Vegans tend to be a pretty passionate bunch, especially when it comes to their choice to avoid animal products. They might even encourage others to make the switch to vegan eating too. But why?

In short: Eating vegan food can change our world for the better.

Factory farmers treat animals in ways that are simply out of step with most people’s values, and it takes speaking out and educating others to change things. Billions of farmed animals suffer at factory farms, and there’s no question that the best step we can take to help end animal cruelty is simply to leave animals off our plates.

In fact, going vegan saves the lives of roughly 31 farmed animals (and protects many wild animals and endangered species) each year!

But that’s far from the only reason that people are so passionate about their vegan diets; here are a few more:

Protect the Planet Climate change is easily one of the biggest issues threatening our existence, and animal agriculture produces more greenhouse gases than all forms of transportation in the world combined! And factory farms pollute waterways and destroy air quality, making eating vegan one of the best ways to protect our planet. By ditching meat and other animal products, we can significantly reduce our carbon footprint.

Reduce Food Waste and Conserve Resources Animal agriculture is an extremely cruel, inefficient, and resource-intensive way to produce food. It pollutes our environment while consuming huge quantities of water, grain, and fuel. And with the rising global population and impending resource shortages, the move away from these wasteful foods has never been more crucial. By using the millions of acres of land used to grow grain for farmed animals to grow food for humans instead, we could help not only the billions of animals killed for food each year but the 795 million people who do not have enough to eat.

Take a Stand for Workers Farmworkers are subjected to numerous workplace hazards, including injuries, respiratory illness, PTSD, and exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In fact, the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine published a study that found that of the 22 workers tested, 10 carried potentially deadly bacteria.

Simply put, we want others to make the choice to be vegan because we know it will help create a kinder, more sustainable world. Click here for delicious vegan recipes, meal ideas, and tips on making the switch.