The Pros and Cons of Veganism

"Veganism may be defined as a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as possible and practical, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, the animal kingdom for food, clothing, or any other purpose. In dietary terms it refers to the practice of dispensing with all animal produce - including flesh, fish, fowl, eggs, (non-human) animal milks, and their derivatives, with the taking of honey being left to individual conscience." - THE VEGAN

I have been adhering to this dietary and lifestyle choice for almost 4 months now, having previously been vegetarian for almost 5 months, and I have realized that their are definitely a lot of benefits to being vegan and there are unfortunately a few cons.

Let me tackle the bad aspects of being vegan first. It is kind of an inconvenience to the average American because it makes going out to eat a task. A lot of fancier restaurants don't truly cater to vegan customers. Another con to a vegan lifestyle is not being able to receive certain vitamins and nutrients without having to take multi vitamins or other supplements to get them. The other con I have really noticed (this is more towards the women) is fashion. A lot of things that are popular are the leather products or the brands that use a lot of fur. A lot of your hygenie products arent vegan. Although there are downsides to having a Vegan diet and lifestyle they are just matters of convenience. The cons will looks miniscule compared to the list of pros.

During the ongoing course of my veganism I have realized a lot of good things about veganism. A well planned vegan diet a good fighter of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and prostate cancer just to name a few killers. There are a lot of ways to get the vitamins and nutrients you need to be a healthy individual. For instance; in a vegan diet Vitamin D is very low in quantity but if you spend 10 to 15 minutes in the sun for 2 to 3 times a week and that will cause your body to start to produce the vitamin D you need. You would never believe how many subsitutes there are for things you would cook with, ie; meat and or dairy. There are a ton of "faux" (fake) meats and "faux" (fake) dairy products. There are also specialized vegan recipes for things like deserts, like using applesauce or tofu instead of eggs. Vitamins and nutriets arent lacking in a vegan diet. You gets many of the essentials (Vitamins A, B, C, betacerratine...etc) and some you wouldn't except such as Iron and Zinc.
To tackle the other topics presented in the cons list; a lot of fast food places have started to accomidate vegan lifestyles such as Taco Bell. Anything on their menu can be veganized by removing the meat and dairy. In the world of fashion a lot of designers have started to use "pleather" (fake leather) and fake fur to accomidate their vegan customers. It may be hard to believe but some companies have introduced vegan hygenie products such as Deodorants, lip balms, tooth pastes, and soaps as to include the customer that stays animal friendly.

In my opinion it seems that the pros outweight the cons.

PETA has said that, "A Vegan diet can save up to 100 animals a year".

Veganism.com on possibly justification of killing and eating animals, "That we can do something does not mean that it is right to do so. We have a lot of power over other creatures, but with
great powers come even greater responsibilities, as any parent will
testify. Humans are at the top of the food chain because they CHOOSE to eat
nonhuman animals."