Why do people continue to eat meat?!
ONE HUNDRED & ONE REASONS
TO GO VEGETARIAN
People Land Air Water Efficiency Animals Health
PEOPLE
1. Every year in the UK we feed our livestock enough food to feed 250,000,000 people while in the world 30,000,000 people die of starvation
2. 20 vegetarians can live off the land required by one meat eater
3. Every 3 seconds a child dies of starvation somewhere in the world
4. If Americans reduced their meat consumption by 10% it would free 12,000,000 tons of grain - enough to feed 60,000,000 people (the population of Great Britain)
5. If all Americans became vegetarian, it would free enough grain to feed 600,000,000 people (the population of India)
6. Intensification in animal farming has displaced 1,000,000's of people from their traditional lands - eg. indigenous people in south & central america, native americans in north america & crofters in Great Britain - this is continuing today
7. People displaced from their lands into cities succumb to dietary deficiency, diseases, parasites & opportunistic diseases
8. In third world countries 1 in 10 babies die before their first birthday
9. The UK imports ?46,000,000 worth of grain from third world countries to feed our livestock
10. Due to overgrazing 850,000,000 people live on land threatened by desertification & over 230,000,000 already live on land so severely desertified that they are unable to sustain their existence & face imminent starvation
11. 1,000,000,000 people in the west gorging on meat & dairy leave 1,000,000,000 to waste away & 3,500,000,000 teeter on the brink
LAND
12. If they continue to clear American forests to raise cattle at the present rate, in 50 years there will be none left
13. 1 acre yields 165 lbs of beef or 20,000 lbs of potatoes
14. 8/10 of cultivated land in the UK is used to grow food for animals (14,732,000 hectares)
15. It takes 16lbs of high protein soya to produce 1 lb of beef
16. Since 1945 in the UK we have lost 95% of flower meadows, 50% of ancient woodlands, 40% of heathlands, 50% of wet lands & 224,000 km of hedgerows all due to animal farming
17. Pressure on land due to meat farming leads to soil erosion 6billion tons/year in the USA
18. If everyone went vegetarian upto 90% of land used for animal farming could be taken out of production & used to replant woodlands, leisure activities etc.
19. 25% of Central america's forests have been destroyed for cattle grazing since 1960
20. Between 1966-1983 38% of the Amazon rain forest was destroyed for cattle grazing
21. 90% of cattle ranches established on cleared forest land go bankrupt in less than 8 years as the land becomes barren due to nutrient loss & overgrazing
22. Overgrazing by cattle is destroying the land & increasing desertification, nearly 430 million acres in the USA alone has suffered a 25-50% reduction in yield since first grazed
23. An inch of topsoil takes 200-1000 years to develop - yet in the USA they have lost around 1/3 of their prime topsoil in 200 years (around 7 inches) due to animal farming
24. Land will be lost due to rises in sea level due to global warming due to animal farming
AIR
25. The destruction of the rainforest by cattle farmers is destroying the lungs of the planet & reducing the worlds capacity to replenish our oxygen supply
26. The 1,300,000,000 cattle in the world emit 60,000,000 tons of methane per year (methane is a greenhouse gas & leads to global warming)
27. Burning of forests, grasslands & agricultural waste associated with animal farming releases 50-100,000,000 tons of methane per year
28. Combining these figures, 25% of methane emissions are due to animal farming (not including the billions of sheep, pigs & poultry so the real figure is much higher)
29. Fertilizer used to grow crops to feed to animals releases nitrous oxide - thought to account for 6% of the greenhouse effect
30. Fertilizer, weedkiller & pesticides sprayed on crops enter the atmosphere creating a noxious carcinogenic cocktail
31. CFCs are released into the air from refrigeration units used to store decomposing flesh (meat), milk & butter - CFCs are destroy the ozone layer
32. Ammonia from animal urine also pollutes the atmosphere
33. CO2 is released by burning oil & petrol in lorries, ships, abattoirs, dairies, factories etc. associated with meat & dairy production
34. Emissions from large chemical plants which produce fertilizer, weedkiller & other agricultural chemicals are also poisoning our air
WATER
35. 25 gallons of water to produce 1lb of wheat & 2500 gallons to produce 1lb of meat
36. UK farm animals produce 200,000,000 tonnes of slurry (liquid excrement) every year, the majority of which ends up in our rivers
37. Bloody waste water from abattoirs ends up in our rivers
38. In the USA every second humans produce 12,000 lbs of effluent while farmed animals produce 250,000 lbs
