Why I Went Vegan

Disclaimer: The purpose of this post is not to convert people to veganism (although that would be nice). There are amazing people who aren't vegan and who help the world in their own way. This post is mostly meant to answer the people who keep asking me why I went vegan. 

Just to clarify: 

Vegan Definition: Someone who doesn't eat food that contains animal products and doesn't use products that derived from animal parts.
Plant Based Definition: Someone who eats a vegan diet but who still uses cruelty products.

Based off of these definitions I am technically not a vegan yet because I still have products that were derived from animals (i.e. certain shampoos and conditioners). However, my intention is to become fully vegan after I finish researching which brands are cruelty free.

There are three main reasons why a person goes vegan:
1) For the environment
2) For the animals
3) For health reasons
I have gone vegan for the the first two reasons so this post will primarily focus on those.

The following statistics were taken from the documentary Cowspiracy:

Animal Cruelty Facts:

- Calves are torn away from their mothers immediately after birth

- Male piglets are cut open with knives and have their testicles torn out without any form of anesthetic 

- In the egg industry male chicks are grinded up alive or suffocated because they don't grow fast enough and don't profit the business as much as female chicks 

- Organic and Cage Free Explained: 

"Hens on large-scale commercial cage-free farms are not kept in cages as the birds on standard egg factory farms are, but the difference usually stops there. Most still have their sensitive beaks cut off with a hot blade and are crammed together in filthy sheds. They never go outside, breathe fresh air, feel the sun on their backs, or do anything else that is natural or important to them." (Peta) "While free-range and organic egg farms are technically supposed to give birds outdoor access, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has decided that 'they may be temporarily confined' for 'reasons of health, safety, the animal’s stage of production or to protect soil or water quality.' Many free-range egg farms take full advantage of this loophole by almost never allowing the birds outside." (Peta)

-If people are interested in knowing more it is highly effective to watch videos of such torture described above (links to videos will be copied below) 

For everyone who thinks that people are more important than animals:

Yes, there are starving and dying people around the world and that's slightly more important in my eyes than helping animals but there is only so much that I can do to help such people. When I find an immediate way that I can have an impact on helping people then I will take the actions necessary to do so. Veganism has an immediate impact on the environment and animal rights so I am going to continue to be vegan. It's also not at all as hard as I thought it was going to be so why would I not do it? 

After seeing what I've seen and hearing what I've heard I won't sit back and intentionally do nothing. The only part of my life that has changed is simply choosing something else to eat or simply picking something else to buy. That's why I went vegan. 

Videos:

From Farm to Fridge- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icOD7hxUGI8

Best Speech You Will Ever Here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es6U00LMmC4

Documentaries to watch:
Cowspiracy (environment related)
Earthlings (animal/ethics/cruelty related)
Forks Over Knives (health related)

Sources: 
http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/organic-free-range-meat/ (Organic and cage free)
http://www.cowspiracy.com/facts/ (facts displayed on visuals)