Is Abortion Vegan?

I've met many vegans who are pro-abortion. One famous YouTube vegan, Durian Rider, has said, "If you want to have an abortion, have an abortion." I usually agree with Durian Rider on most issues, especially when it comes to protecting animals and following your dreams. However, I disagree with him on this issue. How can you protect dogs, cats, dolphins, pigs and chicken's eggs - and then make a careless statement like this about babies in the womb? In other words, why are other animals prioritized over humans?

As a long-term vegetarian, I believe that the idea of protecting animals from pain and suffering is consistent with being pro life. One argument made against eating eggs and milk is, "It's not yours, so don't take it." If milk and eggs are this valuable, then isn't the life of an unborn baby? I believe that unborn babies are fragile, beautiful and valuable. This, to me, is consistent with a vegetarian philosophy which seeks to minimize harm to all animals - including humans.

I am not of the philosophy that says - once a child is born, we can simply ignore it. After living in China for several years, I have witnessed horrible pollution that is cutting lives short, especially because of lung cancer. Therefore, air, food and water pollution issues are also pro-life issues. All creatures will benefit from a more peaceful and toxic-free world. We also benefit from programs and an education system that help lift people out of poverty and violence. Pro-life issues do not end at birth.

Some religious preachers may say, "Human beings are the only valuable species to God. Animals are here for our pleasure." I would rather emphasize that we should view eating meat as a last resort. We should begin to acknowledge the death and suffering that we cause. We should do our best to minimize this pain and suffering, realizing that animals - like humans - experience real pain and real joy.

After putting away the steak knives, we must also put away the abortion knives and  poisons and come to the realization: Abortion is not vegan.

Is My Music Sponsored by McDonald's?

My original music is online on sites such as Spotify, Rhapsody, iTunes, Amazon and others. I make some money from these sites. But where does this money come from? It comes from paid subscribers who stream my music as well as people who purchase my songs directly. However, many streaming sites also offer a free option, which includes ads from a variety of companies. Many of the ads on these sites are spreading positive messages. However, some of the ads are for products I don't endorse, such as hamburgers, steak, etc. Despite these ads, I choose to keep my music on these sites. Here are a few reasons why.

1) To stream music legally, someone must pay the artist. Either you pay, or you let the advertisers pay for you. While paying the artist isn't optional, ads are.

2) My Music is Helping People (hopefully). My goal and intention with my music is to spread positive messages of love, peace and hope. If somebody hears my songs on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon or even free sites such as Sound Cloud or Reverb Nation, I hope they are encouraged in some way.

3) Other artists that I admire are spreading positive messages on paid sites. Vegetarian and vegan artists such as Jason Mraz, Paul McCartney, Jared Leto, Moby, Common, Prince, Morissey and others are all on Spotify and similar sites.

Jason Mraz

Moby                       Paul McCartney

Of course, vegetarians aren't the only ones spreading love. Others such as Bob Marley, Rich Mullins, Jack Johnson and countless others have donated amazing amounts of energy, time and money to charities.



4) I've discovered some great things through ads. Not all ads are bad. In fact, some ads bring life-changing ideas.

5) Ads are constantly becoming more personalized. If I'm watching a YouTube video of someone promoting Christianity, it would be stupid for an ad to run that's trying to sell a new Atheist magazine subscription. Companies realize this, and they're learning to target their audiences through

6) People are smart. I often listen to Spotify and hear ads from McDonald's and other companies that I don't support. I'm smart enough to not run to McDonald's and buy a Big Mac every time I hear an ad for one.

7) Free Speech. I may not agree with all of the ads I see on YouTube, but I've created ads for my music on YouTube before. I like the fact that I have the opportunity to promote my music and my ideals to new audiences. We're bombarded with different messages every day. We ultimately have to make up our own minds instead of simply following what marketing gurus are shoving down our throats.