39. Nitrates & pesticides used on crops grown to feed livestock end up in our rivers
40. Meat & dairy farming uses 70 litres of water per day per animal in the UK or 159,250,000,000 litres per year in total
41. The water used to produce 10 lbs of steak is equivalent to the average consumption of water for an entire household for an entire year
42. Depletion of groundwater reserves to grow crops for animals & to supply abattoirs will lead to greater water shortages
43. Aquafers (stores of underground water) in the San Joaquin valley in the USA are being drained at the rate of 500,000,000,000 gallons/year to produce meat
44. 18% of all agricultural land in the world is irrigated & as global warming increases (partly due to animal farming) it will cost $200,000,000 to keep these systems going
45. The water used to produce a 1000 lb beef steer is enough to float a Destroyer battleship
46. The liquid waste from the various parts of the meat & dairy industry flow into the rivers & from there into the seas polluting them & encouraging huge algal blooms to grow
EFFICIENCY
47. To produce 1calorie of energy from meat takes 60 calories of petrol, whereas growing grains & legumes to directly feed people produces 20 calories for each calorie of fuel used ( thats 1200 times more efficient)
48. Meat & dairy farming uses billions of gallons of oil to run tractors, fuel ships & lorries (to move animal feed & animals), pump billions of gallons of water to irrigate fields & run slaughterhouses, power refrigeration units to prevent the corpses from decomposing & to power sewage plants to clean up some of the pollution produced
49. Cattle convert only 6% of their energy intake (mainly grains & soya) into flesh, the remaining 94% is wasted as heat, movement (which is why they keep many animals in very close confinement), hair, bones, faeces etc
50. 1lb of beef takes 1 gallon of petrol to produce
51. A family of four eating beef for a year uses enough petrol to run a car for 6 months (obviously depending on how far you drive!)
52. If the full ecological cost of meat was passed onto the consumer - the price would be quadrupled (at least)
53. The EC spends ?100,000,000's to subsidise animal production resulting in lakes of unwanted milk & mountains of unwanted meat & butter. This money could be better spent encouraging organic fruit, vegetable & grain production
54. In the USA in 1979 145,000,000 tons of crops were fed to cattle resulting in only 21million tons of animal bodies - the cost of the wasted crops was $20,000,000,000
55. Between 1950 & 1985 grain production in Europe & the USA increased massively but 2/3 was fed to animals
56. 70% of all grain is fed to animals
57. Eating vast quantities of animal flesh, eggs, milk & butter is a luxury that most of the planet can not afford
ANIMALS
58. Fishing with drift (and other modern) nets weakens & destroys ecosystems by indiscriminately killing billions of sea creatures & disrupting the sea bed
59. Fishermen's nets kill 10 times as many other animals as the fish they are hoping to catch
60. Fish caught in nets die an agonising slow death of suffocation
61. Each year 15,000,000,000 land animals are slaughtered for food & an unknown but much larger number of sea creatures (including 1000's of dolphins caught accidentally)
62. Chickens are crammed into battery cages with upto 3 other birds, they are unable to even spread their wings & many can not even stand up
63. Unwanted male chicks (because they can't lay eggs) are gassed or pulped while their sisters go to the battery sheds
64. Chicks are debeaked without anaesthetic to prevent them injuring each other in the unnaturally confined conditions they are kept in - this is equivalent to having your fingernails pulled out without anaesthetic
65. Modern farming methods using growth hormones & artificial lighting mean that many chickens out grow their bones, resulting in fractured & broken legs
66. Sows are kept tethered in stalls 1.3 x 1 metre on concrete or slatted floors - they can not even turn around
67. Poultry raised for meat are kept in windowless broiler sheds, with around 20-30,000 in each shed, they live in an area of 10-20 cm square - fighting due to overcrowding is common & like battery hens they commonly suffer from supperating bed sores
68. Broilersheds are artificially lit 23 hours a day to produce rapid growth
69. Animals travel between farms & to slaughter in overcrowded transporters with no food or water - resulting in stress, injuries & deaths - legal requirements are widely ignored
70. 95% of poultry suffer injuries before being killed & 30% suffer broken bones
71. Problems with stunning practices mean that many animals have their throats slit while still conscious (around 6% of cattle or 200,000 per year) & are then dipped in tanks of
Answers: I hate people who eat meat, I would never date a meat eater!
