What are some arguments for or against vegetarianism?!
What are some arguments for or against vegetarianism?
I am thinking about making the switch to a vegetarian diet, and I am looking for some purpose. What are some of the reasons that you decided to be vegetarian, or did any of you try being vegetarian and then revert back to eating meat for some reason?
Does anyone think that the world would be better off if everyone turned vegetarian? Can you provide some evidence in favor of your posotion? Does having one more vegetarian on the planet help the environment in any way? Please provide your arguments.
Answers:
(I think it's kinda strange that all the pro-vegetarian answers have gotten thumbs downs...)
Read up. It is a proven, scientific fact that eating animal products will increase your chances of debilitating diseases, such as heart attack, stroke, and countless other diseases. I'm not saying that being vegetarian or vegan is the ONLY way to be healthy. If eaten in moderation, one can still maintain a healthy lifestyle.
However, most people will eat include TOO much animal in their meals. Meat and dairy have absolutely no fiber content, which makes it harder for your stomach to digest. Meat and dairy products are also loaded with saturated fat and cholesterol. Like human breast milk is intended for human babies, cow's milk is intended for calves. Dairy products have almost no iron, and may actually cause iron-deficiencies.
Aside from the health benefits, it is also better for the environment. Check out this article from greenpeace.org:
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/getinvolve...
I was an omnivore for 24 years. I gave up all animal flesh in March. Then I became a vegan more than three weeks ago. It has been THE best dietary change I've made. I've had more energy and feel greater than I have been in a long while.
Keep an open mind about vegetarianism. It is a choice that will change your life and will help change the future of this world. Read "Diet For A New America" by John Robbins (who was the heir to the Baskin-Robbins enterprise-he turned that down) and "The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell. The more you read, the more you will know.
Best wishes.
Source(s):
meat.org
notmilk.com
greenpeace.org
The vegetarian people I used to work with said their hair was like straw because they don't eat any fat. But if you make sure you take some vitamins to compensate for what you aren't eating knock yourself out. I tried it once for like 2 months, wasn't for me.
you should check out this website. I have been a vegetarian since I was 6 or 7, I have never really liked the taste of meat. I went to a conference and learned about how the animals are treated and it just furthered my dislike for meat. Hope this helps.
http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/...
just think of the food chain. animals eat other animals for survival.... just like we do. that is why we are called omnivores, why do cows eat grass/ hay all day long? (think they are eating A LOT if it) not enough nutrients in there source of food. and there are a few vitamins that are in meat that are easy to obtain through it and harder to find in fruit or vegetables. even though there are a lot of people that will argue those points. and i am from Texas so i enjoy the occasional T-bone or New york strip steak! that is just my 2 cents! i intended to offend no one!
I think that if people knew the truth about the way meat is produced and the impact on the environment, they would think twice about eating meat. And I hear lots of arguments for eating meat that just don't hold water.
Lots of people have the misconception that people throughout time have eaten meat the way we do today. They have the idea that all "cows" as you call them are happily munching grass in the beautiful rolling hills of California, treated well, then quickly and painlessly killed when butchers take over in their white jumpsuits with impeccably clean hands and equipment, which lovingly is placed in trucks to go to our markets. The beautiful cuts of meat are just chock full of nutrients, right?
Sadly, this isn't the reality. Our ancestors did not eat meat at every meal. A serving of meat is the size of a deck of playing cards, not a chunk of meat as big as your head. Until recently, most people thought of meat as a condiment and a large portion only for rare celebrations. There weren't herds of steers (cows give milk, bulls are few, the rest are castrated and called steers) like there are today, contributing to pollution with methane production. The stock yards in Texas, for instance have steers standing in filthy conditions which spread disease (they have to pump them full of antibiotics and often steroids). Much of the farmland production in the states goes to feed and house cattle, but could be going toward feeding the world. Steers are killed, not in an antiseptic, sterile, way, but violently and cruelly. They do feel pain and fear - for those of us capable of compassion, that matters.
