gently. Sheep suffer fear and injury. Many require stitches, which may be administered without pain medication. Duck and geese are kept and live-plucked for their feathers to make down coats and comforters. Some compare it to having your hair pulled out at the roots; they are kept alive so they can be used over and over this way.

11. Animals are exploited for entertainment. Carriage horses in cities collapse from exhaustion. People inflict intense pain on cattle to cause reactions at rodeos. Elephants and many other animals are still trained using abusive methods for tourists. As long as animals are treated as commodities, their welfare will never come first. Veganism isn’t all about food. It’s the desire to do as little harm as possible. It’s about love.