Avoiding Animal Cruelty

For people who can't seem to thrive on a vegan diet, yet still want to avoid pain and suffering of animals, here are a few suggestions:

1) Eat as few animal products as possible. Many people eat meat at every meal. This is not essential, and it isn't healthy for anyone. When Gandhi became deficient on a vegan diet, he went back to drinking a glass of goat's milk every day. A friend in China has been vegetarian her whole life. Every day she eats two eggs for breakfast, and doesn't eat any other animal products for the rest of the day.

2) Consider eating eggs or dairy instead of meat. Eggs and dairy do not require the killing of an animal, and they provide much of the nutrition that may be more difficult to find in plant foods (such as B12, Omega 3 and iron). 

3) Avoid some of the cruelties found in factory farming by eating eating free range. "Free range" animals have much more freedom than animals trapped in factory farming. Also, free range animal products often have twice as much nutrition than factory farmed animal products.

Long Term Vegetarian In China

I met a local vegetarian woman in China a few days ago who told me she has never eaten meat in her life. She looked healthy, fit and happy. I didn't ask her what her age was, but my guess is mid forties. Since Chinese people generally don't eat dairy or drink milk, I asked her how she gets her B12. She said she eats two eggs every morning for breakfast and that's it. It was definitely inspiring to meet a healthy, long term vegetarian in China!

Why Go Vegetarian?

Studies

At 1:15 in the following video, Deborah Kotz from US News and World Report says that the Adventist church has one of the healthiest diets, and therefore one of the longest life expectencies. "It's pretty accepted now in the medical community - with all of the scientific research that's been looking at Adventists - that they live longer than their peers." On their website, the Adventist church recommends "A generous use of whole grains, vegetables and fruits; and a moderate use of low fat dairy products (or nutritional equivalent alternatives), legumes, and nuts; a very limited use of foods high in saturated fat, cholesterol, sugar, and salt; abstinence from tobacco, alcohol, and coffee, tea, and other caffeinated beverages."

- "An interesting new study did look at this issue and found that avoiding meat, fish and poultry leads to more frequent reports of positive mood. The researchers, from Benedictine University in Illinois and Arizona State University, noted that in general, vegetarians report better mood than omnivores (those whose diets include meat, fish and poultry)" (Link).

- In the 1990’s the Vegetarian Times published the results of a study that researched longevity and diet. Meat eaters, lacto-ovo vegetarians and vegan women were all included in the study. Within this specific study, it turned out that the lacto-ovo vegetarians lived the longest, the meat eaters lived the next longest, and vegans lived the least long (Link).

Note: A vegan diet that is supplemented with vitamin B12, vitamin D (if consistent sunlight is not available), Omega 3 and possibly protein can also be very healthy. Some examples of long-term, very healthy vegans include Karen Calabrese, Jay Kordich, Lou Corona, Markus Rothkranz, George Malkmus and Gabriel Cousens (link).

- In one study from 1999 Meta-Analysis concluded that "Lacto-ovo vegetarians (23,265 people) had a 38% reduced rate of dying from lung cancer, a 34% reduced rate of dying from heart disease, and a 15% reduced rate of mortality (Link).

Today's world is quite unique in the sense that most of us will never have to kill an animal for food. We can purchase our meat "pre-butchered" and prepackaged from a supermarket. Personally I did kill a chicken once for food as well as a rabbit with a BB gun when I was a kid. In both instances I felt quite horrible. It's funny because I never felt bad when somebody else killed the animal for me. I think that most of us would have a hard time killing an animal for food, especially if that animal were a pet of some sort. I definitely don't judge people who choose to eat meat. Yet at the same time, I feel healthier when I eat a plant based diet. Ideally I think a vegan diet is the most humane diet. Yet a vegan diet may also be lacking in B12 because the greens that we eat are not usually from wild sources, but rather from pesticide sprayed sources (cows get their B12 from the dirt found on grass and grass roots). For this reason, it may be best to include B12 supplementation in your diet. Another option is to include grass fed dairy and/or free range eggs in your diet.

I really relate with this following video:

Ethical / Humane Dairy and Egg Standards

"Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel." 