Lots of people are concerned about their health, as we all should be. Billions of dollars are spent every year treating chronic diseases that could be prevented with a healthy lifestyle. To reduce fat in the diet, the very easiest way is to eliminate animal products. We can get ample protein, the vitamins we need are found in vegetables anyway (the advice is to eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day).
But the health aspects of eating vegetables isn't the only thing - the sanitation of the meat as well is the nutrients found in the meat are issues as well. Many steers are given large amounts of antibiotics which is then in their meat and cause some people to become sick. The steers are feed bone meal and sometimes raw meat (even though they should be eating grain and grass) leading to conditions like mad cow disease which can kill people, and that diet means that the meat isn't filled with nutrients. You're filling up with high calories and fat, but little nutrition. Often times the meat is contaminated with fecal material which usually you can kill when you cook it, but be sure those burgers are cooked thoroughly - no pink! or you could be setting yourself up for food poisoning.
The need for keeping huge herds of cattle and other factory farms of animals just isn't there. It's high time we actually did start eating like our ancestors - treat meat as a luxury we only have once in a blue moon.
The bottom line? If we cut our meat consumption to 25% to 0% of our diet, we would see dramatic improvements in:
1. Our personal health
2. Health care costs
3. Reduction in chronic diseases
4. Reduction in food borne illnesses
5. The environment
6. Animal welfare
With all the pluses, why continue to eat meat? It's a mystery to me.
Some people are against not eating meat because they think it's strange. I would argue that not eating meat is better for your health. You might not have any cholesterol problems when you're older, and staying slim is easier. I've learned about the food web and how humans eating meat is wasting the environment's energy.
If you like it and it works for you - go for it. If not, don't. It doesn't sound like you're very rigid about this, so either way I guess you'll be ok - all things in moderation makes sense to me. Getting lots of fruit and veggies is good for you, eating some amount of animal products is not a bad choice either from a nutritional standpoint.
Vegetarians tend to have less health problems and live longer than those who eat animal products. A vegan diet is ideal.
Over the past few years, there have been many studies that show that those people who have a vegetarian/vegan diet have lower blood pressure, risk of diabetes, less osteoporosis, cancer, heart problems, obesity....and the list goes on.
If more people accepted the idea of a plant based diet, we would have less starvation in the world; more than 70% of the grains grown in the US goes to feed animals. Wouldn't it be better to use that to feed humans?
The one thing that i noticed was that my mind is more clear without the animal products in my diet.
peta.org has all the arguements you could ever need. i switched about 6 months ago and i feel healthier, i haven't dropped 455454455 miraculous pounds like people on veg boards like to tell you (i think it's bull/a hook to get you to join their side but idk i was never a big meat eater and i tend to eat tons of carbs now) but i really do feel much healthier. that's not why i gave it up, it had more to do with the horrendous treatment of animals in factory farms, but it's a definate plus.
Hair like straw? I don't think so. I have been a vegetarian for 10 months. My hair become shiny, soft, fuller and thicker(in a good way). My skin gained a bit of a lighter pigment but it is baby soft, I only use lotion on my legs after shaving. My eyes became a lighter shade of brown. And I know longer have any breakouts and I'm sixteen. I feel so much healthier and it is not that hard to switch. If you need reasons, go onto peta.com and trust me you'll never want meat again. Also go onto wikipedia.com and search vegetarianism. You will live longer and healthier with a lowered risk of heart disease and cancer. Plus you save the enviornment and help world hunger. http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fus... go to this website also. Good luck!
