If you’re looking for a New Year’s Resolution that does more, explore the links below and find your reason(s) to try being vegan in 2024. 

If you’re already vegan, take action by sharing this list with friends!

Most of us love animals, or at least, don’t want them to suffer. Each year, up to 80 billion land animals are killed for food globally and, in many nations including the United States, nearly all are raised intensively on factory farms and endure painful practices like debeaking and tail docking.

Unfortunately, claims of humane treatment on meat, egg, and dairy labels are dubious at best. Labeling falls under the purview of two government agencies, each with a different process for approving labels—not to mention there are too few inspectors—enabling the animal agriculture industry to exaggerate animal welfare claims. Plus, isn’t “humane slaughter” an oxymoron? Test your knowledge of food labeling with our short quiz.

Air pollution caused by food production in the U.S. is estimated to result in nearly 16,000 deaths annually — and 80 percent of those are related to animal agriculture. Learn how animal agriculture costs more in health damage than it contributes to the economy.

People who eat a plant-based diet lower their risk of heart disease, cancer, and other health conditions. Research has tied red meat consumption to a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes, and the World Health Organization has called processed meats carcinogenic (cancer-causing).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that “3 out of every 4 new or emerging infectious diseases in people come from animals.” In other words, these diseases are zoonotic in nature, like COVID-19, and as we farm animals in the billions and encroach upon wild habitats for agriculture, we put ourselves and other species at risk more and more.

Industrialized agriculture facilities are frequently located near low-income communities and communities of color. Animal waste is generally kept in manure lagoons or sprayed onto nearby fields and can pollute the surrounding land, air, and water. As a result, community members report health complications such as headaches, respiratory issues, skin infections, birth defects, and premature death.

Animal agriculture and the world’s insatiable demand for meat are major drivers of deforestation worldwide. Beef alone accounts for 41 percent of all deforestation. And while soy production may feel like a “gotcha moment” for non-vegans, 77 percent of the world’s soy is fed to animals raised for food production – not humans! Learn how the rampant deforestation of the Amazon is driven by global greed for meat.

You’re probably wondering what eating animals has to do with plastic pollution, but the United Nations Environment Programme calls fishing gear remaining in the sea “the deadliest form of marine plastic,” jeopardizing 66 percent of marine life. The infamous Great Pacific Garbage Patch? Fishing nets make up approximately 46 percent of it.

Animal agriculture destroys natural habitats and uses 77 percent of all agricultural land. Agriculture is considered a danger to 24,000 species of animals listed as threatened with extinction on the IUCN Red List.

Eating vegan doesn’t mean boring or flavorless food! Once you try some vegan recipes (and browse vegan Instagram), you’ll see that eating plant-based isn’t a sacrifice; it’s a joy. There are delicious choices for every cuisine, and more plant-based alternatives are available seemingly by the day! Find a cookbook.

Farm animals are among the most abused creatures on Earth. Below, you’ll meet a few of our rescued residents who beat the odds and escaped a horrible fate. Thankfully, we were able to rescue them and bring them to sanctuary. Learn their stories and, once you know them like we do, it becomes easier than ever to choose a vegan lifestyle.