With the growing trend of plant-based lifestyles around the world, you might be considering the switch to veganism yourself. Here's why you should:

1. The environment; less meat, less waste.

While you can't avoid the facts about climate change, you can make a difference. One of the many disadvantages of eating animal products, is the pollution that is created. Agricultural pollution is very real and very bad for the environment. Industrial farms release many terrible air pollutants that are harmful to take into our lungs. While these pollutants continue to be released into the atmosphere, the quality of air is decreasing constantly. Also, much of the manure that animals produce on farm land is never cleaned up and washes away into rivers and other bodies of water nearby. Once this happens, the water is contaminated and no longer safe to drink. Gross, right?

Speaking of water, eating meat is practically the opposite of water conservation. A single 1/3 pound burger requires 660 gallons of water! It takes 53 gallons of water to produce a single egg alone! At a time on this Earth when water is a valuable resource and many people living in poverty don't have access to it, consuming animal products like this doesn't make much sense.

You might be wondering then, how many gallons of water do vegetables need? Or what about fruits? All of these plant-based foods require much less water to produce. According to Business Insider, one head of broccoli only requires 5.4 gallons, one tomato requires 3.3, and one orange requires 13.8 gallons! These numbers are considerably lower than that of most animal products. Consider these facts the next time you decide to grill a burger or cook eggs for breakfast.

2. Animals deserve happiness!

The environment is not the only thing we should be looking out for; the animals need saving, too.

If you've seen Food, Inc., you've seen the horrific conditions of the animals raised on industrial farms. If you haven't, you should know that the fried chicken you enjoy from fast food restaurants, or the hamburger you always get at McDonald's, came from a farm where they let their animals sit in mud and manure all day. Many of the industrial farms that raise chickens have thousands and thousands of them crowded in massive greenhouses with no windows and the carcasses of dead chickens scattered around them. Many of the pastures that cows are raised in aren't really pastures; they are just fields of mud where the cows stand in manure up to their knees. It's intense to even think about, I know, but it's reality.

Don't believe me? Google pictures of industrial animal agriculture and you'll see for yourself. So if you're going to eat meat, at least be sure of where it comes from and how the animals are treated before they die. Animals deserve happy lifestyles, too. Please be kind to them and go vegan.

3. Oh, and you. You're important, too.

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. You're important, too, and so is your health. You also probably forgot if you're still eating meat and dairy products. One of the coolest parts of being vegan is learning that all of the good things people say about meat and dairy just aren't true. The milk industry tells us that milk is high in calcium and great for your bones. The chicken industry tells us that chicken is healthier than red meat. False! Chicken is just as bad as red meat - for you and the environment! It is just as likely as red meat to cause auto immune diseases, heart disease, and cancer. The same goes for dairy!

You might be wondering why you've ever heard this stuff before, and that's because the meat and industries hide these things from you. Seriously. The American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society don't have this information on their websites because they are partly funded by the dairy and meat industries! You can learn more about these cover ups on http://www.whatthehealthfilm.com/facts/.

So you've just heard three reasons you should be vegan and now it's up to you. Will you make the switch and help save the environment, the animals, and yourself?