I think if you eat/buy meat you are supporting the company that slaughters and harm the animals.
they have to cut off their balls and horns while they are alive!
go to www.goveg.com and meet the animals and meat your meat!
its sad
Against. Vegetarians get anemia. In addition to that, eating plants causes global warming (no plants=more carbon dioxide). And think about this, plants are deffenseless and many times they are raised for the sole purpose of being eaten, that's just sick! Plants don't intentionally try to hurt people and plants have feelings! I'm a carnivore and will not stand for the mistreatment and slaughter of deffenseless plants!(and I'm healthier than any one I know, vegetarians included) Eat meat because you are human and need it.
If you're taking a logical approach its incredibly simple. Only 10% of the energy makes it up each step of the food chain; 90% is lost through heat and supporting the animal. For example, if you eat a cow, you only get 10% of the energy it took in from plants. If you eat the plants directly, you bypass that step and get all that's available from them.
Plus, most slaughterhouses are cruel to animals (even before they kill them). Also, feedlots are a major cause of pollution and breading ground for bacteria like Salmonella and E. Coli. Spinach was recently contaminated by cow feces in a nearby field - the plants are less likely to carry disease.
Well I am not a vegetarian and believe you can eat or not eat whatever you want so this is just my thought process on the matter. I don't see how being a vegetarian could possibly help the environment considering if everyone became a vegetarian you would have millions of animals reproducing with nothing ever shrinking the population. The hog population alone would more than triple every year, not to mention deer, cows, sheep, goats and every other animal that humans keep populations in check by hunting and eating. Now if it is healthier to be a vegetarian or eat meat I think it is pretty obvious that if you are a vegetarian you have to be very careful with your diet to make sure that you get all of the substance that your body needs the human body is made to eat meat and runs off of the substance that meat provides like complex proteins, B-12, vitamin D, Fat and other substances. Although you can get these through man made supplements or being very aware of everything you eat, it is not an idea situation for most people that can barely remember to eat breakfast. Now the same is true if all you eat is meat, you will lack the same on the other side. If all you eat is chunks of fat and meat everyday of course you are going to die of a heart attack and not have much energy or be very healthy. The key is a balanced diet of meat and vegetables. You can't compare the average vegetarians diet to the average meat eaters diet of Mcdonalds and Burger King for health. And it is crazy to assume that all of the animals in the world are going to just die off peacefully and we will all live in harmony when everyone becomes vegetarians. The methane gas production from cattle, dear, pigs, and other such animals would sky rocket because there will be nothing but old age and starvation from the lack of grain that we are now eating ourselves to kill off populations of animals that have no known predators other than humans. I
With any diet it is important to make sure you are getting all the nutrients you need. There are vitamins and nutrients in meat that you need, they are found in some veggies as well, but it is essential that you find them all. I had a friend who went veggie for almost a year and she switched back. She was tired all the time and ended up craving meat. Not chicken either, sausage, peperoni and fat hamburgers. When you crave something it is your bodies way of telling you "I need that nutrient!" So her diet wasn't getting her something and she couldn't figure out what.
well come to the world of vegetarian because of you more and more animals will save their lives thanks,tha god i was born in an vegetarian family we are vegetarian for centuries as we are jian follower of lord mahavir more at http://jainism.co.nr
In nature, big fish eats a little fish because its mind is not developed as much as of human who can discriminate and restraint to a great deal. Humans can also rationalize what is right and wrong and so why should they support abuse or killing of innocent animals? Plus, there is a big difference between natural birth and human breeding; and even bigger difference between animals killing each other and mass killing by humans.
The process of raising animals for food involves bringing them in this world by artificial insemination; separating mothers from their young ones; raising them in cages and confined spaces; feeding them unnatural food contaminated with chemicals, hormones, and antibiotics; and finally killing them at a young age. All these actions result in a desensitized attitude and the suppression of compassion at the conscience.
As Jains, we do have to protect all kinds of living beings. There are different laws in the jungle than in human society. In the law of jungle, the strong ones eat the weak ones, but in the law of society, the strong one protects the weak one.
All these items are produced by killing an animal. When we learn the processes used to obtain these products, it becomes obvious that they do not fit into the Jain lifestyle.