ONE HUNDRED & ONE REASONS
TO GO VEGETARIAN
People Land Air Water Efficiency Animals Health
PEOPLE
1. Every year in the UK we feed our livestock enough food to feed 250,000,000 people while in the world 30,000,000 people die of starvation
2. 20 vegetarians can live off the land required by one meat eater
3. Every 3 seconds a child dies of starvation somewhere in the world
4. If Americans reduced their meat consumption by 10% it would free 12,000,000 tons of grain - enough to feed 60,000,000 people (the population of Great Britain)
5. If all Americans became vegetarian, it would free enough grain to feed 600,000,000 people (the population of India)
6. Intensification in animal farming has displaced 1,000,000's of people from their traditional lands - eg. indigenous people in south & central america, native americans in north america & crofters in Great Britain - this is continuing today
7. People displaced from their lands into cities succumb to dietary deficiency, diseases, parasites & opportunistic diseases
8. In third world countries 1 in 10 babies die before their first birthday
9. The UK imports ?46,000,000 worth of grain from third world countries to feed our livestock
10. Due to overgrazing 850,000,000 people live on land threatened by desertification & over 230,000,000 already live on land so severely desertified that they are unable to sustain their existence & face imminent starvation
11. 1,000,000,000 people in the west gorging on meat & dairy leave 1,000,000,000 to waste away & 3,500,000,000 teeter on the brink
LAND
12. If they continue to clear American forests to raise cattle at the present rate, in 50 years there will be none left
13. 1 acre yields 165 lbs of beef or 20,000 lbs of potatoes
14. 8/10 of cultivated land in the UK is used to grow food for animals (14,732,000 hectares)
15. It takes 16lbs of high protein soya to produce 1 lb of beef
16. Since 1945 in the UK we have lost 95% of flower meadows, 50% of ancient woodlands, 40% of heathlands, 50% of wet lands & 224,000 km of hedgerows all due to animal farming
17. Pressure on land due to meat farming leads to soil erosion 6billion tons/year in the USA
18. If everyone went vegetarian upto 90% of land used for animal farming could be taken out of production & used to replant woodlands, leisure activities etc.
19. 25% of Central america's forests have been destroyed for cattle grazing since 1960
20. Between 1966-1983 38% of the Amazon rain forest was destroyed for cattle grazing
21. 90% of cattle ranches established on cleared forest land go bankrupt in less than 8 years as the land becomes barren due to nutrient loss & overgrazing
22. Overgrazing by cattle is destroying the land & increasing desertification, nearly 430 million acres in the USA alone has suffered a 25-50% reduction in yield since first grazed
23. An inch of topsoil takes 200-1000 years to develop - yet in the USA they have lost around 1/3 of their prime topsoil in 200 years (around 7 inches) due to animal farming
24. Land will be lost due to rises in sea level due to global warming due to animal farming
AIR
25. The destruction of the rainforest by cattle farmers is destroying the lungs of the planet & reducing the worlds capacity to replenish our oxygen supply
26. The 1,300,000,000 cattle in the world emit 60,000,000 tons of methane per year (methane is a greenhouse gas & leads to global warming)
27. Burning of forests, grasslands & agricultural waste associated with animal farming releases 50-100,000,000 tons of methane per year
28. Combining these figures, 25% of methane emissions are due to animal farming (not including the billions of sheep, pigs & poultry so the real figure is much higher)
29. Fertilizer used to grow crops to feed to animals releases nitrous oxide - thought to account for 6% of the greenhouse effect
30. Fertilizer, weedkiller & pesticides sprayed on crops enter the atmosphere creating a noxious carcinogenic cocktail
31. CFCs are released into the air from refrigeration units used to store decomposing flesh (meat), milk & butter - CFCs are destroy the ozone layer
32. Ammonia from animal urine also pollutes the atmosphere
33. CO2 is released by burning oil & petrol in lorries, ships, abattoirs, dairies, factories etc. associated with meat & dairy production
34. Emissions from large chemical plants which produce fertilizer, weedkiller & other agricultural chemicals are also poisoning our air
WATER
35. 25 gallons of water to produce 1lb of wheat & 2500 gallons to produce 1lb of meat
36. UK farm animals produce 200,000,000 tonnes of slurry (liquid excrement) every year, the majority of which ends up in our rivers
37. Bloody waste water from abattoirs ends up in our rivers
38. In the USA every second humans produce 12,000 lbs of effluent while farmed animals produce 250,000 lbs
