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From the start, veganism was motivated by animal ethics and human health. More recently, environmental and social justice concerns are emerging as additional motivations for considering veganism.

Closely related: Getting Started with Going Vegan

Points to Consider

Veganism is a way of living.

• The word ”vegan” was coined in 1944 by Donald Watson, founder of ”The Vegan Society”.^[1]“Vegan Society – About Us – History” The Vegan Society. Accessed 2022-06-22.
• Veganism is a “way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose, ” according to The Vegan Society’s current definition of veganism.^[2]“Vegan Society – About Us – History” The Vegan Society. Accessed 2022-06-22.
• More simply put, veganism is a way of living that minimizes harm to animals.
• The vegan way of living manifests itself in our choices for food, clothing, entertainment, and any item that may involve harm to animals.

Concern for animals has a rich history.

• The word ”vegan” may be relatively new, but the idea isn’t.
• We can see veganism as part of a continuum in the history of thinking about our concern for animals and our belief that animals are worthy of ethical consideration.
• Long before and long after the term ”vegan” was coined, a long list of notables were vocal on the topic. Only a few are mentioned here.

Pythagoras (570 BCE–490 BCE)

• Pythagoras abstained from eating animals because he believed that humans have a special kinship with animals—not because of their intelligence, but because of their emotional capacity to feel pleasure and pain.^[3]Huffman, Carl. “Pythagoras.” In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Edward N. Zalta, Summer 2014. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2014.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)

• Leonardo da Vinci said he would not let his body become “a tomb for other animals, an inn of the dead.”^[7]White, Michael. Leonardo: The First Scientist. 1st edition. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000, 131
• Da Vinci loved animals, refused to eat them, and abhorred the idea of causing them pain.^[8]Horowitz, David. “History of Vegetarianism – Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519).” International Vegetarian Union, July 19, 2002.

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822)

• Shelley, who has been called the first celebrity vegan ^[9]International Vegetarian Union: Shelly – The First Celebrity Vegan January 5, 2011, Accessed 2022-06-22 expressed regret that “beings capable of the gentlest and most admirable sympathies, should take delight in the death-pangs and last convulsions of dying animals.”^[10]Shelley, Percy Bysshe. A Vindication of Natural Diet. Percy Bysshe Shelley. Kindle e-Book, A public domain book. Vegetarian Society, 1884. ISBN 1537113607, Kindle location 271
• Shelley wrote a book, ”A Vindication of Natural Diet”, which draws on comparative anatomy to show that a vegetable diet is best suited to humans.^[11]Shelley, Percy Bysshe. A Vindication of Natural Diet. Percy Bysshe Shelley. Kindle e-Book, A public domain book. Vegetarian Society, 1884. ISBN 1537113607, Kindle location 271

Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910)

• Tolstoy also wrote a book pertinent to veganism, titled” The First Step: An Essay on the Morals of Diet”, calling for abstinence from animal food as the first step toward moral perfection.
• Tolstoy said that the use of animal food “is simply immoral, as it involves the performance of an act which is contrary to the moral feeling—killing; and is called forth only by greediness and the desire for tasty food.”^[12]Tolstoy, Leo. 1900. ”The First Step: An Essay on the Morals of Diet”, to Which Are Added Two Stories. Albert Broadbent. 61, 6
• Tolstoy addresses attempts to deny harm to animals by saying, “we are not ostriches, and cannot believe that if we refuse to look at what we do not wish to see it will not exist.”^[13]Tolstoy, Leo. 1900. ”The First Step: An Essay on the Morals of Diet”, to Which Are Added Two Stories. Albert Broadbent. 58-59.

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)

• Shaw is responsible for the often-repeated but rarely attributed quote, “Animals are my friends…and I don’t eat my friends.”^[14]Richards, Jennie. “George Bernard Shaw Poem, ‘We Are The Living Graves of Murdered Beasts.’” Humane Decisions, January 15, 2015.
• Shaw connected our slaughter of animals to the lack of world peace, saying, “While we ourselves are the living graves of murdered beasts, how can we expect any ideal conditions on this earth?”^[15]Richards, Jennie. “George Bernard Shaw Poem, ‘We Are The Living Graves of Murdered Beasts.’” Humane Decisions, January 15, 2015.

Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948)

• Gandhi believed that “the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man.”^[16]Gandhi, Mahatma. Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Courier Corporation, 1948, 208
• As a young law student in London, Gandhi made the spread of vegetarianism (which then meant what veganism means today) his stated mission,^[17]Gandhi, Mahatma. “Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth.” Accessed February 3, 2018. 52 and he carried out the mission by writing essays and giving speeches on the topic.^[18]“Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948).” International Vegetarian Union. Accessed October 16, 2019.
• It seems Gandhi honed his activist skills by being a voice for animals and then used those skills later to change the course of human history.

