Humans are clearly the planet’s most dominating species. Since the beginning of time, humans have been reigning as survivor of the fittest by consuming animals. But what do we do when our lifestyle is killing us?

I am not saying animals need their own “Bill of Rights.” They are not humans. We do not have the liberty to colonize animals like we have wrongfully done so ourselves. They simply need the freedom to be animals.

So how can we live in harmony with them?

We go vegan.

Veganism does not need to be just a trend. If we went vegan, the human race would be saved from the deathly toxins consumed in animal products. We could live longer, live healthier, and maintain our superiority on the planet whilst not killing animals at all.

Some claim we are omnivores because we need the protein. The fortunate news is there’s no such thing as a protein deficiency. Dr. McDougall asserts that if plants “have sufficient protein to grow giraffes, elephants, and cows,” they have enough to grow people.

Going vegan shouldn’t be so hard; we are naturally herbivores. Based on our anatomy, we were built to survive on a vegan diet. Both the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) website and “What the Health” documentary states carnivorous jaws move up and down to tear apart prey. Obviously, humans can’t do that. We can move our jaws side to side like herbivores, allowing us to grind up fruits and vegetables. We also have small canine teeth and short, soft fingernails, which are not made to tear apart animal flesh. Even our stomach acidity levels and intestinal length are not safe to digest animal products. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) warns digesting meat in a herbivore-sized intestine fosters the bacteria growth that causes carcinogenic secondary bile acids to form. Thus, we are not anatomically made to consume animal products nor is it proving to be safe.

From google searches to research programs, more and more studies are claiming we do not need to consume animals to thrive.

Actually, we probably shouldn’t.

Today, animals are injected with natural and prosthetic steroid hormones as prided by the Food and Drug Administration. Even a Health magazine article informs how the synthetic hormone injection of recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) in dairy cows “spurs milk production.” I bet not a lot of people know this milk contains up to ten times more insulin-like growth factor hormone (IGF) than other milk. Higher IGF levels are heavily linked cancer just like the cholesterol and saturated fat is linked to heart disease, which are also found in animal products.

That’s scary, right?

Eating wouldn’t be so threatening if we changed our diet, though. PCRM provides a study showing how cancers of the blood were reduced by 45% for the vegetarians within a pool of 61,000 meat-eaters and vegetarians. Furthermore, PETA claims the average vegan cholesterol level is about 146 while the average meat-eater’s cholesterol level is 194.

Keep in mind that no plant-based food contains any cholesterol.

Imagine not having to worry about impeding our blood flow when eating.

Obliterating our animal consumption will have benefits for all humans. Plant-based diets can help reduce aging, improve moods, balance weight, and more. The list goes on but so do mortality rates if we continue consuming animals.

Going vegan would also free animals from our hold. Rather than being taken to a slaughterhouse, animals would be given the opportunity to life. We need to abolish the idea of animal rights and instead focus on adapting a vegan lifestyle. This is the only way to interact with animals in a respectful, healthy way and ensure humans stay as the planet’s dominating species.

By interviewing Chelsea Greninger, who has been vegan for seven years, I learned she no longer get headaches, rarely gets sick, and does not experience erratic “hangry” moods. When asked about her health before and after becoming vegan, she answered, “My [cholesterol] numbers, the doctor said, are so good that he doesn’t typically see numbers that good.” Veganism holds the power to balance our physical health and elevate our mental state.

It is possible to live in harmony with animals. We just need to stop consuming them and accept that change.