- Proverbs 12:10.

photo by Lee Cannon at flickr.com

"Ignorance is Bliss"

I find that most of us are blind to animal cruelty simply because we are so detached from where we buy our food. Most dairy is purchased from locations that practice "factory farming". In factory farming, a cow is raised its entire life in a small pen, being fed an unnatural diet of genetically modified grains. After her calves are taken from her at birth, she is then milked continuously with little regard to her health (dangerous antibiotics are prescribed for common infections). Finally, once the cow can no longer produce milk, she is slaughtered for meat.

The Way it Should Be...

I believe that the "Fias Co Farm" is a good example of a humane dairy farm: "We don't breed our goats any more than they would naturally breed in the wild. We do not believe in taking the babies from their mothers at birth (which is a totally different stance than many goat breeders). Our goats raise their own kids and we share the doe's milk. Milk for the babies is the first priority; we get what's left. Our goats like to be milked and they produce enough milk to feed their babies and share with us. You can get milk in a fair and humane manner as a part of a relationship with an animal. Our goats do like us, and they like to be milked. They make plenty of milk for us and their babies both. By us using their milk, we can do our best to avoid factory farmed milk. I see nothing wrong in having our goats and using their milk" (Link).

Step 1: Grass Fed Dairy

Grass Fed Cows will be healthier and happier because they are free to...

- Graze (cows are meant to eat grass, not genetically modified grains).

- Enjoy sunlight.

- Exercise.

- Socialize with other cows.

- Rest when tired.

Step 2: Calves are NOT Separated from Mothers

In the following video, we witness the trauma a mother cow goes through when her calf is taken from her. Even the person taking the calf away says, "sometimes it drives the mother cows crazy when we take their babies away". As we see in the "Fias Co Farm" example above, truly humane milk is only taken after the calf has fed first. 

Can Dairy Save Cow's Lives?

Like a family that treats its pet dog or cat well, farms that raise cows in a humane way have the potential of providing that cow with a safe and enjoyable life. Also, if humans stopped protecting cows for their milk, it is possible that even more cows would be killed for meat (either by humans or by other predators). Of course, dairy cows might prefer death over Factory Farming if given the choice. Then again, I can see how a humanely raised, grass fed dairy cow could live a happy life.

But aren't male calves sold for slaughter?

At most dairy farms, calves are separated from their mothers shortly after birth. However, at farms where cows are are grass fed, female cows are often eventually reunited with their mothers on the pasture. But what about male calves? In countries that eat a lot of beef, male calves are usually sold for meat. Many vegans argue that since many of the cows for meat initially come from dairy farms, the dairy industry has "blood on its hands". However, I would suggest that demand for meat - not dairy - is the reason why male calves are sold for slaughter. For example, in cultures that do not eat as much beef such as India, bulls are often seen in a city hub looking for food handouts from people. In most of India, it is actually illegal to kill cows. In addition to providing milk for humans, cow manure has been used for thousands of years in India both as fuel and fertilizer. 

Improving the Lives of Chickens

If you ever see an ad for a free-range egg farm, you see lots of happy hens running around. This is an awesome thing and a huge improvement over the tiny cages in most factory farms. However, roosters are nowhere in site. The reason for this is that farms generally separate the hens from the roosters shortly after birth. Often, the roosters are killed on the spot. Otherwise they're raised and sold for meat. There are four main reasons that roosters aren't allowed to live.

1) Roosters don't provide eggs

2) Roosters tend to fight and cause other trouble

3) Roosters crow

4) Feeding and housing roosters can be expensive.

In very rare cases, there are farms that do allow roosters to live. One farmer detailed his success at letting roosters live, though the roosters would fight each other in order to try and mate with the hens. As a result, he separated the roosters from the hens, and was surprised that this put an end to their fighting and competing (Link). Other forums have detailed similar success stories (Link). So, as long as a farmer is willing to deal with the crowing and the extra money for feeding and housing roosters, it's evident that roosters lives can also be spared.

