The Vegan Path

Why Stop Harming Animals?

The evidence on health, the planet, and the animals, in plain language, with a source for every claim.

People who don’t eat animals are healthier

People who choose not to harm animals have the lowest measured risks of heart disease[1][2][3][4], and only diets shown to reverse heart disease had no meat[5][6][7]. They also have the lowest measured risks of type 2 diabetes[8][9][10] and cancers[11][12][13], the highest cancer survival rates (5× fewer deaths in a small study)[14][15] and slower progression[16][17], better aging biomarkers[18][19][20], the lowest inflammation[21][22][23], and more:

Lowest risk of getting heart disease[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Only diets shown to reverse heart disease had no animal flesh[1][2][3][4][5]
Vegan diets lower cholesterol in randomized trials[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Lowest risk of type 2 diabetes[1][2][3][4][5]
Type 2 diabetes can be completely reversed on plant-based diets[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Lowest risk of all forms of cancer[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Higher cancer survival (about 5× fewer deaths among vegans in one small study) and slower progression[1][2][3][4][5]
Lowest risk of obesity[1][2][3]
Weight and visceral fat drop on vegan diets without calorie counting[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Same muscle and strength gains on plant protein as on animal protein[1][2][3]
Better endurance on plant-based diets[1][2][3]
Lower dementia and Alzheimer’s risk[1][2][3]
Longer telomeres, and a plant-based program is the only one shown to lengthen them[1][2][3]
Lower inflammation (CRP) on plant-based diets[1][2][3][4][5]
Slower epigenetic aging clocks on vegan diets[1][2][3]
Better odds of reaching older age without major disease[1][2][3]
Plant protein is linked with living longer; animal protein with the opposite[1][2][3][4][5]
People with type 1 diabetes needed about 28% less insulin on a vegan diet[1][2]
Lowest COVID risk among the diet groups studied[1][2][3]
Lower risk of COPD[1][2][3][4]
Fewer new asthma symptoms on healthier plant-based diets[1][2]
Lower risk of erectile dysfunction[1][2][3][4][5]
Lower depression risk on healthy plant-based diets, although studies of vegans alone go both ways[1][2][3][4][5][6]
About 22% lower Parkinson’s risk on the healthiest plant-based diets; frequent dairy is linked with higher risk[1][2]
Vegan diets beat the Mediterranean diet head-to-head on weight and cholesterol[1][2][3]
Vegan men have the same free testosterone as meat-eaters, and soy doesn’t lower male hormones[1][2][3][4]
Regular soy consumption is linked with about 77% lower risk of hair loss[1][2][3]
Less build-up of PFAS “forever chemicals,” which come partly from fish and meat[1][2]
Lowest rates of high blood pressure of any diet group[1][2][3][4]
Less stroke on healthy plant-based diets and more with red meat, though vegetarians as a group show no clear difference[1][2][3][4]
Less chronic kidney disease on plant-based diets; red meat is linked with 40% more kidney failure[1][2][3]
Less fatty liver disease on healthy plant-based diets, and in one study it went away on a high-fiber plant-based diet[1][2][3][4]
Rheumatoid arthritis pain and swelling eased on vegan diets in trials, and vegans had about half the rate of overactive thyroid[1][2][3][4]
Vegan gut bacteria go with better heart and metabolic markers; red meat drives the opposite mix[1][2][3][4]
Among people with Crohn’s disease, 94% who stayed plant-based were still in remission two years later, against 33% who went back to eating animals[1][2][3]
Type 2 diabetes risk climbs the more meat people eat[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Red and processed meat raise colorectal cancer risk, by about 18% for every 50 g of processed meat a day[1][2][3][4]
Endometriosis risk rises with red meat, by 56% above two servings a day[1][2]
Eggs are linked with more heart disease and diabetes, and chicken and turkey flesh with more heart disease and cancer deaths[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Eggs are linked with 4% more breast cancer and 21% more ovarian cancer[1][2]
More cow’s milk in childhood, more type 1 diabetes[1][2]
Milk is linked with more prostate and ovarian cancer, and with more cancer death[1][2][3]