Producing silk requires boiling silk worms alive. Producing Wool coats requires the killing of fur bearing animals. Do not mistake leather as a useless by-product of meat production either. Leather coat, shoes, belts, and purses are made from animals bred specifically for smooth skins. Ivory is obtained by killing elephants. Wool production causes animal suffering in various ways.
Many people believe that some pearls are manufactured in factories, and they are called "artificial" pearls. Actually, pearl is a product of pain. When a foreign particle gets into the body, if the oyster or fish can not get rid of it, then the creature in pain coats it with a special secretion. When solidified, that secretion becomes a pearl. In nature, a very few creatures would have to develop such pearls. Therefore the businessmen introduce foreign particles in the body, and force them to develop pearls inside. When ready, they kill them, and extract pearls, and sell them as "artificial" pearls. The larger the foreign particle, the more pain, and larger secretion, and larger pearl.
By using such materials, we become participants in Pranatipat (killing), Adattadan (stealing), and Parigrah (attachment for accumulation). As Jains, we believe in avoiding all Dravya Himsa (actual violence), as well as Bhav Himsa (psychic violence). So all the righteous Jains would reject wearing silk, pearls, leather, ivory, and similar clothing and fashion items.
Just as we would not want anyone to take our life or that of our beloved ones, we shall not take or encourage anyone else to take life of others too. As Jains, we should live simple lives, without any showoff. We should not wear any fashion item that involves taking life. If we can not give life, we should not take either.
honey Bees are manipulated worldwide to produce many products for human use: honey, beeswax, propolis, bee pollen, royal jelly and venom. They are intelligent insects with a complex communication system. Because bees are seen flying free, they are also often considered free of the usual cruelties of the animal farming industry. However bees undergo treatments similar to those endured by other farmed animals. They go through routine examination and handling, artificial feeding regimes, drug and pesticide treatment, genetic manipulation, artificial insemination, transportation (by air, rail and road) and slaughter
Balancing the priorities between suffering animals and suffering human beings is not difficult. Especially with the Jain philosophy.
According to Jainism, all the living beings have souls, having equal potential to achieve ultimately the highest state of "Moksha". Besides, the animals in question here are Panchendriya (having all five senses), capable of feeling all the pains like us, the humans.
Therefore the Jains have always lived their lives with equal compassion for animals as well as for humans. As vegetarians, they have enjoyed health equal or better than that of the non-vegetarians. They have avoided involvement in businesses that are harmful to animals, and yet prospered much above average. They have built hospitals for humans as well as for animals; provided food and shelter to the old, sick, and homeless humans and animals; and arranged for animal releases from slaughterhouses.
A Jain's proprity would be to uplift his/her soul and while doing so he/she will avoid hurting animals and lower creatures to maximum possible way. Jains would also bring awareness in others that we should not make innocent, helpless animals suffer for our selfish needs. Jains would not neglect animal suffering until all the human suffering is over. Humans tend to solve one problem, while creating two new! (For example, by eating meat etc. humans have caused cancer and heart ailments. Should we sacrifice the animals for experimenting different drugs for such diseases?) It can take for ever, leaving that the poor helpless animals to suffer. It would be unfair. The animals can not speak for themselves, so we must speak up for them.
Environment
1.Half of all the water consumed in the US is used by animal agriculture
2.For every 1 acre of land cleared for urban development,7 are cleared to grow feed for livestock or grazing land for livestock
3.The livestock population in the US create 140 times the excrement as the human population of the US
4.Food for a vegan for 1 year can be produced on only 1/6 of an acre of land, while it takes 3 1/4 acres of land to produce food for a meat-eater for one year.
Health
1.“It is the position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.”
“Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence. Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein as well as higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals. Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer.“
World Hunger
1.Out of the 40 poorest countries,we buy grain from 38 of them to feed to animals so we can have meat
2.We feed more than 70 percent of the grains and cereals we grow to farmed animals, and almost all of those calories go into simply keeping the animals alive, not making them grow.
