DID YOU KNOW?

These are some facts that I obtained through some information I requested off Peta2's website. I would like to share these with anybody that is interested in learning more. ~ Ali

COWS

In order for a cow to produce milk, she must first have a calf. Female cows are artificially inseminated shortly after their first birthday. After giving birth, they lactate for 10 months, then they are reinseminated , and the cycle starts again.

Dairy cows have electric machines hooked up to their huge, swollen udders, causing cuts and injuries - resulting in pus, blood, and scabs all ending up in milk. The stress caused by factory farm conditions leads to disease, lameness, and reproductive problems so by age 4 or 5 the dairy cows are slaughtered.

Cattle raised for beef have their horns and testicles cut out and third-degree burns inflicted on them (branding) - all without any painkillers.

After birth, male calves are torn from their mothers and shipped to veal farms, where they spend their lives on short chains in filthy, narrow stalls. They're unable to move around and fed nutrient deficient food so that their flesh will be pale and soft when served.

CHICKENS

Egg laying hens are packed so tightly into cages that they can't even stretch one wing. The birds' bones and muscles waste away from lack of use, and by the time they are slaughtered, their bodies have to be turned into soup or cat food because they're too worn out for anything else.

Male chicks hatched on egg farms are thrown into a mechanical grinder while they are still alive, "rendered", made into feed, and fed back to other factory farmed animals - including hens.

PIGS

Pigs get their teeth cut in half and their tails cut off. Pigs in factory farms spend their lives on concrete floors in extremely cramped pens. The male piglets get their testicles yanked out without painkillers.

FREE RANGE

There are no regulations whatsoever for "free-range" meat, dairy products, and eggs. Most "free-range" animals are still mutilated and forced to endure long trips to slaughterhouses without food or water. All of them are denied the opportunity to engage in everything that is natural and important to them, and all have their lives violently cut short.

GLOBAL WARMING

Raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined - and going vegetarian does more to fight global warming than switching to a hybrid car does.

Cattle-ranching is the number one cause of Amazonian deforestation. In Central America, two-thirds of the rain forests have been cleared, primarily to raise cattle.

The meat industry causes more water pollution in the United States than all other industries combined. More than 10 billion animals are raised and killed for food every year in the U.S. alone; they have to eat, and their waste has to go somewhere.

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Essential Nutrients

We've listed some nutrients that people often ask about as well as where you can get them. A healthy, balanced vegan diet rich in beans, nuts, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables—along with a bit of vitamins B12 and D—will give you everything that your body needs. If you often eat on the go and don't always have time to eat nutritious meals, taking a multivitamin might be a good option.

Calcium and Vitamin D

Calcium is plentiful in the plant world. Good sources of calcium include some dark-green leafy vegetables (such as broccoli, collard greens, and kale), almonds, sesame tahini, calcium-fortified soy or rice milk, some brands of tofu, and calcium-fortified orange juice. By choosing these foods instead of dairy products, you can avoid the health risks associated with cow's milk—the Harvard School of Public Health says that dairy consumption is linked to high rates of obesity and ovarian and prostate cancers. Harvard also reports that there is a lack of evidence for a link between the consumption of dairy products and the prevention of osteoporosis—Harvard even cites studies showing that heavy dairy consumption appears to cause bone loss!

Sunshine is one of the best sources of vitamin D. During warmer months, your skin manufactures enough of the vitamin if your face and forearms are exposed to sunlight for 15 to 20 minutes per day. But during colder and cloudier weather, it's important to get some extra vitamin D through a multivitamin or a vitamin D supplement or by consuming vegan foods containing vitamin D. Many brands of soy and rice milks contain both calcium and vitamin D, as do some brands of fortified orange juice. (If you rarely spend time in the sun or always use sunblock, then it's a good idea to get some vitamin D from vegan foods or supplements.)

Iodine

Iodine is a trace mineral that's important for healthy thyroid function. Table salt is the most common and reliable source of iodine in Americans' diets. (However, sodium in processed foods usually does not contain iodine.) If you don't consume table salt, you can get iodine from a multivitamin or from kelp tablets. For vegetarian-sushi lovers, seaweed is a good source of the trace element.

Iron

Iron is found in numerous plant foods, including black beans, cashews, kidney beans, lentils, oatmeal, raisins, black-eyed peas, soybeans, spinach, many breakfast cereals, sunflower seeds, chickpeas, veggie burgers, tomato juice, tempeh, molasses, and whole-wheat bread. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found no significant difference in anemia levels between vegetarians and meat-eaters. (A study by Harvard researchers even found that although the type of iron found in some kinds of animal flesh can raise the risk of developing diabetes, the iron found in plant foods does not.) Consuming vitamin C-rich foods (e.g., citrus fruits and peppers) when you eat iron-rich foods is a good way to increase iron absorption. Because young women—regardless of whether they eat meat—tend to have higher rates of anemia compared to the overall population, it may be wise for them to take a multivitamin containing iron.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Although some people eat fish flesh because it contains omega-3 fatty acids, a recent comprehensive review of scientific studies on omega-3s found that eating lots of fish may actually raise the risk of heart attacks because of high mercury levels (learn more here). A better bet is to stick with plant-based sources of omega-3s. There are several good vegan sources of omega-3 fatty acids that may contribute to heart, brain, skin, and joint health. The best are flaxseeds and walnuts (which are also good sources of protein and iron) as well as canola oil. Unlike fish flesh, these foods are free of dangerous levels of mercury and PCBs. Flaxseeds can be found at most health-food stores and should be ground up in a blender or a coffee grinder (some of their nutritional value is lost if they are eaten whole). Ground flaxseeds have a pleasant, nutty taste-try sprinkling them on cereal or oatmeal. You can also pour a teaspoonful or two of flaxseed oil on warm foods, but flaxseed oil should not be heated. (Keep flaxseeds and flaxseed oil refrigerated when storing.)

One of the fatty acids found in fish flesh is docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which fish ingest by consuming algae. But both fish flesh and fish-oil supplements can contain dangerous toxins. So several companies have begun taking DHA directly from algae and offering a cholesterol- and toxin-free vegan DHA supplement. These capsules can be purchased through VeganEssentials.com and other Web sites. Doctors recommend these capsules especially for pregnant women.

Protein

Protein is found abundantly in plant foods. Vegans should consume a variety of protein sources, including legumes and foods made from them (e.g., beans, peas, lentils, peanuts, peanut butter, tofu, tempeh, edamame, soy milk, and faux meats), nuts, seeds, nutritional yeast, and whole grains. It was once thought that various plant foods had to be eaten together in order to get their full protein value, but current research has shown that this is not the case; a varied diet of nutritious plant foods provides all the protein that you need. Unlike animal protein, plant-based protein sources usually also contain healthy fiber and complex carbohydrates. Animal products are also full of artery-clogging cholesterol and saturated fat, and consumption of animal protein has been linked to some types of cancer. Plus, it's suspected that the high sulfur content of animal protein weakens people's bones. (For example, a study by researchers at the University of California found significantly less bone formation in meat-eating women than in vegan women.)