#1. Improve your health: Decades of studies confirm that ditching meat and dairy products (including eggs) will reduce your risk of heart disease, obesity, hypertension, and cancer as well as Type 2 Diabetes; the list is strong and growing. Even the World Health Organization made a powerful statement confirming the health hazards of meat consumption this past year.

#2. Save innocent animals like our little buddy here:

He’s pretty clever too! Did you know that studies have proven pigs to have equivalent intelligence to that of a 3 year old human child? They can dream, recognize the meanings of certain words, even play video games!

It’s not just pigs either, check out this clever fish.

All animals are quite incredible in their own right and deserve our respect.

“The question is not, Can they reason? Nor, Can they talk? But, Can they suffer?”- Jeremy Bentham

#3. So many people are switching to vegan, including some of our favorite celebrities. Here’s a list of some new and long time vegans:

Natalie Portman
Jared Leto
Ellie Goulding
Woody Harrelson
Brad Pitt
Tobey Maguire

#4. Keep life interesting by exploring new hearty and delicious vegan foods.

Forget that image of a sad wilted salad haunting your mind. Vegan food tastes delicious and there are so many simple adaptations available of your old-time favorites. You don’t have to give up anything at all, not even ice-cream, or cupcakes, or burgers! Relax; your taste buds are covered.

Plus, if you ever get stuck for ideas, remember that help is just a few keystrokes away- Google “vegan recipes.” or “vegan grocery list” or check out www.veganswaps.com where you can type stuff like “chocolate cake” and get bombarded with delicious vegan swaps.

The more open and less afraid you are to explore new tastes and recipes, the more fun it will be!

#5. If you care about the environment, veganism is an absolute must.

Eliminating meat and dairy will have a much higher positive impact on the environment than almost anything else within our control (even ditching your car!) According to a recent study by Dr Peter Scarborough and his colleagues,  “If one person switches from eating meat for a vegan diet, they can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.5 tons per year.”

1.5 TONS! Who says one person can’t make a difference?

Cowspiracy is a must-see documentary on this topic that you should check out if you want to learn the truth about animal agriculture and its devastating impact on the planet. Now available on Netflix!

#6. It’s an opportunity to meet amazing new people who also care about helping animals, people and the environment. Type “vegan” into http://www.meetup.com/ to see if there is a local group in your city; or search for vegan groups on Facebook.

#7. Because eating feces, pus and antibiotics is so last year, wait… no it wasn’t- that’s gross!

Now that we know these disgusting hidden ingredients are rife in animal products, let’s no longer put that stuff into our bodies.

Superbugs anyone? No, thank you.

#8. Protein, fatty acids, and all the vitamins you need are easily obtained with plant foods, without going to those crazy efforts you might be fearing. Depending on your needs, getting enough  B12 can be as simple as drinking fortified soy, almond, or coconut milk instead of cow’s (pus-filled) milk. Simple!

#9. Because your weekly grocery spend can quite literally shape the world. As demand for cruelty-free alternatives increases, the supply and availability of those alternatives also increases. Grocery shopping is a huge opportunity to vote with our wallets for the kind of practices we want to see and wish to support. Align your spending with your values and feel truly great about yourself – go cruelty-free!

#10. You can ease into it! It’s all about learning new good habits for a multitude of positive reasons: our planet, animals, humans, and your health!
No harm in giving it a try, right?

To download our FREE electronic vegan starter kit, click here