3.The world's cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people―more than the entire human population on Earth.
4.For every 16 pounds of food you put into livestock,you only get one pound back of edible flesh
Worker's Rights
1.The rate of repetitive stress injury for slaughterhouse employees is 35 times higher than it is for those with other manufacturing jobs.
2.The farmed-animal industry has also been condemned for exploiting children―kids in their early teens have even died while working in animal-processing plants, and Multinational Monitor magazine called Tyson Foods one of the world’s “Ten Worst Corporations” because it hires people in the U.S. who are too young to work legally.
3.Kids have even been killed while working in slaughterhouses in the United States―a 15-year-old died, and a 14-year-old was seriously hurt in separate incidents at Tyson’s animal-processing plants. “One teenager died and another suffered serious injuries because this company ignored the law,” the U.S. Labor Department noted. “It was illegal for either one of them to be employed in the kind of work Tyson’s hired them to do.”
4.Immigrant workers are easy prey for the meat industry. After they are brought to the U.S., they’re often so desperate to make money to send to their families back home that they’ll take any job without complaint. If they’re being treated unfairly, they don’t have any choice but to continue working for the farmed-animal industry, and if they become injured and can no longer work, they are often stuck in the U.S. with no job and no money to buy a bus ticket home.
US Beef Isn't Safe(I believe it isn't)
1.France, which has only a fraction of the U.S. cattle population, tests more cattle in a single week then the U.S. has tested in a decade
2.According to Europe's latest annual report, Europe is testing cattle at a rate of almost two thousand times that of the United States
3.Almost all fattening beef cattle, all dairy calves and all adult dairy cows raised conventionally are fed meat and bone meal in the United States
4.Under the 1997 feed regulations, the FDA specifically allowed the feeding of chicken litter to cattle to continue, even if the chickens had just been fed meat and bone meal made from cattle remains
5.The U.S. also is presently testing only 1 out of every 18,000 cows slaughtered
6.In fact, the USDA, which now tests only 1 percent of all slaughtered cows
7.The USDA is run by several lobbyists,Alisa Harrison,who is now spokesperson of the USDA,was the spokesperson for the National Cattleman’s Beef Association for 15 years,how can an industry meant to protect you be run by the industry they are supposed to protect you from?
Watch(not a peta video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghxknys7r...
Source(s)
See the issues involved with eating meat
http://goveg.com/theissues.asp
the most simple explanation for NOT being a vegetarian is this: humans have canines in their mouths - as do most carnivores or OMNIVORES. If I was supposed to eat only vegetables I would have all flat molars like most herbivores.
I see the point that most rational/reasonable vegans/vegetarians are getting at, however I elect to eat all organically grown fruits and veggies, only farm raised meat free of toxins, steroids, etc. It costs a bit more but is better for me and I have noticed a HUGE difference in how my body feels and functions since I have made this change over 2 years ago.
And no, I don't think the world would be better if we were all vegetarians...that is just plain silly.
My best argument is this. Humans are meat eaters. God gave us sharp teeeh th chew meat. Many biast vegitarians will tell you that you get proteens from other foods inplace of meat, but meat has some of the best proteens that your body needs.
I hope this view point helps out. It would be a good thing if everyone stops pushing one side or the other on people. I learned this the hard way.
Feel free to talk about it. no harm ever comes from talking, just the tone, and way that it is heard by others.
When you look at it globally, meat is a good meal. Milloins would be thankful for any meal, but meat would go a long way in providing muscle building proteen. one of the biggest things is that the hardcore veegans push out any opposing viewpoints.
The best advice, that I can give out on this subject is, be both. Your body will thank you for it. the second, being humble about it will help you get far.
God Bless
If we aren't supposed to eat animals, why are they made of meat?