Another possible option is to allow roosters to live in the wild, similar to how cows live in India. Wild chickens are actually quite common in tropical environments such as Hawaii and Thailand. Check out this town in south Georgia that voted to protect wild chickens instead of killing them for their meat:

From Vegan to Vegetarian

Studies

In the "Blue Zones" study by National Geographic, Deborah Kotz from US News and World Report says that the Adventist church has one of the healthiest diets, and therefore one of the longest life expectencies. "It's pretty accepted now in the medical community - with all of the scientific research that's been looking at Adventists - that they live longer than their peers." On their website, the Adventist church recommends "A generous use of whole grains, vegetables and fruits; and a moderate use of low fat dairy products (or nutritional equivalent alternatives), legumes, and nuts; a very limited use of foods high in saturated fat, cholesterol, sugar, and salt; abstinence from tobacco, alcohol, and coffee, tea, and other caffeinated beverages."

One study found that people who ate a plant-based diet most of the time "decreased their risk of developing heart failure by 42 percent over a four-year period compared to people who ate a plant-stingy diet" (Link).

In one study from 1999 Meta-Analysis concluded that "Lacto-ovo vegetarians (23,265 people) had a 38% reduced rate of dying from lung cancer, a 34% reduced rate of dying from heart disease, and a 15% reduced rate of mortality (Link).

Many studies have confirmed that eating fresh (raw), unprocessed whole foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables can dramatically improve your health. And so a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet is rich in fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, raw nuts, raw seeds and legumes. Because a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet also includes grass fed dairy and free range eggs, it is also rich in vitamin B12, Omega 3 (DHA), vitamin D, vitamin K2, vitamin A, iron and protein. When done correctly, a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet does not harm or kill any animals.

Wim Hof - Vegetarian

Wim Hof is a vegetarian and only eats one formal meal per day, after 6pm. In his own words, "I eat mozzarella salads, brussel sprouts, leek... In the prehistorics, we ate whatever we found. I eat stuff mostly in its pure form. Slightly sautéed. And then loads of it" (Link).

In addition to his salads, Hof's meal might include vegetable soup and pasta. "During the day, he drinks green tea, coffee, water, and snacks on fruit and nuts. He might sometimes enjoy a beer in the evening. His diet is low in calories and he engages in intermittent fasting" (Link).

________________________________________________

Dr. Ben Carson is the former American director of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as well as a world famous neurosurgeon. He is a 7th Day Adventist Christian and follows the vegetarian recommendations of the diet (Link).

________________________________________________

Long Term Raw Vegan Drops to 96 lbs. 

Heals with Eggs and Dairy

After almost dying as a long-term raw food vegan, Matt Monarch added eggs and dairy back into his diet. As a raw vegan, he dropped to 96 pounds and almost died from a problem with colitis. Check out his story below!

Gandhi tried a vegan diet, but ultimately started drinking goats milk again because severe deficiencies threatened his life (Link). 

Raw Goat Milk Heals 20 Year Vegan of Back Pain

John from http://www.okraw.com/ interviews Jeremy Saffron on how he healed a ruptured disc in his back by drinking raw goat milk and consuming other raw dairy products. In this episode, John visits 20 year long-term raw foodist at his 30 acre farm to share with you why a 20 year strict raw foodist would turn to eating raw dairy products for their benefits.

Medical Doctor and long-term raw foodist Stanley Bass switched from a vegan diet to a vegetarian diet after experiencing deficiencies. 
"The solid proof of the great potential of this basic raw food vegetarian diet which has been proven successful with the mice, clearly indicates that humans now, for the first time, have a 100% raw food program which they may go on safely, free from all deficiencies. I know of no other raw food program in existence which is totally free from deficiencies at present...With the addition of raw egg yolk, and possibly raw milk cheese or Ricotta (or instead of cheese, a small amount of raw or steamed fish once or twice a week of about 3 1/2 to 4 oz. a serving), we should have an ultimate raw diet, or near one" (Link).

"Dr. Stanley S. Bass speaks on a Raw Vegetarian Diet."

