Starting out

When you are just starting veganism, or if you have been vegan for awhile, you might think that being vegan is really all you have to do. Many vegans every day are becoming complacent after they go vegan, without any concern with other issues that they can deal with as a vegan, or alongside veganism.

Going vegan is a great way to start. By going vegan, you reduce carbon emissions, lower water intake, cause less harm to animals, and improve your health. Being vegan is also the easiest and most effective way to help the environment and prevent unnecessary suffering. All you have to do is eliminate animal products, especially extremely harmful ones like red meat, and simply eat meat replacements, like soy, beans, legumes, and grains.

Vegans want to end all forms of cruelty

However, there are many other issues that you can address that compliment veganism rather well. Such as unsustainable crops, bone char, animal and worker abuse, and zero waste. Unsustainable crops are crops like bananas and coffee, which are often grown by destroying rain forests and other natural habitats. These are often monocrops, which are really destructive to the soil, and can easily be wiped out by a single fungus strain.

In terms of bone char, that is what is used to filter most refined sugar. Bone char is the literal charred bones of animals and is a byproduct of animal agriculture. Many consider the risk of their sugar using bone char is too high, and would rather not take the risk, often using maple sugar or molasses as an alternative.

In many parts of the world, and due to the boom in popularity of coconuts, monkeys have been forced to learn how to pick coconuts from trees. These monkeys are often abused and are not given free will. They are exploited as a way of reducing costs to businesses, and because they can be used as a substitute for a highly skilled worker. Other workers are abused too, such as coffee farmers, and even cocoa farmers.

Zero Waste is exactly what it sounds like: producing no waste. Through composting, recycling, and purchasing decisions, one is able to either severely reduce the amount of trash they produce or eliminate it altogether. Some whole families only produce enough trash to fill a pickle jar. Reducing trash can help us make sure the earth is clean and sustainable for future generations.

Veganism is great and does so much good, but one should not think that just because they are vegan, that they don’t have to do anything else. Even if it is just a little bit more, anything can help.