I have been a vegetarian for about 25 years. I decided to become a vegetarian at a very young age once I realized that animals were killed to make meat.
I think that the world would be far better if everyone was a vegetarian. There would be much less pollution, suffering and the overall health of the world would improve quite drastically.
Consider the following:
Thirty-eight percent of total grain production worldwide is fed to chicken, pigs, and cattle. Seventy percent of grain production in the United States is fed to livestock. (Gussow, 1994)
The United States is losing approximately 4 million acres of cropland each year due to soil erosion. It is estimated that 85% of this topsoil loss is directly related to raising livestock. (The Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook, 1995)
More than 4,000 gallons of water are needed to produce a single day's worth of food for the typical meat eater. In comparison, an ovo-lacto vegetarian requires only 1,200 gallons of water, and a vegan needs a mere 300 gallons. (The Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook, 1995)
One pound of pork that provides between 1000 and 2000 calories takes 14,000 calories of energy to produce in the United States. (Gussow, 1994)
Huge livestock farms generate an estimated five tons of animal manure for every person in the United States. In one day, a single hog farm produces the same amount of raw waste as a city of 12,000 people. In one year, a large egg farm yields enough manure to fill 1,400 dump trucks. Manure from livestock farms pollutes rivers and lakes, resulting in overgrowth of algae and pathogenic (disease-causing) microorganisms.
In Latin America, 20 million hectares of tropical forest have been converted to cattle pasture since 1970. This deforestation has had a devastating impact on plant and animal diversity in Latin America. (Gussow, 1994)
Many medical authorities link the emergence of foodborne pathogens such as E.coli and Mad Cow disease with factory farming methods.
One-third of the irrigation water in the State of California is used to produce feed for dairy cattle.
According to the Cambridge, Mass., environmental-advocacy group the Union of Concerned Scientists, meat production is energy-inefficient, sucking up a lot of natural resources. In fact, it takes about 16 pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef.
How to win an argument with a meat-eater
Religion and Vegetarianism
While their numbers are rapidly growing, vegetarians are still a minority, and it is not unusual to be confronted with a meat-eater who not only protects his own right to eat flesh, but argues aggressively that vegetarians should join him in his carnivorous diet. Carnivores may regard nonmeat-eaters as a strange lot who munch on "rabbit food," and whose diet doesn't have the substance to make them strong, productive human beings. The following presentation is designed to turn the tables on such discussions by showing the devastating effects of meat-eating both on individuals and on our planet. It is based on a richly informative poster entitled, "How to win an argument with a meat-eater," published by Earthsave, an organization based in Felton, California, giving facts from Pulitzer Prize nominee John Robbins' book Diet for a New America. Below are eight separate arguments against meat-eating and in favor of a vegetarian diet.
1. The Hunger Argument against meat-eating
Much of the world's massive hunger problems could be solved by the reduction or elimination of meat-eating. The reasons: 1) livestock pasture needs cut drastically into land which could otherwise be used to grow food; 2) vast quantities of food which could feed humans is fed to livestock raised to produce meat.
This year alone, twenty million people worldwide will die as a result of malnutrition. One child dies of malnutrition every 2.3 seconds. One hundred million people could be adequately fed using the land freed if Americans reduced their intake of meat by a mere 10%.
Twenty percent of the corn grown in the U.S. is eaten by people. Eighty percent of the corn and 95% of the oats grown in the U.S. is eaten by livestock. The percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock is calculated by experts as 90%.
One acre of land can produce 40,000 pounds of potatoes, or 250 pounds of beef. Fifty-six percent of all U.S. farmland is devoted to beef production, and to produce each pound of beef requires 16 pounds of edible grain and soybeans, which could be used to feed the hungry.
2. The Environmental Argument against meat-eating
Many of the world's massive environmental problems could be solved by the reduction or elimination of meat-eating, including global warming, loss of topsoil, loss of rainforests and species extinction.