39. Nitrates & pesticides used on crops grown to feed livestock end up in our rivers
40. Meat & dairy farming uses 70 litres of water per day per animal in the UK or 159,250,000,000 litres per year in total
41. The water used to produce 10 lbs of steak is equivalent to the average consumption of water for an entire household for an entire year
42. Depletion of groundwater reserves to grow crops for animals & to supply abattoirs will lead to greater water shortages
43. Aquafers (stores of underground water) in the San Joaquin valley in the USA are being drained at the rate of 500,000,000,000 gallons/year to produce meat
44. 18% of all agricultural land in the world is irrigated & as global warming increases (partly due to animal farming) it will cost $200,000,000 to keep these systems going
45. The water used to produce a 1000 lb beef steer is enough to float a Destroyer battleship
46. The liquid waste from the various parts of the meat & dairy industry flow into the rivers & from there into the seas polluting them & encouraging huge algal blooms to grow
EFFICIENCY
47. To produce 1calorie of energy from meat takes 60 calories of petrol, whereas growing grains & legumes to directly feed people produces 20 calories for each calorie of fuel used ( thats 1200 times more efficient)
48. Meat & dairy farming uses billions of gallons of oil to run tractors, fuel ships & lorries (to move animal feed & animals), pump billions of gallons of water to irrigate fields & run slaughterhouses, power refrigeration units to prevent the corpses from decomposing & to power sewage plants to clean up some of the pollution produced
49. Cattle convert only 6% of their energy intake (mainly grains & soya) into flesh, the remaining 94% is wasted as heat, movement (which is why they keep many animals in very close confinement), hair, bones, faeces etc
50. 1lb of beef takes 1 gallon of petrol to produce
51. A family of four eating beef for a year uses enough petrol to run a car for 6 months (obviously depending on how far you drive!)
52. If the full ecological cost of meat was passed onto the consumer - the price would be quadrupled (at least)
53. The EC spends ?100,000,000's to subsidise animal production resulting in lakes of unwanted milk & mountains of unwanted meat & butter. This money could be better spent encouraging organic fruit, vegetable & grain production
54. In the USA in 1979 145,000,000 tons of crops were fed to cattle resulting in only 21million tons of animal bodies - the cost of the wasted crops was $20,000,000,000
55. Between 1950 & 1985 grain production in Europe & the USA increased massively but 2/3 was fed to animals
56. 70% of all grain is fed to animals
57. Eating vast quantities of animal flesh, eggs, milk & butter is a luxury that most of the planet can not afford
ANIMALS
58. Fishing with drift (and other modern) nets weakens & destroys ecosystems by indiscriminately killing billions of sea creatures & disrupting the sea bed
59. Fishermen's nets kill 10 times as many other animals as the fish they are hoping to catch
60. Fish caught in nets die an agonising slow death of suffocation
61. Each year 15,000,000,000 land animals are slaughtered for food & an unknown but much larger number of sea creatures (including 1000's of dolphins caught accidentally)
62. Chickens are crammed into battery cages with upto 3 other birds, they are unable to even spread their wings & many can not even stand up
63. Unwanted male chicks (because they can't lay eggs) are gassed or pulped while their sisters go to the battery sheds
64. Chicks are debeaked without anaesthetic to prevent them injuring each other in the unnaturally confined conditions they are kept in - this is equivalent to having your fingernails pulled out without anaesthetic
65. Modern farming methods using growth hormones & artificial lighting mean that many chickens out grow their bones, resulting in fractured & broken legs
66. Sows are kept tethered in stalls 1.3 x 1 metre on concrete or slatted floors - they can not even turn around
67. Poultry raised for meat are kept in windowless broiler sheds, with around 20-30,000 in each shed, they live in an area of 10-20 cm square - fighting due to overcrowding is common & like battery hens they commonly suffer from supperating bed sores
68. Broilersheds are artificially lit 23 hours a day to produce rapid growth
69. Animals travel between farms & to slaughter in overcrowded transporters with no food or water - resulting in stress, injuries & deaths - legal requirements are widely ignored
70. 95% of poultry suffer injuries before being killed & 30% suffer broken bones
71. Problems with stunning practices mean that many animals have their throats slit while still conscious (around 6% of cattle or 200,000 per year) & are then dipped in tanks of
They don't want to have stinky vegetarian poop/farts or pale skin?