Veganism is based on the belief that we should not unnecessarily harm animals.

• To go vegan, one need not believe that animals and humans deserve equal moral consideration—or that animals have rights.
• The case for veganism is built on the simple belief that one should not unnecessarily harm animals—a belief that virtually everyone holds, except psychopaths.

Note: Here we focus on the question of necessity and the harms that come about from using animals for food, because this is by far the most prevalent way we harm animals. At least fifty billion land animals^[19]“Meat Production Continues to Rise.” Worldwatch Institute, September 29, 2017 and more than a trillion sea animals^[20]Mood, A, and P Brooke. “Estimate of Fish Numbers.” Fishcount.org, July 2010. are slaughtered or killed every year for food, dwarfing all other methods of animal exploitation combined.

Using animals for food is not necessary.

• The most common attempt to justify the harm resulting from eating animal products is to say that it’s necessary to consume animal products to be healthy.
• There is scientific consensus that plant-based diets are nutritionally complete and healthy.
  • Mayo Clinic,^[21]“Vegetarian Diet: How to Get the Best Nutrition.” Mayo Clinic. Accessed August 2, 2017. Harvard Public Health,^[22]“Becoming a Vegetarian.” Harvard Health Publications Harvard Medical School, March 18, 2016. Kaiser Permanente,^[23]Phillip J Tuso, MD, Mohamed H Ismail, MD, Benjamin P Ha, MD, and Carole Bartolotto, MD, RD. “Nutritional Update for Physicians: Plant-Based Diets.” The Permanente Journal – The Permanente … Continue reading NewYork-Presbyterian,^[24]Ask A Nutritionist: Plant-Based Diets.” NewYork-Presbyterian, March 30, 2017 and others have all said that a totally plant-based diet is not only sufficient but advantageous. Cleveland Clinic adds that “there really are no disadvantages to a herbivorous diet!”^[25]“Understanding Vegetarianism & Heart Health.” Cleveland Clinic, December 2013.
  • The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is the largest nutrition-focused organization in the world, with over one hundred thousand credentialed professionals.^[26]“About Us.” Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Accessed August 2, 2017. In an official position paper, they say that vegan diets “are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, older adulthood and for athletes.”^[27]“Vegetarian Diets.” Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. December 2016.
  • The dietetic associations of other countries, including Canada,^[28]“Healthy Eating Guidelines for Vegans.” Dietitians of Canada, November 2017. England,^[29]“British Dietetic Association.” The Vegan Society. Accessed August 3, 2017. and Australia,^[30]“Vegan Diets: Everything You Need to Know – Dietitians Association of Australia.” Dietitians Association of Australia. Accessed August 3, 2017. have also made pronouncements on the viability of a vegan diet.
  • When the major health organizations, the major research institutions, and the dietetic associations all say that there is no need to eat animals and animal products, that constitutes a scientific consensus on the topic.

We harm animals when we use them for food and other purposes.

The abuses are undeniable.

• Farmed animals are subjected to confinement, crowding, mutilation, deprivation of natural behaviors, debilitating selective breeding, cruel treatment, separation from their offspring, slaughter, and other injustices.
• The abuses of farmed animals are well documented in animal agriculture websites, documentary movies, and videos of undercover investigations, some at “certified humane” facilities.
• That these abuses occur, and that they occur at certified humane facilities, cannot be plausibly denied.
• Even if we treated them well up until the time of slaughter, there is no way to humanely slaughter someone who does not want to die.
• There is no way to humanely exploit the reproductive systems of birds for eggs or mammals for milk and cheese, whose lives are also taken when they are no longer profitable.

We are denying farmed animals autonomy.

• The underlying issue is that in using animals for our own purposes, we are depriving them of their freedom and their lives—the only lives they have, and lives that are valued by each of them.
• Whether we eat animal products, use them for entertainment, hunt them for sport, wear them for clothing, or do research on them, we are harming them.
• Vegans seek to eliminate their participation in all forms of animal exploitation and harm.

The benefits of veganism to humans are substantial.

• Veganism is first and foremost a way of living that is fair and just to animals.
• That said, the bonus benefits of sustainability, social justice, and health are substantial and should not be ignored.
• Some people become vegan, or at least adopt a vegan diet, for one of these other reasons. They often come to appreciate and embrace all of veganism’s implications and benefits as they become more aware.

Better health.