The temperature of the earth is rising. This global warming, known as "the greenhouse effect," results primarily from carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels, such as oil and natural gas. Three times more fossil fuels must be burned to produce a meat-centered diet than for a meat-free diet. If people stopped eating meat, the threat of higher world temperatures would be vastly diminished.
Trees, and especially the old-growth forests, are essential to the survival of the planet. Their destruction is a major cause of global warming and top soil loss. Both of these effects lead to diminished food production. Meat-eating is the number one driving force for the destruction of these forests. Two-hundred and sixty million acres of U.S. forestland has been cleared for cropland to produce the meat-centered diet. Fifty-five square feet of tropical rainforest is consumed to produce every quarter-pound of rainforest beef. An alarming 75% of all U.S. topsoil has been lost to date. Eighty-five percent of this loss is directly related to livestock raising.
Another devastating result of deforestation is the loss of plant and animal species. Each year 1,000 species are eliminated due to destruction of tropical rainforests for meat grazing and other uses. The rate is growing yearly.
To keep up with U.S. consumption, 300 million pounds of meat are imported annually from Central and South America. This economic incentive impels these nations to cut down their forests to make more pastureland. The short-term gain ignores the long-term, irreparable harm to the earth's ecosystem. In effect these countries are being drained of their resources to put meat on the table of Americans while 75% of all Central American children under the age of five are undernourished.
3. The Cancer Argument against meat-eating
Those who eat flesh are far more likely to contract cancer than those following a vegetarian diet.
The risk of contracting breast cancer is 3.8 times greater for women who eat meat daily compared to less than once a week; 2.8 times greater for women who eat eggs daily compared to once a week; and 3.25 greater for women who eat butter and cheese 2 to 4 times a week as compared to once a week.
The risk of fatal ovarian cancer is three times greater for women who eat eggs 3 or more times a week as compared with less than once a week.
The risk of fatal prostate cancer is 3.6 times greater for men who consume meat, cheese, eggs and milk daily as compared with sparingly or not at all.
4. The Cholesterol Argument against meat-eating
Here are facts showing that: 1) U.S. physicians are not sufficiently trained in the importance of the relation of diet to health; 2) meat-eaters ingest excessive amounts of cholesterol, making them dangerously susceptible to heart attacks.
It is strange, but true that U.S. physicians are as a rule ill-educated in the single most important factor of health, namely diet and nutrition. Of the 125 medical schools in the U.S., only 30 require their students to take a course in nutrition. The average nutrition training received by the average U.S. physician during four years in school is only 2.5 hours. Thus doctors in the U.S. are ill-equipped to advise their patients in minimizing foods, such as meat, that contain excessive amounts of cholesterol and are known causes of heart attack.
Heart attack is the most common cause of death in the U.S., killing one person every 45 seconds. The male meat-eater's risk of death from heart attack is 50%. The risk to men who eats no meat is 15%. Reducing one's consumption of meat, dairy and eggs by 10% reduces the risk of heart attack by 10%. Completely eliminating these products from one's diet reduces the risk of heart attack by 90%.
The average cholesterol consumption of a meat-centered diet is 210 milligrams per day. The chance of dying from heart disease if you are male and your blood cholesterol is 210 milligrams daily is greater than 50%.
5. The Natural Resources Argument against meat-eating
The world's natural resources are being rapidly depleted as a result of meat-eating.
Raising livestock for their meat is a very inefficient way of generating food. Pound for pound, far more resources must be expended to produce meat than to produce grains, fruits and vegetables. For example, more than half of all water used for all purposes in the U.S. is consumed in livestock production. The amount of water used in production of the average cow is sufficient to float a destroyer (a large naval ship). While 25 gallons of water are needed to produce a pound of wheat, 5,000 gallons are needed to produce a pound of California beef. That same 5,000 gallons of water can produce 200 pounds of wheat. If this water cost were not subsidized by the government, the cheapest hamburger meat would cost more than $35 per pound.