because it's delicious.
Heya
I really dont have a clue.I have this discussion near enough everyday with my family and friends (im the only vegetarian i know) .Why should people have the right to kill something that does not belong to them and even if it does belong to them why do they have the right to kill it but if that animal kills a human it would be slaughtered and pasted all over the knews.Its sick.respect for being a veggie xxx
cause its good and they perfer to eat it unlike you
Because humans actually need to eat meat. Its funny how a lot of Vegetarians will say it is cruel to animals to eat meat...how is that when they eat each other?
Tastes better than dirt.
I enjoy building muscle, and I don't support big business because I don't buy meat at the store. I enjoy eating what I kill or raise. It's good for you. If you don't want to eat it then don't. But don't question me for doing it.
Filet Mignon, Tournedó, Roast Beef, T-Bone steack, Bratwurst, Chouri?o, Hamburger, etc etc etc etc etc
because there's nothing like a big juicy steak cooked medium where's a little bit pink still inside.........or bbq chicken or ribs in the summertime.....vegetables are alive too ya know.......when you bite into a poor defenseless carrot next time think about the pain and anguish you are inflicting on it....
You should be thankful thay they do because otherwise, what life would you have other that posting on YA why you hate meat eaters?
Kimberly- some of the most educated people I know are meat eaters. On the other hand, you comments lately make me think you are not. good thing I don't stereotype because frankly, you don't make a good example.
Because they were spoon fed it since birth and now they are addicted to the drugs and hormones inside the meat.
I have always thought... It takes a lazy person to eat meat. It requires no imagination whatsoever.
Personally, I continue to eat meat because I enjoy the taste of it. Although I mostly only eat chicken these days, red meat is much harder to digest and is a once in a while thing.
I have nothing against vegetarianism or veganism, I enjoy alot of veggie dishes... I've cooked and baked alot of vegan dishes. I'm actually a baker for a living and know alot of good recipes for veggie-friendly things.
It's just my personal choice to continue eating meat. I like it.
Because hunting and killing vegetables is just no fun.
Because that's what they want to do, fake Ashley.
Because we are selfish, and because we are ignorant.
I am selfish every time I eat shellfish. I know that. I, unlike some, feel guilt at times for doing something that I know is destructive and cruel. I know that meat is a huge waste of resources - water, land, grain - and that it destroys the environment.
Most people, I think, prefer to be ignorant about where their food comes from. Even if they don't care about the lives of the animal, they are either ignorant or just don't care about the effect their actions have on the quality of life for other human beings.
Just my two cents, as someone who's trying to avoid meat, but hasn't managed to go back to 100% vegetarianism.
Because they haven't been exposed to the information about what meat is doing to the environment- or because they lack the education to understand the information.
Because they heard on talk radio that global warming is a myth.
Because their preacher told them that that's why God made animals.
You're not going to like part of this:
1 - Veggie is fine, as is vegan, if you can get away with it. Out of curiosity, I even searched for and found evidence in scripture (for those of you who demand fish on Fridays) - will cite below.