Gut

The best way to save the environment is to stop harming animals

If the world went vegan, we would need about 75% less farmland[1]. Farm animals already use about 80% of our agriculture while supplying only about 18% of our calories[2], and about 70% of the world’s freshwater goes to farming, much of it to grow their feed[4]. Vegan diets cut climate-heating emissions and land use by about 75%, and water pollution by 73%, compared with high-meat diets[3]. If you cared about the planet, you would stop eating animals.

Lowest land use of any diet, about 75% less than high-meat diets[1][2][3][4]
About 75% less farmland if the world ate vegan, from 4.1 billion hectares to about 1 billion[1][2][3][4]
Farm animals take about 80% of farmland but supply only a small share of our calories[1][2][3]
Lowest water use of any diet, about 54% less than high-meat diets[1][2][3][4]
Lowest carbon footprint of any diet, with about 75% less climate-heating emissions than high-meat diets[1][2][3][4]
Lowest water pollution of any diet, about 73% less than high-meat diets. Food production causes about 78% of the nutrient runoff that creates dead zones[1][2][3][4]
In the US, farm animals produce about 13 times as much waste as the entire human population[1][2][3]
About 73% of the world’s antibiotics go to farm animals rather than people[1][2][3][4]
Most pesticide spraying is on animal feed: about 235 million pounds in the US in 2018 alone[1][2][3][4]
About 80% of Amazon deforestation is for cow ranching[1][2][3]
Farm animals make up 94% of the weight of all non-human mammals; wild animals are just 6%[1][2][3]
Lowest biodiversity damage of any diet, about 66% less than high-meat diets[1][2][3]
Eating vegan food from across the world still beats eating animals raised nearby[1][2]

People who eat animals needlessly harm and kill about 88 billion land animals and more than a trillion fish a year

We slaughter about 88 billion land animals every year[1], plus over a trillion fish[2][3]. Enjoying the taste of something does not give us the right to kill for it. We do not have to harm or eat animals at all.

About 88 billion land animals slaughtered in 2024, or about 241 million every day[1][2]
About 78.5 billion chickens killed in 2024, most of the land-animal total, or about 215 million a day[1][2]
About 1.5 billion pigs killed in 2024, or about 4.1 million every day[1][2]
About 305 million cows killed in 2024, or about 835,000 every day[1][2]
1.1 to 2.2 trillion wild fishes caught a year; at the midpoint, that is about 4 billion every day[1][2]
About 130 billion farmed finfish a year, more than all land animals combined[1][2]
Scientists say the evidence for consciousness is strong in mammals and birds, and realistic in all vertebrates, including fish[1][2]
Hens recognize about 100 flock-mates; day-old chicks can do simple number tasks[1][2][3][4]
Pigs match dogs on cognition tests, play simple video games, and use a mirror to find food[1][2][3]
A cow uses a broom as a tool; mothers and calves recognize each other’s voices[1][2]
Fish feel pain: trout have pain receptors like ours, and painkillers ease their pain[1][2][3]
Cleaner wrasse pass the mirror test and use the reflection to check their size before a fight[1][2]
About 6 billion male chicks are killed each year shortly after hatching because they will never lay eggs[1][2]
Chickens raised for their flesh reach slaughter weight in about 47 days; a century ago it took more than 100[1]
Dairy farms take calves from their mothers within hours so the milk can be sold, even though mothers and calves know each other’s voices[1][2]

People who don’t eat animals spend less

Vegan diets are generally the cheapest way to eat, costing about a quarter to a third less than typical diets[1][2]. In U.S. trials, grocery bills dropped when people went vegan[3][4]. Beans and grains cost far less than meat and dairy.