____________________________
Dr. Robert Cassar doesn't eat meat, and he practices intermittent fasting daily. He recommends avoiding all alcohol and processed foods. Most of his diet is raw foods, with some cooked beans, avocados, olive oil, free range eggs and many other organic vegetarian foods. Dr. Cassar tends to recommend higher fat foods over higher sugar foods.
____________________________

• 
  "Nazariah"
  
  
  "I’m 46 now and I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 17. At that age, I not only became a vegetarian but also a raw foodist. I included raw dairy into my diet because I had met an elderly Essene teacher who recommended that. Historically, that used to be the Essene diet. The Essenes, for the most part, were not vegans. They were vegetarians and many of them were raw foodists, but they ate fermented dairy products such as yogurt and kefir. So that was my diet was for 7 years. During that time, I did great — no problems at all.
  
  
  Then, when I had moved to another location, I became very attracted to the vegan philosophy, because it is a beautiful philosophy. I then became a raw vegan.
  
  
  After 5 years on a raw vegan diet, I lost the ability to walk. All of my extremities — my hands, my fingers and my feet — were in such pain that I couldn’t move. I had central nervous system problems and I was B12 anemic. All of that happened after 5 years on a raw vegan diet.
  
  
  So I switched back to eating the raw fermented dairy products. At that point, being as nerve-damaged as I was, I also included eggs. I healed myself by reintroducing those products." (Link)

In his words, Nazariah now says that the world's healthiest diet is... "A vegetarian diet that’s not a junk food vegetarian diet — but one based good, whole, organic foods.

The healthiest diet would have one meal a day that is a raw vegetable salad — a major vegetable salad, not a little iceberg lettuce, but with romaine lettuce, broccoli, etc. — a real heavy-duty salad.

Another meal would be cooked and feature things like steamed veggies, or a stir-fry, so it would have a lot of cooked vegetation in it.

A third meal simply would be fruit, like a fruit breakfast or a smoothie.

In there, somewhere, you’ve got to get your protein. So either with your salad, or with your cooked meal, you want to have yogurt or kefir, or hard-boiled eggs on your salad, or something.

Could that be beans?

It can some days, but if it were going to always be that, then that would be vegan, and the whole point of everything I’ve just told you is that it seems that the vegan diet isn’t beneficial in the long-term. If a person were going to be a vegan, they could be having some tofu, tempeh, or some sort of a bean-type protein with their steamed veggies. That diet would be a healthy vegan diet, as far as vegan diets go. But what I’m saying is that the latest research is that the vegan diet itself is deficient in the long-term" (Link).

After serious B12 deficiency and desire to avoid long-term B12 shots, long-term raw vegan adds animal products back into diet:

In the below video, Natasha St. Michael details how a vegan diet left her severely B12 deficient. So she is now eating animal products such as fish and eggs on a daily basis, though she is still eating many raw fruits and vegetables. She stated in other videos that she only eats meat because she has no access to dairy.

Some People Thrive as Vegans. Others Don't

Many studies, such as the China Study, have suggested that the world's healthiest diet is a whole foods vegan diet. Today, we also have healthy examples of long-term vegans such as Karen Calabrese, Jay Kordich, Lou Corona, Dr. John McDougall and Dr. Gabriel Cousens (link). However, on a vegan diet, some supplements are essential - especially B-12. Yet some people don't absorb B-12 supplements well and ultimately add milk and eggs back into their diet simply to survive. A lacto-ovo vegetarian diet is a predominately plant-based diet, yet includes grass fed dairy and/or free range eggs for B12, omega 3, protein, vitamin D, etc.

Note: I promote eggs and dairy only as a backup plan to a vegan diet. I believe that eggs and dairy are healthy only when they are free from factory farming and raised in a natural, humane way. Vegetarianism has a rich history throughout the world, especially in India, and can even be ethical in my opinion, especially when compared with the meat industry (Link). That being said, I think it's easier to find humane eggs than humane dairy, simply because unfertilized eggs will never hatch. If these eggs aren't eaten, they will simply absorb into the soil and provide fertilization for plants.