Every second, 3,000 animals are killed in the U.S. Factory farm raised chickens suffer from overcrowding, 80 percent of U.S. pigs suffer from ammonia exposure and 900 million animals that are raised to be eaten die prematurely from disease, handling, transportation and other factors. This is the reality of how we treat animals.

Many people believe that it is okay to eat animals because it helps them sustain a healthy diet. Many use this as a justification, but in reality, eating animals can cause more damage to our health than it does good.

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S. Studies have shown that a low-fat and high fiber diet prevents heart disease. With animal products being the main source of saturated fat and cholesterol in the food we eat, I raise the question, why do we continue to do this to our health?

After heart disease, cancer is the second most common cause of death in the U.S. In a scientific study, called The China Study a vegan diet was proven to shrink cancer cells making it 34-percent less likely for a person to get cancer. Changing the way you eat could lower your chances of getting cancer.

With diseases linked to diets consisting mainly of animal products, it simply does not make sense to continue eating this way.

The environment also suffers when we support animal agriculture. With the world population rapidly expanding, food production would have to double by the year 2050. This makes diets rich in meat and dairy unsustainable. We are running out of land used to support animal agriculture. Forty percent of world grain are used to feed livestock, according to a report published by Cornell. This high demand for grain requires a plethora of land and water. Growing food for animal agriculture is also the main cause of deforestation, leading to 20-percent of the Amazon rainforest having been cut down, according to National Geographic.

Another way animal agriculture harms our environment is through greenhouse gases. According to a report published by the World Watch Institute, 51-percent of greenhouse gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture. Rather than solely focusing on minimizing transportation, we should also consider how the food we eat affects pollution. The excessive amount of animals raised for human consumption is the main factor in greenhouse gases. With so many animals being raised, there is much more CO2 exhaled than in the past. If we stop eating meat, we stop supporting the industry that destroys the environment.

The last reason why it is important to consider a vegan diet is animal welfare. It is unfair to accept cruel treatment of animals. Ten percent of animals raised from agriculture die prematurely because of the conditions they are put in. Due to the high demand for chicken, overcrowding has become a large issue according to PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals). Each chicken in a factory farm has a little more space than the area of a piece of printer paper. Because of this overcrowding, most chickens are debeaked without anesthetic. Typically, cattle are stunned before they are slaughtered. Five to 10 percent of cattle are not stunned correctly or efficiently, causing them to be painfully stunned a second time or dismembered while still conscious, according to the EU Scientific Veterinary Committee. This is an extremely unfair and cruel way to treat animals.

The simple solution to these many problems is to convert to a plant-based diet and vegan lifestyle. Vegans cut out all animal products including meat, eggs and dairy. There are so many reasons to make this transition whether it be for your own health, the environment we all have to live in, or the animals who suffer from our unfair treatment. In order to improve the world we live in, try a vegan diet.