For most people, going vegan seems quite extreme. A lot of people grow up eating meat, dairy, and eggs. In today's society, it's only normal. In fact, I'll even let you in on a secret: most vegans even grew up eating what everyone else eats! So if vegans know exactly what they're missing out on, why would they give it all up?

1. Animal agriculture is one of the TOP causes of climate change.

If you care about the environment, your best bet for making a difference is going vegan.

2. Global warming is real.

No matter how much some might try to ignore it, the Earth is dying. It's awful and hard to swallow, but it's something we have to deal with now. The only way to stop it is by everyone making an effort. You can check out some facts about climate change here.

3. Cutting out animal products is actually better for you.

No more worrying about that big steak clogging up your arteries. Instead, with a plant-based diet, you never really have to feel that bad about what you're eating. In fact, instead of gaining the dreaded freshman fifteen when I came to college, I lost 20 lbs without meaning to due to going vegan.

4. Animals are not food.

Pigs are smarter than most three-year-old children, yet we disregard their emotions and right to live. Cows play just like puppies do, yet we generally eat one but not the other. Why is it okay to take the life of one animal but not another? Is it not enough that something is living for humans to leave it alone? Is that not what we would want for ourselves and our own families?

5. The meat, dairy, and egg industries are very disturbing.

There is no such thing as humanely farmed beef. Cage-free eggs aren't all they're cracked up to be (pun unintended). Cows don't like making milk for us. Chickens that lay eggs for us to eat have their beaks burned off with no pain release and are shoved into tiny cages with other chickens so that there is no room for any of them to move. Dairy cows are forcefully artificially inseminated so that they can give birth in order to produce milk. Except, that milk is intended for the baby that will be separated from its mother for life shortly after birth. That's the milk that humans drink.

Every time a gallon of milk is bought, every carton of eggs, every hamburger, is not only paid for with money, but with the suffering of those being sold.