Few people understand at once all the compelling reasons to go vegan overnight. Most of us transition over time. Some take a short time, some take a very long time. As long as there is perpetual motion toward veganism, it’s hard to say what is “the best” approach for all people considering the myriad variables (family, community, budget, health, food access, nutrition education, etc. ) that can affect the rate of transition.
Those who do transition away from the Standard American Diet (SAD) toward veganism usually go vegetarian first. This blog post explains why I think this is the wrong step and why going Paleo first is the more compassionate option.
First, let’s get clear on some dietary definitions.
Standard American Diet (SAD) – any and all foods and edibles in the plant and animal kingdoms including processed, packaged, fast, and junk food. Basically, if it’s for sale, it’s meant to be eaten.
Whole American Diet (WAD) – any food or edible from the plant or animal kingdoms in whole, minimally processed form. These choices usually include organic, grass-fed, pastured, small farm, artisan, and farmers market options.
Vegetarian – animal dairy and eggs and foods from the plant kingdom. There can be Standard or Whole versions. True vegetarians don’t eat any meat (flesh) from any animal though there are subsets of vegetarianism that include fish or seafood.
Paleo – Animal meat and eggs, non-starchy vegetables and fruits, nuts, seeds, but no grains, starchy vegetables, or animal dairy.
Vegan – foods only from the plant kingdom. There can be Standard or Whole versions.
Whole Food, Plant Based (WFPB) – whole, intact, minimally processed plant foods without added salt, sugar, or oil.
There is one reason to go vegan: for the animals. Non-human animals suffer in many of the same ways that humans suffer. They feel pain, grief, and fear. Recall when you felt those emotions. Animals feel them just like you do. There are additional benefits to going vegan: health, environment, and humanitarianism, but the one core reason, by definition, to go vegan is to reduce the exploitation and abuse of animals.
With compassion for animals in mind, it makes more sense to transition from the SAD or WAD to a Paleo diet instead of vegetarianism because of the immense cruelty inherent in the dairy industry.
A dairy cow lives approximately 4 years while beef cattle are slaughtered at approximately 18 months. Beef cattle at least have the benefit of being removed from human abuse 2.5 years sooner than dairy cows. Veal calves, collateral of the dairy industry, are removed from their mothers within 3 days and they are slaughtered around 24 weeks of age.
If you were born specifically to be killed, would you rather be abused for 18 months or for 4 years first?
There is little moral justification to ever eat meat, diary, or eggs especially if you have access to decent plant food (not everyone does) but if you’re going to remove one category of animal foods from your diet on your journey from SAD or WAD toward veganism, remove dairy first instead of meat for the sake of the animals.
It’s the same situation with chickens. Meat chickens are killed at 5-7 weeks whereas egg layers are abused for 1-2 years before they are killed, but both Paleo and vegetarian diets include eggs.
As a nutritionist, I can’t advise omitting whole grains, starchy vegetables, and starchy fruits from your diet on the Paleo approach, but as a vegan I think a Paleo diet is slightly less cruel than a vegetarian diet.
If going WFPB vegan overnight for the animals is not feasible, I would recommend this path when omitting one food group at a time: SAD to WAD first. Keep the whole fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, tubers, nuts, and seeds. Then eliminate diary, then eliminate eggs, then eliminate meat. This is really neither Paleo nor vegetarian, however it seems to me the most compassionate transition toward veganism when overnight change is not possible.
Additional Resources
• Johns Hopkins on Health & Environmental Implications of Animal Consumption
• Getting Started on a Low Fat, Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet
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Hi Carla,
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