Across 150 countries, vegan eating patterns cost about 25% less than typical diets[1][2]
In high-income countries, vegan diets cut food costs by up to about one third[1][2]
In a US trial, grocery bills fell about 16% on a vegan diet, more than $500 a year[1]
Vegan groceries were 19% cheaper than a standard American diet and 25% cheaper than a Mediterranean diet[1]
A whole-food vegan diet cost about a third less per day than a typical diet[1]
In Portugal, vegans and other plant-based shoppers spent less on food than people who eat animals[1]
Meat is mostly bland without vegan seasonings like salt, herbs, spices, and sauces[1][2][3]
Tofu is no new “fake meat”: it has been a meat alternative for more than 2,000 years[1][2]
In blind tests, the best plant meats score as well as or better than the animal versions[1][2]
Before cows, the core plate on this continent was the Three Sisters: corn, beans, and squash[1][2]
Cows, pigs, and chickens are not native to the Americas. They arrived with Columbus in 1493[1][2]
The grocery-store honey bee is not native to North America either. English colonists brought hives in 1622[1][2]

Prices

Taste

Indigenous

Humans are not meant to harm and kill animals

Without tools, humans have a hard time killing animals[1], and without cooking and seasoning, meat is nearly inedible[3][4]. Our teeth and nails are flat, and our jaws grind side to side like a plant-eater’s[2]. We see in color to find ripe fruit[6], and many plant-eaters have far bigger canines than we do[9][10]. Our ancestors ate huge amounts of fiber[13], and some Neanderthals ate no meat at all[14][15].

Without tools and weapons, humans have a hard time harming and killing animals. Our nails and teeth are flat and don’t go through hide[1][2]
Our jaws grind side to side, while a carnivore’s can only go up and down[1]
We cool off by sweating through our skin, not by panting[1][2]
Humans see in color to tell fruit from other plants, and we see poorly at night; carnivores have it the other way around[1][2][3]
Many animals that eat plants have much larger canines than humans[1][2][3][4]
Inland brown and grizzly bears get about 80 to 90 percent of their food from plants[1][2]
Without cooking and vegan seasonings such as salt, an animal’s flesh is nearly tasteless and inedible[1][2]
Humans ate 150 grams or more of fiber a day before agriculture. Most people now eat about 15.[1][2]
Some Neanderthals left no trace of meat in their dental plaque, only mushrooms, pine nuts, and moss[1][2]
About 780,000 years ago, early humans were already crushing nuts, seeds, and roots from at least 55 food plants[1][2]
In Genesis, the first world is plants only. Adam and Eve, made in God’s image, were given every seed-bearing plant. Killing comes later, as a fall from the ideal.[1][2]
Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist teachings put not harming others at the center[1][2][3]
Dietitians in the US, Britain, Canada, and Italy say a well-planned vegan diet can meet your needs[1][2][3][4]

Miscellaneous

Research finds no major harm from vegan diets in dogs and cats, and some signs of benefit[1]. In large surveys, vegan-fed dogs and cats were as healthy as or healthier than other pets[2][3], and Bramble, a vegan collie, is reported to have lived to 25[4]. The food just has to be complete, with taurine, B12, and the rest. Dogs and cats don’t need us to harm other animals to feed them.

A 2023 review of 16 studies found no major harm from vegan diets in dogs and cats, and some signs of benefit[1]
In a study of 2,536 dogs, those on vegan diets were as healthy as or healthier than meat-fed dogs[1]
In a study of 1,369 cats, those on vegan food tended to be healthier[1]
Dogs on vegan food had 50–61% less risk of six common disorders[1]
The food has to be complete, with taurine, B12, and the rest[1][2]
Complete vegan pet food is digested about as well as meat-based food[1]
Ten studies in dogs and three in cats found vegan diets as good as or better than meat-based ones[1]
Bramble, a vegan collie, is widely reported to have lived to 25[1]

Pets