The 5 Most Important Reasons to Go Vegan Today!

Last updated on December 2nd, 2023

There’s no doubt, veganism is really taking off! But if you want to know why, keep reading because I’m going to talk about the 5 most important reasons to go vegan today.

Roll up, roll up, get your vegan chicken, vegan fish, vegan pork pies, vegan latte, vegan ice cream, vegan leather jacket, vegan phone, vegan toilet roll, vegan hairbrush, vegan pillow, vegan cat, vegan dog, vegan anything, vegan everything!

It seems the world is going vegan crazy! And you know what?… It is!

But here’s the question, is it going vegan crazy for a good reason?

Maybe like so many other regular people, you see vegan signs everywhere you go, especially every Veganuary. And wonder what it’s all about?

Oh, and what even is Veganuary? It’s a pretty cool campaign set up to get as many people as possible to give being vegan a try for the month of January. Year after year it’s growing in popularity. There’s some pretty interesting information about it on Veganuary’s site Check it out here

So, back to the question, I guess you’re wondering why everyone’s jumping on the vegan bandwagon? And what’s the big deal all of a sudden?

I actually think it can be hard to understand. Of course, we know something’s going on but without the right information, you might find getting your head around the ‘why’ unclear.

Yes, it makes sense that restaurants are adding more vegan dishes to their menus and supermarkets are stocking all kinds of vegan products. They are giving the customers what they want.

But why are the customers demanding it? It wasn’t long ago that free-range and organic were all the hype, which swiftly jumped to vegetarian and now it’s vegan everywhere you look. Are you wondering what’s next? Should we only eat fruit that falls naturally from trees? – This is actually a thing.

People have been fighting the vegan fight for many, many years. But recently there have been so many new people to the cause. According to Finder,  in 2021 there were 1.5 million people following a vegan diet in the UK.

This could be for a bunch of different reasons:

• The climate crisis is now urgent, undisputable and constantly in mainstream media.
• Because of social media platforms, people have more information and viewpoints at their fingertips than ever before.
• New documentaries are being released regularly showing evidence of the impact of animal agriculture.
• People with public influence are speaking out and the public is paying attention.
• It’s easier to find people who share your beliefs, and with support, it is easier to stand up and act.

These are some of the reasons people are acting and making changes NOW. There’s never been an easier time to stand up for what you believe in and effect change. 

We have an idea why it’s happening NOW. But WHY is it actually happening? Why do people feel the need to act? What are the reasons to go vegan?

According to The Water Education, it takes 61 gallons to produce half a cup of tofu but it takes 616 gallons of water to produce a burger.

You can skip your daily shower. Or turn off the tap while brushing your teeth. But it’s going to take a long time to come close to the cost of that burger.

And that’s just the water.

There’s also a lot of electricity needed to pump this water, after all, we are talking about 70 billion land animals every year. So switching off the light when we leave the room might not do it. In fact, living by candlelight wouldn’t even be enough. Surely this must be an important reason to go vegan. 

The stark reality of this number is dropping jaws and boggling people’s minds over how it is even possible. You don’t have to be an animal lover to piece together that 150 billion animals and slaughtered in the same sentence isn’t right.

A long time ago people had a piece of meat with their Sunday lunch and they’d buy the meat from the butchers who could tell them exactly where it was sourced. Until recently people didn’t really question how or when the change happened.

But a huge change has happened! And now most meals aren’t considered a meal without meat. With the world population expanding dramatically and the ‘need’ to eat meat constantly growing, the answer has become more intensive farming. Even when we started to learn a little about factory farms we still didn’t necessarily know what was happening inside, but now there’s footage, real evidence of the pain and suffering. Facts make things hard to ignore.

Switch4Good sets out to prove that milk is not the healthy, nutrient-packed, essential drink we all once thought it was. With 65% of the world being intolerant to lactose, the sugar in milk, it is not helping our daily life, it’s hindering it.