Meat-eating is devouring oil reserves at an alarming rate. It takes nearly 78 calories of fossil fuel (oil, natural gas, etc.) energy to produce one calory of beef protein and only 2 calories of fossil fuel energy to produce one calory of soybean. If every human ate a meat-centered diet, the world's known oil reserves would last a mere 13 years. They would last 260 years if humans stopped eating meat altogether. That is 20 times longer, giving humanity ample time to develop alternative energy sources.
Thirty-three percent of all raw materials (base products of farming, forestry and mining, including fossil fuels) consumed by the U.S. are devoted to the production of livestock, as compared with 2% to produce a complete vegetarian diet.
6. The Antibiotic Argument against meat-eating
Here are facts showing the dangers of eating meat because of the large amounts of antibiotics fed to livestock to control staphylococci (commonly called staph infections), which are becoming immune to these drugs at an alarming rate.
The animals that are being raised for meat in the United States are diseased. The livestock industry attempts to control this disease by feeding the animals antibiotics. Huge quantities of drugs go for this purpose. Of all antibiotics used in the U.S., 55% are fed to livestock.
But this is only partially effective because the bacteria that cause disease are becoming immune to the antibiotics. The percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin, for example, has grown from 13% in 1960 to 91% in 1988. These antibiotics and-or the bacteria they are intended to destroy reside in the meat that goes to market.
It is not healthy for humans to consume this meat. The response of the European Economic Community to the routine feeding of antibiotics to U.S. livestock was to ban the importation of U.S. meat. European buyers do not want to expose consumers to this serious health hazard. By comparison, U.S. meat and pharmaceutical industries gave their full and complete support to the routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock, turning a blind eye to the threat of disease to the consumer.
7. The Pesticide Argument against meat-eating
Unknown to most meat-eaters, U.S.-produced meat contains dangerously high quantities of deadly pesticides.
The common belief is that the U.S. Department of Agriculture protects consumers' health through regular and thorough meat inspection. In reality, fewer than one out of every 250,000 slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues.
That these chemicals are indeed ingested by the meat-eater is proven by the following facts:
Ninety-nine percent of U.S. mother's milk contains significant levels of DDT. In stark contrast, only 8% of U.S. vegetarian mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT. This shows that the primary source of DDT is the meat ingested by the mothers.
Contamination of breast milk due to chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides in animal products found in meat-eating mothers versus nonmeat-eating mothers is 35 times higher.
The amount of the pesticide Dieldrin ingested by the average breast-fed American infant is 9 times the permissible level.
8. The Ethical Argument against meat-eating
Many of those who have adopted a vegetarian diet have done so because of the ethical argument, either from reading about or personally experiencing what goes on daily at any one of the thousands of slaughterhouses in the U.S. and other countries, where animals suffer the cruel process of forced confinement, manipulation and violent death. Their pain and terror is beyond calculation.
The slaughterhouse is the final stop for animals raised for their flesh. These ghastly places, while little known to most meat-eaters, process enormous numbers of animals each years. In the U.S. alone, 660,000 animals are killed for meat every hour. A surprising quantity of meat is consumed by the meat-eater. The average percapita consumption of meat in the U.S., Canada and Australia is 200 pounds per year! The average American consumes in a 72-year lifetime approximately 11 cattle, 3 lambs and sheep, 23 hogs, 45 turkeys, 1,100 chickens and 862 pounds of fish! Bon appetite!
People who come in contact with slaughterhouses cannot help but be affected by what they see and hear. Those living nearby must daily experience the screams of terror and anger of the animals led to slaughter. Those working inside must also see and participate in the crimes of mayhem and murder. Most who choose this line of work are not on the job for long. Of all occupations in the U.S., slaughterhouse worker has the highest turnover rate. It also has the highest rate of on-the-job injury.