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Vegan Action Homepage
http://www.vegan.org/
--
Lawrence F. London, Jr.
mailto:london@sunSITE.unc.edu
http://sunSITE.unc.edu/InterGarden
Title: Vegan Action Homepage
Join Us!
and become an active part of the vegan movement.
What's Hot:
What Is Veganism?
A vegan (pronounced VEE-gun) is someone who does not consume
animal products. While vegetarians avoid flesh foods, vegans also reject
the exploitation and abuse inherent in the making of dairy and egg products,
as well as in clothing from animal sources. While leading a purely vegan
life may be difficult for many, those who strive towards this goal can consider
themselves to be practicing vegans.
Here are some of the items vegans avoid: meat, milk,
cheese, eggs, fur, leather, wool, down, and cosmetics and chemical products
tested on animals.
Veganism, the natural extension of vegetarianism, is an integral
component of a cruelty-free lifestyle. Living vegan provides numerous benefits:
to animals and the quality of their lives, to the ecological integrity of
our environment, and to ourselves, by protecting our bodies from the dietary
problems associated with consumption of animal products.
The meat and dairy industry causes billions of chickens, cows,
and other animals untold suffering in producing milk and egg products each
year. The animals suffer unspeakable cruelties in order to maximize their
output of milk and eggs. Most live their short lives caged, drugged, mutilated,
and deprived. Today's farms are not like the ones most of us learned about
in school; they are mechanized factories where animal welfare is of less
concern than profit. Veganism emerges as the lifestyle most consistent with
the philosophy that animals are not ours to use.
Animal agriculture takes a devastating toll on the earth. It
is an inefficient way of producing food, which squanders the vast majority
of all grain grown in the U.S., as well as much of our water. This increased
dependence on high yields exacerbates the problem of topsoil erosion on
our farmlands, rendering land less and less productive for crop cultivation,
and forcing the conversion of wilderness lands to grazing and farm lands.
Animal waste is a disposal problem on today's massive feedlots and factory
farms, poisoning groundwater and rivers; and the disastrous effects of cattle
ranching have degraded thousands of acres in every western state.
Consumption of animal fats and proteins has been linked to heart
disease, colon and breast cancer, osteoporosis, diabeties, and a whole host
of other debilitating conditions. Vegan foods, such as whole grains, vegetables,
fruits, and beans, are low in fat, especially saturated fat, contain no
cholesterol, and are rich in fiber and nutrients. Plus, vegans get the perfect
amount of protein. Cows' milk contains ideal
amounts of fat and protein for young calves, but far too much for humans!
Eating eggs may be the surest way to get a heart attack, as they are higher
in cholesterol than any other food.
What is Vegan Action?
Vegan Action is a nonprofit, tax-exempt educational membership
organization. Our mission is to enhance public awareness about the many
benefits of a vegan diet and lifestyle, and to work to improve the availability
of vegan foods.
Vegan Action
uses the Internet as a means of distributing and obtaining accurate, current
information, as well as distributing our newsletter and announcements. You
can reach Vegan Action electronically at: info@vegan.org
PO Box 4353 Berkeley, CA 94704 Phone: (510) 654-6297
The Vegan Action web pages are served by Virtual Sites
Please send comments or suggestions for these web pages and bug reports to va-www-suggest@vegan.org and va-www-bug@vegan.org, respectively. (Please do not send questions to these addresses; queries should be directed to info@vegan.org instead.)