Intolerances and allergies can cause both serious and mild symptoms. If you have serious symptoms you’ll most likely know the cause but so many people are suffering mild symptoms such as eczema, bloating, hives, asthma and many more being reported.

People have been removing dairy from their diets to see if it helps with health issues. Reports have shown great results and often they stay off milk for good. We all want to feel healthy so it makes sense that this is an important reason to go vegan. 

Animal agribusiness accounts for 75% of global deforestation according to World Animal Foundation. Even if farm animals aren’t your thing, most people seem to get upset at the idea of entire animal species becoming extinct. Now, of course, we can argue that it’s natural for species to become extinct and it has always happened. And this is true. But the unimaginable speed at which it’s happening is the concern. The UN says in its most comprehensive assessment of its kind that 1 million species are currently threatened with extinction.

Animals can not continue to thrive if their habitats are being torn and burnt down for cattle farms. And then any wildlife left that is deemed a threat to the livestock is killed to protect the industry.

Not only is it upsetting to lose species of animals and plants, likely types we haven’t even discovered yet but it’s deeply worrying that the Earth’s biodiversity is being threatened. We really don’t know the impact it could have. The balance of the planet is in our hands and we seem pretty chill about it.

According to PETA “A staggering 75% of emerging infectious diseases in humans come from other animals. Many major disease outbreaks in humans – including COVID-19, Ebola, swine flu, SARS, MERS, bird flu, and “mad cow” disease – have originated in animals.”

Infectious diseases have terrorised the world population for many years now, especially those living in countries with little access to the right medical treatment. But now every country, even the rich and powerful ones, has felt the catastrophic impact of an infectious disease taking hold of the world. It’s probably it’s time to do something.

Zoonotic diseases are diseases that are transmitted between humans and animals. And they’re becoming increasingly more common as deforestation and intensive farming are on the rise.

Animals lose their habitat to make more space for cattle farming or to grow animal feed. This can force the animals into close contact with humans creating the perfect opportunity to spread disease between animals and humans.

Another serious breeding ground for diseases is factory farms, while not all, but many of these can be very unsanitary places. With many animals squished into small, dirty places diseases can spread quickly between animals and can be passed on to humans. We’re currently facing the worst pandemic in any of our lifetimes due to a zoonotic disease and there seems to be no real end in sight. If things continue as they are, we’d be naive to think there isn’t another one around the corner waiting for us.

….Or are these important reasons to go vegan?

It seems the more I read, listen and research the more reasons I find to support the fact that a switch to a plant-based diet is a win-win. It helps with our own personal health, it helps with animal rights and it helps to protect the planet. These are just the glaringly obvious reasons but there are many, many more being researched and talked about every day.

Maybe you’re also wondering why vegans don’t eat eggs, check out this post Why Vegans Don’t Eat Eggs. Aren’t they a natural part of a hen’s life? and you’ll find out some pretty important reasons. 

So, that way list of the 5 most important reasons to go vegan! Maybe you’d love to go vegan this year but feel the challenge is a little too much and there’s too much to sacrifice involved. Don’t worry I have a cheat for you to use check out my post on How to Make Becoming Vegan Easy.

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Meet the Author

Meet Sinead O’Carroll: Vegan explorer, sustainability advocate and the founder of The Wondering Wandering Vegan. Embracing veganism since 2018 and vegetarianism since 2005, Sinead is armed with a Vegan Health, Nutrition and Lifestyle qualification, and is on a mission to share her passion for cruelty-free living. 

With a taste for adventure and a heart for eco-conscious choices, she’s here to prove that vegans never miss out on flavour, fun or style. Join her in enjoying the delights of a vegan-friendly world! 🌱✈️🌍
Want to know more? Check out Sinead’s About page here.

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Follow me on Instagram to see all the delicious vegan food I find, the vegan and cruelty-free products I use and what I get up to as a travelling vegan.

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