Veganism has increased in popularity in recent years thanks to the internet. The internet has made it possible for the information to get out to the public. The dairy, meat, and egg industries lobby the government with insane amounts of money to keep the government quiet about the dangers of eating animal products. The World Health Organization (which cannot be silenced as easily by animal industry lobbyists) has spoken against eating animals for personal health concerns and environmental concerns.
The videos of animal cruelty inside factory farms have been widely distributed on the internet. In response, the industry has passed laws against anyone filming! Instead of fixing the problem, they are determined to cover it up and make it illegal for people to talk about it! They even sued Oprah when she began to warn people about the dangers of eating beef! Oprah won in court, but she wasted a ton of money on the court case, and it was a clear warning to everyone else: “Speak against meat-eating and we will sue you and destroy you in every way possible.”
Youtube has become the hotspot for people on a vegan diet to show off their vegan cooking recipes, weight loss transformations, reversal of diseases: heart disease, diabetes, etc, reversal of acne and skin conditions, and athletes that go vegan.
Where can I find vegan-friendly restaurants and stores?
HappyCow.net is one of my favorite websites for finding nearby vegan or vegan-friendly restaurants and grocery stores.
Can I track the nutrition in my diet?
If you’re worried about nutrition on a vegan diet, Cronometer or MyFitnessPal are great websites for tracking daily nutrient intake. Cronometer is better than MyFitnessPal because it tracks ALL of the nutrients. Don't worry about calories, focus on the nutrition of the diet instead.
When I first started and didn’t know how much nutrition was in plant foods, I used these websites to learn what was in my food.
Vegan Food Festivals
Due to the growing popularity of veganism, there are now many vegan food festivals held in major cities across the world: Vegan Festivals
These festivals mainly focus on “spreading the good word” and informing non-vegans about the benefits of a vegan diet and animal welfare.
My favorite festival that I would love to go to one day is the Woodstock Fruit Festival.
Unlike most VegFests that include lots of junk food (aka anything to get people to go vegan even if it isn’t healthy), The Woodstock Fruit Festival has to be healthy because it’s nothing but raw fruit and raw veggies. Basically, it is a week-long camp for adults and families to eat as much raw fruits and veggies as they can handle, along with tons of activities to participate in. No drugs, alcohol, or smoking allowed. It’s the ultimate health retreat! People spend the entire week high on raw fruits, raw vegetables, and exercise....rather than drugs, or alcohol, or vegan junk food.
Animal Welfare vegans do more than just eat a vegan diet. They also avoid any other products that were tested on animals or made from animals.
If you’re really into veganism for animal welfare and not just for personal health, here’s some other stuff to research: Personally, since I’m a Health Vegan first, and an animal welfare is only a secondary reason for me, I take the minimalist approach to personal care products and clothing. My clothing is dirt cheap, so it’s never made from real leather or fur. I never wear makeup because I hate it. And I keep my personal care products very simple: shampoo, soap, toothpaste. You’ll have to figure out what kind of vegan you are (health or animal welfare etc) and how far you want to go with it.
- The US meat industry’s wildly successful, 40-year crusade to keep its hold on the American diet
- Experts Say Lobbying Skewed the U.S. Dietary Guidelines
- Slicing Into Food Industry’s $40 Million Lobbying Efforts
- World Health Organization Says Processed Meat Causes Cancer
- UN urges global move to meat and dairy-free diet
- Fifteen Times Plant-Based Diets Stole the Spotlight in 2015
The videos of animal cruelty inside factory farms have been widely distributed on the internet. In response, the industry has passed laws against anyone filming! Instead of fixing the problem, they are determined to cover it up and make it illegal for people to talk about it! They even sued Oprah when she began to warn people about the dangers of eating beef! Oprah won in court, but she wasted a ton of money on the court case, and it was a clear warning to everyone else: “Speak against meat-eating and we will sue you and destroy you in every way possible.”
- Oprah triumphs over the Texas cattle ranchers
- Food libel laws
- Ag-gag anti-whistleblower laws
- The Ag Gag Laws: Hiding Factory Farm Abuses From Public Scrutiny
- Videotaping Farm Cruelty is considered a crime
- ASPCA - What Is Ag-Gag Legislation?