• Research vetted by the major medical and nutrition-focused organizations mentioned earlier shows that adopting a vegan diet will reduce your risks of the chronic diseases that plague modern meat-eating societies, including heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, cancer, high cholesterol, high blood pressure levels, obesity, and poor bone health.^[31]“Becoming a Vegetarian.” Harvard Health Publications Harvard Medical School, March 18, 2016. ^[32]“Vegetarian Diets.” Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. December 2016. ^[33]“Understanding Vegetarianism & Heart Health.” Cleveland Clinic, December 2013. ^[34]Ask A Nutritionist: Plant-Based Diets.” NewYork-Presbyterian, March 30, 2017
• Kaiser Permanente, a nonprofit insurer and medical provider with over eleven million members,^[35]“Fast Facts About Kaiser Permanente.” Kaiser Permanente Share, 2017. Accessed 2022-06-22 even asks their physicians to recommend a plant-based diet to their patients, especially those with high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or obesity.
• Research shows plant-based diets “may also reduce the number of medications needed to treat chronic diseases and lower ischemic heart disease mortality rates.”^[36]Phillip J Tuso, MD, Mohamed H Ismail, MD, Benjamin P Ha, MD, and Carole Bartolotto, MD, RD. “Nutritional Update for Physicians: Plant-Based Diets.” The Permanente Journal – The Permanente … Continue reading

Environmental concerns.

• An article in Georgetown Environmental Law Review sums it up nicely, calling animal agriculture the “one industry that is destroying our planet and our ability to thrive on it.”^[37]Christopher Hyner. “A Leading Cause of Everything: One Industry That Is Destroying Our Planet and Our Ability to Thrive on It.” Georgetown Environmental Law Review, October 23, 2015.
• Animal agriculture: is responsible for somewhere between 14.5 percent and 87 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, depending on what assumptions are adopted. Assumptions that include lost opportunity costs from carbon sequestration are at the higher end.^[38]Tackling Climate Change Through Livestock, United Nations FAO, 2013 ^[39]Goodland, Robert, and Jeff Anhang. “Livestock and Climate Change.” Worldwatch Institute. Accessed April 4, 2018. ^[40]Dr. Sailesh Rao, Animal Agriculture is the Leading Cause of Climate Change, Climate Healers, 2019
  • Note: The 14.5 percent estimate of the United Nations FAO was lowered from 18% after the FAO partnered with the International Meat Secretariat and the International Dairy Federation.^[41]Mark Bittman. FAO Yields to Meat Industry Pressure on Climate Change. New York Times Opinion Pages. July 11, 2012
• Animal agriculture accounts for 80 percent of deforestation rates in the Amazon,^[42]Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. “Cattle Ranching in the Amazon Region.” Global Forest Atlas, June 6, 2014
• Animal agriculture is a major contributor to:
  • species extinction,^[43]“Evidence of Species Loss in Amazon Caused by Deforestation.” ScienceDaily. Accessed June 8, 2017
  • ocean dead zones,^[44]Victor Paine. “What Causes Ocean ‘Dead Zones’?” Scientific American. Accessed June 8, 2017. .
  • depletion of fish,^[45]“FAO Statistical Yearbook 2012.” United Nations FAO. Accessed April 4, 2018.
  • runoff and water pollution,^[46]Bhanoo, Sindya N. “Amish Farming Draws Rare Government Scrutiny.” The New York Times, June 8, 2010, sec. Environment.
  • water wastage.^[47]“Water Footprint.” Waterfootprint.org. Accessed November 28, 2017. ^[48]“Water Footprint Assessment Manual – The Global Standard.” Accessed November 28, 2017.
• The extreme devastation of the planet caused by animal agriculture prompted Howard Lyman, a former cattle rancher, to say, “You can’t be an environmentalist and eat animal products…”^[49]“IMDB: Quotes from the Sustainability Secret” Accessed May 25, 2018. and that “to consider yourself an environmentalist and still eat meat is like saying you’re a philanthropist who doesn’t give to charity.”^[50]“Cowspiracy – Encore | Animal Liberation Victoria.” Accessed May 25, 2018.

Human social justice.

