THE VEGAN TREND: FOCUS ON ANIMAL-FRIENDLY NUTRITION

The vegan movement is gaining more and more followers. This diet bans all products and foods of animal origin and can be considered a true philosophy of life that applies to the food, wardrobe and cosmetics one uses. Eating and living vegan is environmentally friendly and condemns animal exploitation in all its forms. Veganism means excluding all animal products from one's diet and lifestyle. Therefore, a vegan diet excludes not only meat, fish, but also milk and eggs and all other products and ingredients obtained from animals. The consumption of insects is generally allowed, but the consumption of honey, for example, is prohibited. Living vegan also means extending its principles as far as possible to other aspects of everyday life such as clothing, cosmetics and everyday objects. Those who fully adhere to veganism use only synthetic leather, use microfiber products instead of leather, avoid animal wool and choose cosmetics without ingredients of animal origin and not tested on animals.

Ethical Reasons for Veganism

The most common way to adhere to this philosophy of life is by adopting an ethically motivated vegan diet. Many followers first went through a vegetarian diet before adhering to veganism. In fact, in order to avoid any responsibility, however small, for cruelty and animal abuse, one adheres to veganism. For example, the slaughter of animals for intensive milk and egg production, the crushing of male chicks, the intensive rearing of laying hens, the artificial insemination of cows to increase wool production, and so on. Consequently, becoming vegan also means choosing to limit its impact on the planet on a daily basis by adopting an ethical behaviour and a mode of consumption that respects the planet, the living world and, more broadly still, by opting for a sustainable habitat.

Protecting the environment, world food and health

There are many reasons to adopt a vegan diet. In addition to its benefits to well-being and health, veganism also provides solutions to environmental problems such as over-fertilization of soil, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions or global warming. Intensive animal husbandry and over-consumption of meat are associated with food wastage, the abuse of antibiotics in "meat factories" that cause disease in humans and the development of resistance to this type of drug. The development of agro-ecology at the global level, a significant decrease in animal protein consumption, the adoption of a healthier, non-meat (at least, less meat) diet would help to solve the major problems of the planet.