A speech I wrote for my communications class...
Change for the Better
Purpose: To inform people of the truth and persuade them to live a more compassionate life.
Thesis: Living a life as a vegan is the most comprehensive way to live compassionately towards the environment, animals, and overall health.
Claim: Value and Moral
Organizational Pattern: Topical
Introduction
Attention Getter: One of my favorite quotes from Earthling Ed, a vegan educator, public speaker, and content creator, states on his website (2016), “The corporations and industries that we are up against will not go down without a fight. But they will not win, they will never win, because for all of their money and for all of their political influence, we have one thing they will never have. We have the truth.”
Relevance: The environment continues to undergo negative implications throughout time as more and more research is being done. We must alleviate these implications and implement change for the better.
Credibility: I started involving myself more in caring for the environment and all that it inhabits after my college experience began. I was informed of difficulties happening within the world, various ways to live your life, and actions anyone can take to help combat the environmental crisis. I became a vegetarian about 6 months ago and have been vegan for about two months. Though this isn’t long, I’ve learned lots, reaped the health benefits, and aspire to inform others of this amazing lifestyle to help live a more compassionate life.
Thesis: Eating a plant-based diet increases health and allows you to live a more compassionate life.
Preview: To start, I will discuss the environmental implications of being vegan. Then I will talk about the ethics behind a vegan lifestyle. Finally, I will talk about how veganism positively affects your health.
Transition: Living a vegan lifestyle can have many positive benefits for yourself, but also has many positive benefits for the environment!
Body
Being vegan positively affects the environment in opposition to eating animal products. As we all know from the statistics in recent years, greenhouse gas emissions are rising immensely.
During times like these, that is very evident. We can see from the data posted around the internet that CO2 emissions have dropped considerably since the COVID-19 era. While this is great, it is only one portion of the total greenhouse gas emissions. Methane (CH4) and Nitrous Oxide (N20) are two other emissions that negatively affect our environment. A large part of these emissions existing is due to animal agriculture.
According to the EPA, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, in 2018, methane accounted for about 9.5% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Though methane’s lifetime within the atmosphere is shorter than carbon dioxide, it is far more efficient at trapping radiation. In comparison, (pound for pound) the impact of methane is 25 times larger than carbon dioxide over 100 years. Animals produce methane, but at the rate that we’re currently producing animals at, it strikes as an alarming problem for our environment.
As well as being better for the environment, it is better for the entire Earth and all who inhabit Earth.
Chuck Coffey, a retired pasture and range consultant, in a publication from February 2011 called The Efficiency of Beef Production, states we can convert 2.5 pounds of feed concentrate into 1 pound of chicken and 3.5 pounds of feed concentrate into 1 pound of pork, but it takes about 6 pounds of concentrate to produce 1 pound of beef. Chuck Coffey is advocating to continue using grains for the animal agriculture industry so it can be sustained as a profiting business. What if we cut animal production down, only produce meat from grazing lands, and use the other grains to feed the 9.1 million people who die from starvation each year? Of course, if we only produced beef from grazed land, less would be produced since it takes about 7 to 25 pounds of grazed forage to produce 1 pound of beef. Coffey himself states that “This may not sound very efficient,” so if it isn’t efficient, why do we continue to do it? You can get all the necessary nutrients from eating only plant products. Shouldn’t we start pushing other types of agriculture more, or are people focused more on profit and themselves? Many others and I would say yes, but a lot of change is required to make this shift happen and help turn the world into a more compassionate place.
Transition: Now that I have discussed the environmental impacts, I am going to talk about the ethical side of veganism.
Many people claim themselves as animal lovers.
They grow up with dogs, cats, chickens, and all sorts of animals and love their animals. They then continue to consume burgers, chicken tenders, and milk without batting an eye. All animals have a consciousness like humans. Why do we eat some animals and not others? Humans have coexisted with animals for some time. Back then, humans needed to eat animal products for survival. Now we are past that point. We don’t need to eat animal products to survive. There’s no reason some animals deserve to live a happy life, and others live a life to be killed. Why can’t we do the same with all animals on the planet?
Transition: After talking about the environment and the ethical side of veganism, I will now talk about health implications.
Veganism has benefits all around. One implication of being vegan is its positive health effects!
The best part about living life as a vegan is it tremendously lowers health risks for these diseases that are common due to our diets while reaping many other health benefits, increased energy, and a sense of mental clarity. Cardiovascular diseases and cancer account for the two leading causes of death year after year within the U.S. By taking animal products (especially red meat) out of a diet, the likelihood of having one of these life-threatening diseases within your lifetime is close to minimal.
Many people worry about how they will get their protein intake if they become a vegan.
Protein isn’t a problem at all. Many vegan foods are protein-rich such as seitan, tofu, jackfruit, lentils, nuts, dark greens, and grains. Most Americans get about twice their recommended daily protein intake. Most vegans get approximately 60 to 80 grams of protein, which is still above the recommended value. If you’re getting enough calories, you are more than likely getting enough protein.
While most people are focused on protein, the real attention should be on fiber.
Around 5% of people in the U.S. get the daily recommended intake of fiber. That is extremely low. The recommended daily intake is only 25 grams for females and 38 grams for males. According to Chuck Underwood, a vegan blogger, published in an article in 2015, “The reason we are not getting enough fiber is pretty simple actually. Most Americans don’t have a clue what’s actually in their food.” If you look at our standard American diet; meat, dairy, eggs, fast food, processed junk food, none of them have dietary fiber. Fiber plays a role in your risk of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, various cancers, high cholesterol, blood pressure, bowel movements, and many other things that may risk your health. Fiber is important enough to be paid more attention to, but about 95% of the population doesn’t think so.
Transition: Now that I have presented the facts, I believe we can finish this up.
Conclusion
Thesis Summary: Veganism opens your mind to compassion and love for the environment and all who inhabit Earth. Veganism serves as a great solution to combat climate change, shows love to all species, and provides amazing health benefits.
Call to action: Change for the better within our world begins with a single person. A small change we make creates opportunities for substantial changes within the world. You are the change.
Memorable Close: What is more important to you? A taste that you are used to, or life for an animal? A more compassionate world starts with you.
References
But Where Do You Get Your ….. Fiber? (2015, April 17). Brand New Vegan. https://www.brandnewvegan.com/articles/where-do-you-get-your-fiber
Coffey, C. (2011). The Efficiency of Beef Production. Noble Research Institute. https://www.noble.org/news/publications/ag-news-and-views/2011/february/the-efficiency-of-beef-production/
Recommended Daily Intake – Fiber Facts. (n.d.). https://www.fiberfacts.org/consumer-recommended-daily-intake/
US EPA, OA. (2018, April 9). Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data | US EPA. US EPA. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data
Winters, E. (2016). Earthling Ed: Vegan Activist, Public Speaker & Educator. Earthling Ed: Vegan Activist, Public Speaker & Educator. https://earthlinged.org/