• In developing countries, almost five million children under the age of five die of malnutrition-related causes every year,^[51]Richard Oppenlander. “The World Hunger-Food Choice Connection: A Summary.” Comfortably Unaware, 2012 Accessed 2022-06-25. and another eight hundred million are unable to lead a normal life because of chronic hunger.^[52]Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). “Hunger Facts,” 2014
• It seems almost criminal that over 80 percent of the world’s starving children live in countries where food is given to livestock that will then be shipped to and eaten in more affluent countries.^[53]Richard Oppenlander. “The World Hunger-Food Choice Connection: A Summary.” Comfortably Unaware, 2012.
• We could feed many times more people if we grew human food instead of growing animal food and feeding animals.^[54]“U.S. Could Feed 800 Million People with Grain That Livestock Eat, Cornell Ecologist Advises Animal Scientists,” Cornell Chronicle, August 7, 1997, Accessed 2022-06-25 ^[55]Cassidy, Emily S., Paul C. West, James S. Gerber, and Jonathan A. Foley. “Redefining Agricultural Yields: From Tonnes to People Nourished per Hectare.” Environmental Research Letters 8, no. 3 … Continue reading ^[56]Jason Gavericy Matheny, “Least Harm: A Defense of Vegetarianism From Steven Davis’s Omnivorous Proposal,” January 30, 2003, Accessed 2022-06-25
• The reason we could feed many times more people is that animals are very inefficient at converting animal feed into animal products.
  • The inefficiency is because most of the calories fed to an animal go to basic metabolism for daily living and for producing body parts that are not eaten, such as bones, rather than for producing the flesh and secretions that we eat.
  • According to a peer-reviewed study published by the World Resources Institute in 2014, titled “Creating a Sustainable Food Future,” it takes on average 24 calories of plant feed to produce one calorie of food from animals.^[57]An average of the figures for various farmed animals from this study on page 37 figure 2: World Resources Institute. “Creating a Sustainable Food Future.” World Resources Institute, 2014.

Animal rights philosophy strengthens the case for veganism.

• Although the validity of veganism does not depend on believing that animals have rights, the philosophy of animal rights strengthens the rational foundation of veganism.
• According to philosopher Tom Regan, author of ”The Case for Animal Rights”, “the philosophy of animal rights stands for, not against, justice. We are not to violate the rights of the few so that the many might benefit. Slavery allows this, child labor allows this, all unjust social institutions allow this…but not the philosophy of animal rights, whose highest principle is justice.”^[58]Tom Regan Speech at the Royal Institute of Great Britain in 1989.
• The idea of animal rights may seem odd at first, but it’s actually well-grounded.

The objections to veganism are weak.

• The Answering Objections section of this site addresses your concerns, objections, doubts, questions, and, yes, sometimes excuses.
• We agree with Donald Watson, who, at the age of 92, said that veganism is “meeting every reasonable criticism that anyone can level against it.”^[59]“Interview with Donald Watson on Sunday, December 15 2002, Accessed 2026-06-26
• The case for veganism is strong, while the objections to veganism are weak.

Veganism is on the rise.

• According to the high-dollar market research firm Global Data, the number of people who identify as vegan in the U.S. has grown five-fold, or 500%, in three recent years (2014 to 2017).^[60]“Top Trends in Prepared Foods 2017: Exploring Trends in Meat, Fish and Seafood; Pasta, Noodles and Rice; Prepared Meals; Savory Deli Food; Soup; and Meat Substitutes.” Global Data, June 2017. … Continue reading
• The rise in the popularity of veganism is reflected in the rapidly growing number of vegan choices in restaurants and grocery stores, as well as the proliferation of vegan celebrities, vegan public figures, and vegan professional athletes.^[61]VeganRevolution. It’s a New Era of Veganism— Game Changers First Trailer YouTube, Accessed May 27, 2018. Veganism is going mainstream.^[62]“Vegan Is Going Mainstream, Trend Data Suggests.” Accessed November 15, 2017

Getting started is an adventure.

• Many have found leaving animals off their plate to be an adventure, discovering new foods, recipes, and tastes they had never before experienced.
• Being vegan will soon be second nature. See our Getting Started with Going Vegan article in the Living Vegan section of this website.

You can be on the right side of history.

• There may be nothing else you could do that would have such positive consequences on so many fronts, to the benefit of both humans and non-human animals, than going vegan and leaving animals and animal products off your plate.
• Being vegan will prevent the suffering of many innocent lives who would have otherwise been born or hatched into a system of brutality,
• In addition to animal ethics, the benefits to humans are substantial:
  • Being vegan will give you the peace of mind that comes with knowing you’re no longer using your purchasing power for products made with violence.
  • The science is clear that being vegan will:
    • lower your risk of chronic disease
    • diminish your footprint on the planet,
    • promote a more efficient food system better capable of feeding the world’s starving, hungry, and impoverished.
• Henry David Thoreau said he had no doubt that it’s the “destiny of the human race, in its gradual improvement, to leave off eating animals.”^[63]Thoreau, Henry David. Walden. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017. 118 This is your chance to be on the right side of history before it becomes the norm.

Related Links

• On this website
  • Getting Started with Going Vegan
• On other websites
  • The Vegan Society’s History

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Footnotes