World Vegan 2019

Veganism: ethical imperative with collateral benefits

November 1st is World Vegan Day, What many ignore or conceal is what veganism is about: um animal rightsTo animal rights, ethical responsible action - and nothing else.

Because for all other collateral benefits of veganism this is sufficient, but not absolutely necessary. For example, Unveganismus Main cause of climate changeHowever, anyone who only eats a run-over hedgehog from time to time, but otherwise lives “vegan”, causes just as few CO2 equivalents as a vegan. Conversely, however, those who - apart from such extreme examples - are not vegan but demonstrate against climate change, Hypocrite, because it causes an enormous amount of CO2 equivalents, although this could easily be avoided (unlike coal-fired power plants, which no one can reduce individually, because even “green electricity” is only a mathematical redistribution and comes partly from coal power). How large the share of CO2 equivalents is due to ungeganism in the total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions is stated differently depending on the study and what is considered in detail. That World Watch Institute names 51%, i.e. more than half - and thus more than coal-fired power plants, air and car traffic, etc. combined. Because it not only affects the direct emission of carbon dioxide by so-called livestock, but also methane (CH4, a digestive product mainly of ruminants such as cattle), as well as nitrous oxide (N2O, "laughing gas", also a greenhouse gas) from vast amounts of liquid manure, which on the fields are spread and much more. All of this could be avoided through veganism without any additional effort.

Conversely, huge areas could be reforested (and thus bind CO2), which are now being wasted in order to grow crops with which "farm animals" are fed. The popular objection to veganism that more crops need to be grown to feed people is ludicrous - it should be obvious that it takes far less food to feed 8 billion people than it does to feed 8 billion people, plus billions upon billions of others Animals that together make up three times the biomass: Four fifths of the world's soybean cultivation and half of the world's grain cultivation are wasted as "animal feed". The CO2 equivalents that are additionally generated by the transport of, for example, this huge amount of soy etc. or the energy from coal-fired power stations that are wasted in the animal exploitation industry (such as the permanent lighting in battery cages to simulate summer and thus the egg production to increase) should not be added to "agriculture" in the usual lists, but to transport etc., which accordingly falsifies the figures. This, too, could be avoided through veganism without any additional effort.

Incidentally, much of the soybean mentioned originates from the (destroyed) rainforests that were and are being burned To create grazing land, but especially for acreage for soybeans. Soybeans as “feed”, mind you, because unlike antivegan propaganda claims, only a tiny fraction of the world soybean cultivation is used for tofu, soy milk, etc. (under 2%), soy, which also does not come from the Amazon, but (here) from Germany, Austria and France, Even that could be avoided by veganism without additional effort.

In addition to the resulting greenhouse gas, the conversion of most of the soy and grain mainly into manure has another polluting aspect: spreading manure on arable land contaminates groundwater with nitrate (to such an extent that Germany is threatened with punitive measures by the EU) ). Veganism also avoids this without any additional effort (the popular objection from the antivegan side, that manure would need manure to fertilize plants is, of course, ridiculous), for example, wheat varieties that better absorb nutrients through symbiosis with root fungi, etc. . vegan alternatives to fertilization with excrement there is enough through to the binding of atmospheric nitrogen Nodule bacteria (Bradyrhizobium japonicum), as they have long been used in soybean cultivation.

Unveganism is also exacerbating the impact of tsunamis, regardless of climate change: mangrove forests protect coastal areas, however destroyed to breed shrimp, Even that could be avoided by veganism without additional effort.

The so-called “overfishing of the seas”, which leads to the extinction of species, could - obviously - be avoided by veganism without additional effort.

Speaking of which: 30 to 50% of the problem with plastic in the oceans is caused by fishing nets. Much of the plastic in the environment could therefore be avoided through veganism without additional effort (instead, straws and cotton swabs are banned, which only make up a tiny fraction).

World hunger could be ended with a corresponding redistribution of food, unless billions and billions of cattle, pigs, chickens etc. had to be additionally fed.

It should not be concealed that veganism is one or the other Disadvantage brings with it: not only would Butcher, Gerber, Henker, Furriers, slave traders etc. are initially unemployed and would have to retrain, Hobby killer and riders look for another hobbyhorse, rotten tomatoes instead of eggs are pelted at politicians and important cultural assets such as bullfighting and jungle camps are replaced. Unveganism significantly increases the risk of coronary heart disease and cancer ("meat" has now been classified as potentially carcinogenic by the IARC, the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer, certain types of "processed" corpse products such as "ham", "salami", "sausages" etc. are classified at level 1, i.e. the highest); Multi-resistant germs arise through the use of antibiotics in the animal exploitation industry, etc. That could also be avoided by veganism without additional effort, but of course all of this burdens the pension funds (we are talking about the disadvantages of veganism).

Yet, in the end, aside from the fact that veganism is an ethical imperative anyway, there are almost all advantages, collateral benefits that result in a vegan society mostly without (and, in the case of reforestation or food redistribution, after all) extra effort by itself.

The conclusion is: be decent people vegan, immediately.