Why We Should Go Vegan

By Magnus Vinding

“An excellent concise statement of the arguments for going vegan.”
— Peter Singer, Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, author of Animal Liberation.

Magnus Vinding provides a comprehensive review of the many reasons to stop supporting the animal industry, and to instead transition toward a system that is less harmful for both human and non-human beings.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Magnus Vinding
• Release date: Feb 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310855191

Magnus Vinding

Magnus Vinding is the author of Speciesism: Why It Is Wrong and the Implications of Rejecting It (2015), Reflections on Intelligence (2016), You Are Them (2017), Effective Altruism: How Can We Best Help Others? (2018), Suffering-Focused Ethics: Defense and Implications (2020), Reasoned Politics (2022), and Essays on Suffering-Focused Ethics (2022).He is blogging at magnusvinding.com

Book preview

Why We Should Go Vegan

Copyright © 2014 Magnus Vinding

Revised edition, 2022

Table of Contents

Introduction

We Do Not Need Anything From Other Animals for Our Health

It Would Be Better for Humanity

The Beings We Eat

Why Not Just Be Vegetarian?

Conclusion

Recommended Resources

Appendix: Refutation of Remaining Common Objections

Notes

Bibliography

Introduction

Why should we go vegan? In short, the strongest reason for humanity to go vegan is that it would greatly reduce the suffering of sentient beings, including human beings.

That going vegan would generally be better both for us humans and for our fellow sentient beings can seem like a rather bombastic claim to make, and one that requires a good deal of justification. The goal of this short book is to provide this justification.

We Do Not Need Anything From Other Animals for Our Health

Nutritional science suggests that we can have optimal health without eating animal products, as has been expressed by numerous professional dietitians and scientists working in the field of nutrition.[1] For example, the following is the position of what is now called the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (previously known as the American Dietetic Association), which is the largest organization of nutrition experts in the United States:

It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes.[2]

What we do need in order to be healthy on a vegan diet, however, is to supplement our diet with vitamin B12, which is produced by bacteria that are not found in plants (see: http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/vitaminb12).

Another thing that vegans, along with most other people, may also want to supplement their diet with is omega 3 DHA and EPA fatty acids, which may promote good cardiovascular health, a well-functioning nervous system, and good mental health — and it may even help slow down aging.[3] These fatty acids are found in algae, and they can be bought as algae oil capsules that are at least as good as oily fish as a source of omega 3.[4] And unlike animal-derived omega 3, these capsules do not contain any mercury, which is highly toxic, especially for our brains; indeed, the link between intake of flesh from certain kinds of fish and diminished cognitive ability is well documented.[5] As one study reported: [For consumption of flesh from certain species of fish] a negative effect up to 10 points on the IQ score was found.[6] And unlike many kinds of omega-3 capsules with fish oil, including many of those branded as PCB-free, algae omega-3 capsules actually are PCB-free.[7] These facts about fish flesh, fish oil capsules, and algae oil capsules suggest that algae oil capsules are the safest source of omega 3 DHA and EPA.

Another widespread misconception is that it is difficult