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Welcome to Veganet - The Centurion's Choice! Veganet answers common questions about veganism. Our goal is to teach people the many advantages of a vegan diet. To begin exploring Veganet, use the menu bar at the left to navigate all the sections of our site. Each section is color coordinated for easy navigation. Also, don't forget to sign our guestbook before you leave!

Veganism is a strict form of vegetarianism. Below is the first part of our "Why become a vegan?" article. We feel that it will be beneficial to prove why a vegan diet is necessary before we tell you all the aspects of being a vegan. If you are new to veganism and would like to learn more, we recommend visiting the What section to aquaint yourself with veganism.

Cancer, strokes, and heart attacks. Ruined grasslands. Polluted streams. Hungry people who eat the grain that feeds cattle. How can people ignore all the consequences of being a carnivore?

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Americans lead the way in a global trend. They are eating more meat than ever before: the average American consumes nearly twice his or her weight in meat each year.

Rising prosperity has allowed people throughout the world to alter their diets to include more meat. Over the last decade, per capita consumption of beef, pork and chicken has doubled in the world's poorer nations - though it is still just one-third the level in industrial nations.

Nonetheless, global meat consumption remains highly concentrated. The United States and China, which contain 25 percent of the world's population, combine to consume 35 percent of the world's beef, over half of the world's poultry, and 65 percent of the world's pork. If Brazil and the European Union are included, this group - roughly 33 percent of the world's population consumes more than 60 percent of the world's beef, more than 70 percent of the world's poultry, and more than 80 percent of the world's pork.

Why Become Vegan?
Overall, the reasons to become a vegan fit into one or more of four main categories. There are environment reasons, health benefits, treatment of animals, and religious reasons. Below, and continued on our page titled Why Vegan, we discuss many important reasons to become vegan.

The Environment
Today, our planet is home to nearly 1 billion pigs, 1.3 billion cows, 1.8 billion sheep and goats, and 13.5 billion chickens - more than two chickens for each man, woman and child on the planet. We have altered vast ecosystems and devoted massive resources to support the world's burgeoning livestock herds. These animals need to be fed. They need water to survive. If they are ranged, they need land. And these animals produce enormous quantities of waste.

The ecological footprint of meat production is deep and wide, and ranges from forest destruction in Central and South America for ranching to suppression of native predators and competitors in the United States. Nearly one-quarter of the world's meat, primarily beef and mutton, depends on a natural ecosystem - rangelands. Yet, . . . . .

Article continued in the Why section.