About veganism
Every year in Armenia, by official statistics alone, around 500,000 cows and bulls, 250,000 pigs, 500,000 sheep and 12,968,000 chickens are killed for meat; around 2,654,000 hens are exploited for eggs; and around 728,000 animals of various species are exploited for dairy production. On top of that, Armenia imports more than 290,000 tonnes of products of animal exploitation every year.
- 80 billion
- land animals killed for meat worldwide every year
- 2 trillion
- fish killed for their flesh every year
- 8 billion
- male chicks die in the egg industry every year
- 90%
- of these animals are born, raised, and killed in industrial animal farming
And these figures do not include other animals exploited or harmed by humans: those of other species killed for food or killed outside industrial farming, those killed for fur and leather, animals used in laboratories, companion animals subjected to cruelty, and wild animals killed for sport or affected by the destruction of their habitats caused by animal farming.
Who are vegans?
- Vegans reject the exploitation of animals and any harm done to them.
- They give up meat, dairy, eggs, honey and other products of animal exploitation, as well as clothing and other goods made from animals or tested on them.
- Veganism is not a diet, a spiritual practice or a passing trend. It is a way of living that seeks to exclude, as far as possible and practicable, the exploitation and harm of animals.
Why should I care?
- Just like us humans, animals of other species are sentient beings who experience emotions, pleasure, and pain, and have an interest in continuing to live.
- Billions of sentient animals are exploited every year for the production of meat, dairy, and eggs.
- Farmed animals are no less sentient or intelligent than companion animals such as cats and dogs. Pigs, cows, and chickens can learn, solve problems, experience complex emotions, and remember people and other animals.
- The breeds of animals used in agriculture have been selectively developed to maximize profit. The physical traits resulting from this selective breeding cause severe and lifelong suffering from the earliest stages of these animals’ lives.
- The oppression of animals is deeply intertwined with other forms of oppression: it both draws on and reinforces misogyny, racism, colonialism, classism, militarism, and speciesism.
- Animal agriculture is one of the major drivers of ecosystem destruction worldwide and a significant contributor to climate change.
The reality of the industry
What happens at a slaughterhouse
If you have not yet seen footage from a slaughterhouse, watch some. We do not publish video or photographs from slaughterhouses, but they are easy to find online.
- Animals are stunned before slaughter, but the stunning does not always work the first time.
- Stunning does not necessarily mean instant death; after it, the animal's throat is cut and his or her body is hung on a hook. The animal dies of blood loss.
- Most of the animals we eat are killed while they are still children.
- The vast majority of farmed animals are born, raised, and killed within industrial farming systems, in conditions that severely restrict their movement and with no access to natural light and social interaction.
What's wrong with dairy?
- A cow does not "give milk" all her life: after a few years of intensive exploitation her "productivity" drops. She is then sent to the slaughterhouse.
- A cow begins to “give milk” after giving birth to a calf, as all mammals do. She is regularly, artificially, and forcibly inseminated and kept continuously pregnant.
- Male calves are sent to slaughter at an early age, usually taken from their mothers within the first hours or days after birth.
- In natural conditions cows can live around 20 years or more, whereas in the dairy industry their lives often end at about 5–7 years.
- When a calf is taken away, the mother cow will often call out for him loudly and try to stop what is happening. Animals do not suffer only physically.
And what's wrong with eggs?
- More than 8 billion male chicks are ground up alive every year immediately after hatching, because they are of no use to the egg industry.
- A sheet of A4 — that is how much space one hen gets on an industrial egg farm, for her entire life. In a cage a laying hen cannot even spread her wings.
- High "egg yield" puts a heavy strain on the body: the calcium needed for shells is constantly drawn out with the eggs. This leads to persistent health problems.
- When hens' "productivity" drops, keeping them stops being commercially worthwhile and the birds are sent to slaughter.
Common questions
I need calcium!
- Good sources of calcium include plant milks, tofu, sesame and tahini, almonds, white beans, broccoli and leafy greens.
- Calcium from some plants — broccoli or kale, for example — is absorbed better than calcium from fortified cow's milk.
- Bone health is not about calcium alone: vitamin D, protein and other nutrients matter too, and all of them are fully available on a plant-based diet.
So where do you get protein?
- There is protein in almost all plant food: legumes, grains, nuts, seeds, vegetables and mushrooms.
- Tofu, tempeh, soy meat and seitan are high in protein and easily replace meat in familiar dishes.
- Plant protein does not have to come from a single food: eating a range of foods across the day supplies all the amino acids you need.
