How many times have you been asked why you’re trying plant-based? I think if I had a pound for every time someone asked me why I’m vegan, I’d have opened my own giant sanctuary and taken in all of the animals!

So to help you deal with the inevitable 20 questions, we’ve come up with these great reasons to try plant-based.  

  1. Around 175 animals are spared per year by a single person eating a vegetarian diet in the UK.
  2. A balanced plant-based diet gives you all the protein you need. A regular and varied intake of green vegetables, pulses, nuts and grains such as lentils, beans, chickpeas, brown rice and quinoa will keep you strong and healthy.
  3. A plant-based diet uses just a third of the fertile land, fresh water and energy used by a British meat and dairy based diet.
  4. Per day, a meat eater produces 7.2kg of CO2 vs a vegan’s 2.9kg
  5. Meat eaters are more likely to develop heart disease than vegetarians and more likely to have high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol.
  6. Agriculture is the largest contributor to biodiversity loss.
  7. Vegans are not responsible for the deforestation of the rainforest to produce tofu. 75% of the soya beans grown worldwide are used to feed animals raised for food, with only 6% eaten directly as beans or tofu.
  8. 80% of deforestation in the Amazon region is for pasture to graze livestock.
  9. Agricultural run-off leaking into waterways is now responsible for polluting our water, killing wildlife and causing ocean “dead zones”.
  10. Eating plant-based is the single biggest way to reduce your impact on the planet. If everyone became vegetarian by 2050 food-related emissions would drop by about 60%. If the world went vegan instead, emission declines would be around 70%.
  11. If everyone went vegetarian by 2050, we would see a global mortality reduction of 6-10%, thanks to a lessening of coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke and some cancers.
  12. Eating animal products is inefficient. Soya beans contain 38% protein (double the proportion of pork, and treble that of eggs), a wide range of essential amino acids and a high proportion of unsaturated fat, yet we feed them to livestock that we will eventually eat. Let’s cut out the middle man!
  13. Reducing your animal consumption is great. If everyone in America just gave up chicken we could feed a quarter of the world’s hungry. But eliminating it is even better! if they all gave up meat completely we could feed the hungry 1 and a half times over using the amount of cereals and grain we would save.
  14. You’ll live longer! The longer you’re plant-based, the better. Research has found that being vegetarian for 17 years can prolong your life by 3.6 years.
  15. Meat and dairy production is responsible for 60% of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions, while the products provide just 18% of calories and 37% of protein levels around the world.

So eating plant-based is better for the planet, the animals, your own health and benefits other people. It’s a no brainer, right?! Check out our recipe page and why not have a plant-based dinner tonight?

Let us know why you’re plant-based in the comments below!