PART ONE:The Why
Before discussing how to go vegan, one of the most important elements to establish is “why?” There are lots of reasons why people try vegan for 31 days – for the animals, the environment, sustainability, world hunger, personal health, global human health, or just as a new challenge. Whatever your reason is for trying it, this can often become one of the many good reasons that prompt people to stick to it long term, so it’s a great idea to figure out your own “why?”
For the animals:
At the end of the day there is no humane way to kill something that does not want to die. It is obvious animals die in order to produce meat, but often people are unaware of the number of animals that suffer from the fallout of the animal agriculture industry generally. Male calves are unwanted by products of the dairy industry, while their mothers are only useful when pregnant for producing milk – something that is incredibly taxing on their poor bodies. Billions of day-old baby boy chicks are also slaughtered for being the wrong gender to lay eggs. For anyone who is more spiritually inclined, consider the terror and suffering that these innocent beings endure is a negative energy that you are choosing to put into your own body by consuming it.
Environment:
Eating animals is one of the top 4 ways each of us contributes to climate-changing emissions, along with driving cars, flying, and having children. Out of these, it is also one of arguably the easier options to give up doing. And the amazing thing is, we can help protect the planet with each plant based meal that we eat! Since producing vegan food requires less land and water than producing animal products, being vegan is also great news for all of the worlds wild places and its inhabitants.
World Hunger:
What we eat has an impact on people all over the world. Currently we produce more than enough food for everyone on the planet, but still one billion people go hungry every day. War, poverty and natural disasters all play a part but the fact that we feed 1/3 of the worlds cereal harvest and 90% of the worlds soya harvest to farmed animals instead of to people.
Personal Health:
People often report that their skin, hair, sinuses, digestion and sleep improve after eating vegan food for 31 days. Others say they have more energy, sleep better, have better mental clarity and their sporting performance improves. In the long term, eating a plant based diet can also reduce high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.