Youtube has become the hotspot for people on a vegan diet to show off their vegan cooking recipes, weight loss transformations, reversal of diseases: heart disease, diabetes, etc, reversal of acne and skin conditions, and athletes that go vegan.
- The 50+ Best Vegan YouTubers to Follow in 2017
- 17 of the Best Vegan YouTubers
- Great Vegan Athletes
- Vegan Athletes With More Muscles Than You
Where can I find vegan-friendly restaurants and stores?
HappyCow.net is one of my favorite websites for finding nearby vegan or vegan-friendly restaurants and grocery stores.
Can I track the nutrition in my diet?
If you’re worried about nutrition on a vegan diet, Cronometer or MyFitnessPal are great websites for tracking daily nutrient intake. Cronometer is better than MyFitnessPal because it tracks ALL of the nutrients. Don't worry about calories, focus on the nutrition of the diet instead.
When I first started and didn’t know how much nutrition was in plant foods, I used these websites to learn what was in my food.
Vegan Food Festivals
Due to the growing popularity of veganism, there are now many vegan food festivals held in major cities across the world: Vegan Festivals
These festivals mainly focus on “spreading the good word” and informing non-vegans about the benefits of a vegan diet and animal welfare.
My favorite festival that I would love to go to one day is the Woodstock Fruit Festival.
Unlike most VegFests that include lots of junk food (aka anything to get people to go vegan even if it isn’t healthy), The Woodstock Fruit Festival has to be healthy because it’s nothing but raw fruit and raw veggies. Basically, it is a week-long camp for adults and families to eat as much raw fruits and veggies as they can handle, along with tons of activities to participate in. No drugs, alcohol, or smoking allowed. It’s the ultimate health retreat! People spend the entire week high on raw fruits, raw vegetables, and exercise....rather than drugs, or alcohol, or vegan junk food.
Animal Welfare vegans do more than just eat a vegan diet. They also avoid any other products that were tested on animals or made from animals.
If you’re really into veganism for animal welfare and not just for personal health, here’s some other stuff to research: Personally, since I’m a Health Vegan first, and an animal welfare is only a secondary reason for me, I take the minimalist approach to personal care products and clothing. My clothing is dirt cheap, so it’s never made from real leather or fur. I never wear makeup because I hate it. And I keep my personal care products very simple: shampoo, soap, toothpaste. You’ll have to figure out what kind of vegan you are (health or animal welfare etc) and how far you want to go with it.
List of movies & books to get yourself motivated:
Movie trailers: (many of these movies can be found on netflix or sometimes on youtube)
My favorite books:
- Fast Food Nation (2006)
- Food Inc (2008)
- Food Matters (2008)
- Processed People (2009)
- Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead (2010)
- Forks Over Knives (2011)
- Hungry for Change (2012)
- Cowspiracy (2014)
- Fed Up (2014)
- PlantPure Nation (2015)
- Food Choices (2016)
- Eating You Alive (2016)
- What the Health (2017)
My favorite books:
- The China Study: Revised and Expanded Edition: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted -- get the revised edition since it has more info
- Skinny Bastard -- this is essentially the revised edition of Skinny Bitch so it has a lot more information!
- The Starch Solution -- This is the best book to learn how to eat HCLF vegan.
- How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease
- Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines Our Health and How to Fight Back
Finally, because this is the internet, you can always find a news article or documentary to support any point of view you may want to believe. I wish only that you consider both sides of the argument with an open mind. Don't look for what you wish is true, look for what is actually true. When you find the real truth, the evidence is always overwhelming.
Samples:
'What the Health' documentary response to another doctor who attempted to disprove a vegan diet
Even Dr. Oz says, that despite loving his meat, he knows that a vegan diet does what it promises and reverses disease
My opinion of Dr. Oz rose drastically when I saw him willing to tell the truth about diet. lol thats amazing
Samples:
'What the Health' documentary response to another doctor who attempted to disprove a vegan diet
Even Dr. Oz says, that despite loving his meat, he knows that a vegan diet does what it promises and reverses disease
My opinion of Dr. Oz rose drastically when I saw him willing to tell the truth about diet. lol thats amazing