Veganism is being blown WAY out of proportions.

First debate! I am not personally a vegan, but I highly respect vegans and I think that it is very inaccurate to say that veganism is being blown "WAY out of proportions." Veganism is a good way to lead a healthy lifestyle, to enforce animal rights and to improve the state of the natural environment. Veganism is highly beneficial to one's health, and is also a good way to avoid several common diseases. Vegan diets are very low in saturated fat and cholesterol, commonly found in meat and dairy products, which has negative impacts to health such as heart disease and stroke. It is also an effective way to lower blood pressure, due to the extensive role of whole grains and vegetables in a vegan diet. Also, it has been proven that a vegan diet is capable of combatting diabetes, in which fats and sugar (commonly found in meat and dairy products) plays an important part. A vegan diet can help one lose weight and keep a healthy body mass index while maintaining a proper intake of important nutrients such as vitamins and proteins. It is also proven by studies that vegans and vegetarians live an average of three to six years longer than those who routinely consume meat and dairy. Animal rights is also an important cause for which many people take on a vegan lifestyle. It is estimated that more than twenty thousand cows are slaughtered every day in the United States alone, and that 56 billion farm animals worldwide are killed each year for food. Though many people state animal mistreatment and poor living conditions for livestock as reasons to adopt a vegan lifestyle, what most people do not know is that the maltreatment of animals can be physically harmful for humans as well. When animals are slaughtered or mistreated, their bodies tend to release many harmful hormones to reflect a condition of stress. When humans consume meat products, these hormones are actually released into the human body and can cause side effects such as fatigue or malaise. Therefore, this mistreatment of animals is harmful both for the animals themselves and us humans. Finally, adopting a vegan diet is a good way to reduce one's egological footprint and to make a positive difference towards the environment. It is estimated that it takes 722 gallons of water for every single pound of consumable beef to be produced. This can cause an unwanted stress on the already weak amounts of water in the world. According to many scientific claims, such as the one proposed by the Downstream Project, four to five earths would be necessary in order to sustain the world population durably if every human were to live like the average American citizen. A large factor behind this estimate is that the American public is the largest consumer of beef and other meat products worldwide, which uses a worryingly elevated amount of water. In all, I think that there is nothing "out of proportions" to veganism. It is healthy and reduces one's impact on the environment. In the future, as resources lessen and more scientific studies are conducted in the field, I believe that more and more people will adopt a vegan diet for its many benefits. Though vegans remain the minority today, I still maintain a profound respect for their dedication to themselves and to the world.