Veganism is a lifestyle that seeks to exclude of exploitation and cruelty of animals for food, clothing, recreation, or another purpose. To be vegan means to avoid animal flesh and byproducts from your diet as well as not using items such as leather for your clothes, furniture, and accessories. 

PAL’s work focuses on creating a better world for animals in Palestine. These animals are not limited to cats and dogs, but also include cows, chickens, rabbits, bees, and fish. We believe we do not have the moral right to end an animal’s life for our taste palate nor do we believe that animals exist to serve us. PAL expands on this philosophy through its values for equality and dignity regardless of one’s religion, gender, race, or individual beliefs and practices. 

If you’re serious about protecting the environment from climate change, the most important thing that you can do is stop eating meat, eggs, and dairy “products”. Here is why. According to the UN, raising animals for food is “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems from every scale, local to global.” An Oxford University study, published in the journal Climatic Change, shows that meat-eaters are responsible for almost twice as many dietary greenhouse-gas emissions per day as vegetarians and about two and a half times as many as vegans. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has shown that animal agriculture is globally the single largest source of methane emissions and that, pound for pound, methane is more than 25 times as effective as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in our atmosphere.

There are many things humans do that are “against nature,” such as driving cars and using technology. However, the factory farming and livestock industry according to a UN report that said that the top contributors to most environmental problems from local to global scales, are practically a war on nature. So in reality, eating meat is much more destructive to nature than the fallacy that since humans ate animals before, they should continue to do so. Additionally, nature and religion did not give us the teeth, nails, speed, and strength to hunt animals individually. Fortunately, we live in a society where we can easily get all the nutrients we need without harming animals and destroying the planets.

We have found the most vegan friendly supermarkets carrying vegan milks, cheeses, and other products are Saleh Khalaf by Al Manara, Max Mar on Ersal Street, and Karaz on Nablus Street in Ramallah. Power Herb in Bet Jala is a speciality health store and Jumbo Supermarket in Bet Jala has vegan health products. Balady supermarket in Bet Hanina has vegan food products.

We are working on a list of vegan friendly restaurants in Palestine. Stay tuned.

Yes! A plant based diet is the only diet clinically proven to reverse diseases including diabetes and heart disease. Here is how a vegan diet can benefit your health. Removing animal flesh in your body will lower your rate of cancer, as processed  meats are classified, along with smoking, as carcinogens. Animal foods are low in potassium and raise blood pressure while plant foods are high in potassium and lower blood pressure. Plant food will lower your cholesterol because no plant carries cholesterol. Additionally, plants help regulate blood sugar by providing the fiber to slow down sugar absorption.

That’s great! You are taking an immeasurable step to help animals and the planet. Join the Vegan Palestine group to connect with local vegans and keep in touch with the PAL Facebook page to stay up to date on vegan events.

Cows, like all other mammals, do not lactate naturally. They lactate when pregnant and breast-feeding their offspring. In today’s factory farming industry, after giving birth, the cows are separated from their mothers immediately after birth and killed for the veal industry. After the mothers are milked until they physically cannot produce milk, they are sent for slaughter for their body to be used as meat.

Fish, like humans and other land animals, can feel pain, show fear, and exhibit empathy. According to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization, “over 70% of the world’s fish species are either fully exploited or depleted.” Current fishing methods are just unsustainable for the well-being of our oceans.