Annual World Go Vegan Week, October 25 – 31, aims to change diets

San Francisco, Calif. – The 4th annual World Go Vegan Week, October 25 – 31, spotlights the vegan diet as compassionate, sustainable, and healthy. In Defense of Animals (IDA) is coordinating events around the world, including San Francisco; New York; Toronto, Canada; Dublin, Ireland; and Cochabanda, Bolivia.

Actor Woody Harrelson, a supporter of World Go Vegan Week, chose a vegan lifestyle “… as an energetic pursuit, as meat and dairy slowed me down, but I’ve since become convinced that it is not only the most healthy way to live, but also the most compassionate and ecologically responsible way.”

The American Dietetic Association says vegan diets “…may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, as well as for athletes.”

“What we put into our bags at the grocery store has more environmental impact than whether we bring our reusable shopping bag or drive a hybrid to the store,” said Hope Bohanec, Grassroots Campaigns Director for IDA.. A United Nations study revealed that animal agriculture causes more greenhouse gas emissions than all of the world’s transportation combined. “Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems,” says U.N. official Dr. Henning Steinfeld, senior author of the report.

Animal agriculture contributes to the greenhouse effect from the methane produced by cows, deforestation of the rainforest for grazing land, and the enormous consumption of fossil fuel used to operate factory farms and slaughterhouses. University of Chicago researchers found that switching to a vegan diet has greater impact on greenhouse gas reduction than switching from a standard car to a hybrid.

During World Go Vegan Week, IDA is encouraging people to become more conscious of what they eat, the effect their choices have on the world, and the non-violent, healthy alternatives that exist. Eliminating meat from your diet is one of the most powerful and effective steps you can take to fight the cruelty inflicted on farm animals, to improve your own health, and to help create a sustainable environment. Visit www.idausa.org for more information and free vegetarian recipes.

In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization located in San Rafael, Calif. dedicated to protecting animals’ rights, welfare, and habitat through education, outreach, and our hands-on rescue facilities in Mumbai, India, Cameroon, Africa, and rural Mississippi.