Should we support a vegan future?
How veganism does affects the environment? Listen to our interview with a butcher and a lady whose daughter is a vegan.
Veganism Report
Today we will be talking about the pros and cons of becoming a vegan or vegetarian. Is it possible to have an impact on the environment just by changing what you eat? Well this is what we are going to find out. We are going to talk to people from either side of the argument. We have a butcher and a farmer talking about how becoming a vegan or a vegetarian affects them and their lives. We also have a mother that has to cook for her vegan daughter and how it affects her. The mother fully supports her daughter’s decision but says it does make it harder to cook because her other daughter loves meat. The farmers say it effects their economic growth as if no one buys the produce they just have to kill it without making profit.
We live in a world now where you can be anything and you can live your life however you choose. If you choose to be vegetarian or vegan, it may not just be because you fancy it. It may be because you want to help the environment or that you are doing it for health benefits, it also may be that you are completely opposed to the idea of killing animals. Any way of thinking has a perfectly reasonable explanation and everyone is each to their own. One of the health benefits is that vegans are less likely to have a stroke as their diet prevents high blood pressure. This is a great benefit to becoming vegetarian or vegan because it is a great reassurance to people who are worried about having a stroke.
On the other hand, some professions or ways of life give you different ways of thinking and they may not always agree with veganism. Richard Smithson, a local butcher, has said, ‘If there is no meat, there will be no farmers.’ This is saying that if there is a decline in people eating meat, there will be less produce being sold, not as much income and then eventually less jobs. It is important that we protect and care for our environment, but not at the expense of jobs and livelihoods. It is great that some people want to become healthier and have more of an impact on their surroundings. If you took a farmer’s view, it might become clearer to you that although saving the environment is necessary, we have to take into account the people behind the scenes of our food and produce. If there were no farmers, not only will there be no meat, there will be no other fresh fruit and vegetables either.
It is great to see that so many people care about their environment and the animals living in our world. Although some may not agree with the thought of only eating plant based diets, the people that do are really passionate with their thoughts. On the other hand, farming based professions have given valid points as to why changing our diets may prevent profit for the farming community. Either way you decide to look at the argument, it will give you an insight on how it affects everyone around you. Which way would you decide to go?