Vegan bodybuilder Frank Medrano joins a growing number of athletes and bodybuilders whose phenomenal fitness and peak physical performance are powered exclusively by plants. As the general public is increasingly confronted with the inherent cruelty of all animal farming, and armed with the knowledge that we can live healthy lives without exploiting animals for food, more and more people are making the choice to stop consuming meat, milk and eggs. Accordingly, the list of title-winning, record-holding vegan athletes grows exponentially every year, showing it is possible not only to survive, but to thrive on a plant-based diet.
At the same time, government health experts worldwide are finally catching up with the large body of scientific evidence demonstrating that a vegan diet is not only a viable option for people of any age, but that eating plant foods instead of animal-based foods can confer significant health benefits, including reduction in incidence of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attack, stroke, and several types of cancer. In 2009, the American Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, the U.S.’s oldest, largest and foremost authority on diet and nutrition, recognized that humans have no biological requirement for animals products, stating: “It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and 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, and for athletes.”
When we have access to plant-based foods, and understand that humans have no biological need to consume animal products, and once we recognize that non-human animals value their lives and want to live — then how can we justify denying them the mercy we ourselves would beg for if the roles were reversed? The only way for our values to mean anything — the only way for our values to actually be our values — is if they are reflected in the choices we freely make. And every day, we have the opportunity to live our values through our food choices. If we value kindness over violence, if we value being compassionate over causing unnecessary harm, then veganism is the only consistent expression of our values. When we can live healthy lives without deliberately hurting others, why wouldn’t we?