2 - We have canine teeth, and are capable of digesting a variety of foods, ethical and non. I do not believe the argument that we aren't meant to eat meat at all due to genetics. (morals/ethics are a different part)
3 - Morally, I DO agree that people should be provided a choice, something along the lines of "if you want to eat meat, you have to kill and prepare it yourself" rather than "tasty cooked cow comes from a Scottish clown or the supermarket, and was never part of something cute".
4. I do NOT believe that "others" should decide that for me, one way or the other. I also think that we have more issues killing cute things (baby seals, dogs, etc) than we do killing, say, microorganisms when we breathe. It's all life, right? Where is the line drawn?
Point is, do whatever it is you need to do to feel right with yourself and your beliefs. More respect for others' differences is better than less, and presenting a differring idea plainly is always better than ramming it down someone's throat - sometimes literally.
mister mister vegetarians dont have stinky poos and farts, ive been a vegetarian since i was born and ive never had diarrhea since i was a baby. itsmuch better for u
and the reaosn they eat meat is cuz theyre selfish and would rather kill a helpless animal then eat a carrot stick!!
MEAT EATERS ARE GROSS
I think that in America there is a misconception that eating meat is the only way to be healthy. Being raised in the Midwest it is just as normal as breathing. I have so many people stop me and tell me that I'm not getting enough protein or what naught because I don't eat meat, when in reality I'm probably healthier then they are. Or my my other favorite is the, "I don't eat meat, I eat fish".
Fish is meat.
Meat is easy. Being a vegetarian isn't easy by any means. You have to read labels and go to special store, never eat at a chain restaurant unless you want a side of fries - hell you can't even get the soup because chances are even the veggie soup is beef based.
But in the end what can you really do besides stay aware of yourself? Or maybe work with a group that is trying to bring awareness to the community about the cruelty of meat...
Maybe one day people will stop eating meat, but I sadly doubt it.
I agree with Ken L and Sarah so far. There might be a point/series of justifications for being vegetarian, however that does not give you the right to bludgeon others with that choice you have made. If it is indeed your choice not to eat meat then it should make you happy and I don't think the attack of insults and denigration against meat eaters comes from a happy place. If you are so unhappy, please go back to eating meat.
Secondly, most people like you guys who are so insulting (I won't mention names/user names) should be reasonable sometimes in your condemnations. In one breadth you condemn meat eaters as losers, illiterates, uneducated, cruel, killers and at the same time you see no wrong in meting out cruelty to your fellow human beings.
...Nuff said...
Signed: One who is not a fan of eating meats from mammals for health and unmentioned moral reasons and is also committed to building fellow human beings up instead of destroying them/their ideologies and faiths
selfish , for taste.
Because it is our choice to do so. I respect your choice to be a vegetarian, why can't you respect my choices as well?
BECAUSE THEY ARE STILL LIVING IN DARKNESS
because it's easy...it's everywhere. especially chicken. there's a lot of chicken in everything when you go out to eat. i didn't even notice until i became vegetarian.
because:
its good for you
its natural
tasty
simple as.
remeber, u asked why, that is entirely why
most of the vegi Q's give some ova vegi the top answer saying "i dont know....etc etc"
1) lack of education
2) poor media stereotype of vegetarian, - people think we are hippie dippe types!
3) they do not care about their health
4) they do not care about the animals
5) they do not care about the environment
6) they think one person can not make difference - even though they can
7) they are brain washed
8) its part of their tradition to eat meat
9) they don't want to change
10) they think their meat - dead animals - taste too good.
11) they are too lazy to try cooking in different way
12) they think eating meat makes them more manly
13) they think eating meat makes them stronger
loads more reason. but basically humans do not like change, even if it improves their health, limit animal cruelty, and helps the world
exsft - lack of education on one topic does not mean an uneducated person. In fact, people are educated at different levels on different things, so no one is really educated or uneducated. They can have lack of education on a subject.
And which answers are you commenting on! - please do tell!
Because you cabnt force your opinion on people. And cos were supossed to, biologically speaking.