Plant based or vegan? Which is the healthiest way to go? Which is the most compassionate?
A vegan meal can be compassionate but not healthy. And highly plant-based diets can be relatively healthy but not necessarily compassionate.
Understand this, unless one consumes a diet absolutely 100% free of animal or dairy, suffering of animals occurs.
Yet there are those who believe in what is referred to as being a compassionate carnivore. There are those who claim there is such a thing as compassionate killing of animals.
Author Catherine Friend claims, “I believe it’s possible to show compassion for animals and still eat them. For me, this means paying attention. It means learning more about the animals I eat and taking some responsibility for their quality of life.”
That’s great that she, and others with similar views, believe there is a compassionate way to slaughter animals, but I am definitely not among them.
Have I always felt this way? No. For most of my adult life I was a carnivore. Like most people, I consumed meat and dairy.
Yet, once I realized the connection of what we eat and cruelty to animals, I committed to never eat any type of animal or dairy products ever again.
But there are those who claim there is a compassionate way to kill and consume animals. Definitely a topic people dig their heels in about, advocating “compassionate carnivorism” still requires killing an animal to satisfy the palate. And in most people’s book, killing is killing regardless if one calls it compassionate or not.
To read more about this controversial topic, visit https://freakonomics.com/2011/09/20/killing-what-you-eat-the-dark-side-of-compassionate-carnivorism/
Compassionate Eating
One’s desire to live a healthy, compassionate lifestyle, requires conscious food choices. More every day, compassionate eating means a diet completely void of animal and dairy products.
The way to achieve both a healthy and compassionate diet is by being a whole food, plant based/vegan lifestylist. Simply put, it means you eat as close to nature as possible with a diet completely void of animal and dairy.
To understand the difference between vegan vs plant-based, go to http://plantbasedeatingforhealth.com/vegan-vs-plant-based/
And for a more in-depth discussion on whole food, plant-based, go to http://plantbasedeatingforhealth.com/day-13-what-exactly-is-plant-based-eating/
Healthy vs. Unhealthy Vegan
Something that is incredibly misunderstood is what it means to be a healthy vegan. One can think they are eating healthy by eliminating animal-based products, but in reality, highly processed vegan foods are not necessarily healthy.
Currently, there is a huge push to increase the number of vegan food choices available to consumers. Yet, many are highly processed making them extremely unhealthy. Making unhealthy food vegan simply means we will consume compassionate, unhealthy foods.
Granted, there are some foods that will be considered gateway foods to a whole food, plant-based diet but if people consume nothing but vegan junk food, they will NOT be healthy.
For example, there are several candy companies that are going to be releasing plant-based choices. KitKat is one such candy bar that is soon to be put to market. Again, this is more compassionate but equally unhealthy.
Sure, it is kinder to animals, but the fact is, unhealthy food is not good for our bodies leading to weight gain and increased risk of common diseases such as diabetes, high-blood pressure, heart issues and more.
What is the alternative? The same as it has always been; a whole food, plant-based diet.
If you want to be your healthiest self, choose the healthiest (and likely least expensive) food choices. These options include whole fruits (yes, you can get them frozen), vegetables, beans, legumes, lentils, nuts, etc.
Beginner’s Guide to Plant Based Eating
Not sure where to start? Access my FREE ebook, Beginner’s Guide to Plant Based Eating. Click here http://www.plantbasedeatingforhealth.com/guide
To your health!
