Here at the Blue Barn we eat a vegan diet and our motivation is probably quite clear- we love our animals and want their space to feel safe and respectful. Believe it or not, animals are not our only reason for supporting plant based meals. Animal Agriculture has an incredibly detrimental impact upon the lives of our fellow human beings and Our Planet as well.

So do we expect everyone to adopt a vegan diet?

Nope. (but we can dream, can’t we?)

We do ask you to open yourself up to learning more, thinking critically, and doing your own research on the matter. Maybe you’ll decide that you can start by making some changes on your plate to make some changes in our world….

Here’s some thoughts to start you out…

Did you know:

• Going vegan cuts your carbon footprint in half?

• Animal agriculture uses trillions of gallons of water annually?

• One pound of beef requires 1,799 gallons of water to produce, a dozen eggs 636 gallons, and a gallon of cow’s milk a staggering 880 gallons?

• The U.S. could feed 800 million people with the grain we feed to farmed animals?

• You could save nearly 200 animals every year if you left them off your plate?

• Animals (on factory farms) are housed in in tight quarters, standing within their own waste. They are fed diets of poor quality foods that are loaded with antibiotics. They are administered medical procedures without anesthesia on a regular basis and they fall victim to violence and maltreatment at the hands of the workers that is outside of the actual slaughter process? (Solotaroff, 2013 )

• In 2016, it was estimated that approximately 70,000 people were employed within American slaughterhouses. Because of the high slaughter speeds that workers must maintain, the potential violence of large, frightened animals, and the dangerous equipment/machinery they run, the potential for physical accidents are extremely high- with potential for 20 out of 100 workers sustaining injury?

• Reflections of slaughterhouse workers show that they have a desensitization to violence and a larger inclination to commit violent and sexualized crimes outside of their workplace. While there is a lack of organized studies, interviews conducted and observations of workers show a close connection to behaviors that mimic PTSD and trauma with workers reporting substance abuse, anxiety, depression and dissociative disorders? (Lebwohl, 2016)

• Human beings residing in close proximity to the farms…. must endure unbearable smells, pest (flies, rodents, etc) infestations and an increase of health issues due to manure in the air and run off in their water supplies. Because of these issues, resale values of properties drop and it makes it challenging to even move from the area to escape the problem? (SRAP, 2020)

• A 2015 study by researchers at Emory University discovered that pigs are smarter than dogs and can solve problems just as well as chimpanzees?

• Animals are pretty happy living life free of harm? See proof below…

In the end, we all need to make the choice that sits right with our true self- and that differs from one individual to the next.

We do, however, invite you to learn more about where your food comes from and see if you can make choices that, perhaps, have a kinder impact on the beautiful world around you.

Resources

Want to make a change but don’t know where to start? Check out these resources:

• Nutritionfacts.org

• Nora Cooks

• Oh She Glows