- Soy contains complete protein — all nine essential amino acids — in sufficient quantities.
- Lentils, beans, and chickpeas are especially rich in protein: when cooked, they contain roughly 7–10 g of protein per 100 g.
- Seitan and other plant-based meat substitutes are very high in protein — around 20–25 g per 100 g.
- Nuts and seeds also provide a significant amount of protein: 30 g of pumpkin seeds, for instance, contains about 8–9 g.
- Protein deficiency happens not because a person does not eat meat, but because of an overall shortage of calories and an unbalanced diet.
I can't just eat grass!
The rules of healthy eating for vegans differ little from the rules for omnivores. Picture an ordinary plate and divide it into four.
- Half the plate — a variety of vegetables or fruit.
- A quarter of the plate — carbohydrates: potatoes, grains, and grain-based foods.
- The last quarter — sources of protein: legumes, nuts and seeds, as well as tofu, seitan, and soy-based meat substitutes.
You do not have to put together a perfect plate every time. Favorite “not-so-healthy” foods can be part of your diet too — there is nothing wrong with that. What matters is looking after yourself, eating a varied diet, and making sure your diet as a whole meets your needs.
Veganism is elitist and expensive!
Most people on the planet eat mainly plant-based foods precisely because they are cheaper. The availability of particular products obviously varies from place to place, but a fashionable soy steak is nowhere near a required part of anyone's diet. Moreover, plant-based foods formed the basis of most of the world's cuisines before European colonization and the capitalist boom.
What happens to animals if we stop eating them?
If we stop consuming animal products, we stop breeding animals. Ideally we should care for those who are already here until they die of natural causes, and breed no more of them.
As for vitamins, B12 is the only one that cannot be obtained from ordinary plant foods; non-vegans get it from fortified cow's milk. Vegans are advised to take supplements or to consume fortified foods, e.g., fortified plant-based milks.
Environment
- Animal farming uses around 80% of global farmland, while meat, dairy and eggs provide only 18% of global calories. Most of this land is used for grazing animals or growing feed. A shift towards plant-based diets could free up an area of land larger than China, the United States, the EU and Australia combined.
- Biodiversity loss is majorly driven by animal agriculture, too. For 2000–2018, about 50% of global deforestation was associated with cropland expansion and 39% with livestock grazing — together about 89%. A substantial share of this cropland is used to grow animal feed — around 38%. Habitat loss linked to livestock affects about 70% of threatened birds and mammals.
- Animal farming also pollutes water. Manure and fertilisers used to grow animal feed release nitrogen and phosphorus into rivers and lakes, contributing to algal blooms and oxygen-depleted “dead zones”, where most of aquatic life cannot survive. There are now at least 700 dead zones in coastal waters worldwide. In Armenia, 7 out of 11 rivers flowing into Lake Sevan are reported to be polluted by agricultural runoff and household wastewater.
- Industrial animal agriculture is also connected to antibiotic resistance. Around 73% of antibiotics sold worldwide are used on animals raised for food, and 75–90% of antimicrobials used in livestock are excreted, allowing antimicrobial residues and resistant microorganisms to enter soil and water.
Land use per 1 kg of food
animal-based food
plant-based food
45% of the world's land is currently used for animal farming. Feeding one vegan requires 18 times less land than feeding someone who eats animal-based food.
Water use per 1 kg of food
animal-based food
plant-based food
A third of all drinking water goes to animal farming. Producing a single burger takes around 3,000 l of water.
Greenhouse gas emissions
animal farming
all transport
Land, air and sea transport combined. Animal farming is one of the main causes of climate change.
Every year, billions of animals are brought into the world to serve human interests, only to experience lives shaped by exploitation, fear, and suffering. It does not have to be this way. We can live and eat well without using animals or causing them unnecessary suffering and death.
Vegan guide to Armenia
Where to eat, what to buy and where to go — a guide to vegan Armenia.
Sources
General figures and statistics
Dietary guidance
Environment
- Poore J., Nemecek T. (2018). Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science, 360(6392): 987–992.
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2020). Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020: Remote sensing survey. FAO.
- United Nations. (2021). The Second World Ocean Assessment: World Ocean Assessment II, Volume I. United Nations. Chapter 3, §3.2 “Nutrient pollution.”
- Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia. (2020). Fourth National Communication of the Republic of Armenia under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
- Zhao, C., Wang, Y., Mulchandani, R. et al. Global surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in food animals using priority drugs maps. Nat Commun 15, 763 (2024).
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). (n.d.). Animal production | Antimicrobial Resistance.
We thank We Animals for providing the photographs.