30 Reasons To Stop Eating Meat
Global meat consumption has increased from under 50 million tons annually to over 200 million tons in the last 50 years. The amount of animal manure produced in the U.S. is 130 times greater than the amount of human waste. This is causing more environmental and health problems than ever seen before. Here are 30 reasons to stop eating meat:
1 ) To Help Stop World Poverty
It is estimated that around 760 million tons of grain is fed to farmed animals so that people can eat meat. Far more people could be fed with that amount of grain versus the amount of meat. The Worldwatch Institute claims, “Continued growth in meat output is dependent on feeding grain to animals, creating competition for grain between affluent meat-eaters and the world’s poor.” Contrary to uninformed arguments that not eating meat would lead to problems in agriculture. If everyone gave up eating meat, we could feed about seven times the population that we currently do without using any additional farmland.
2 ) Lower Carbon Footprint
A United Nations report finds that eating meat causes almost forty per cent more carbon emissions than all the cars, trucks, ships and planes in the world combined. It takes around twenty times more fossil fuel to grow meat compared to the equivalent weight of vegetables. Not producing meat will lead to lower gas prices and reducing the use of precious fossil fuels. And now the South American rain forests are being destroyed to make room for livestock this is having a negative impact on oxygen levels.
3 ) To Preserve Land
Cattle overgrazing is destroying the land at an unsustainable rate. At takes a minimum of two hundred years to develop an inch of topsoil. In the past two hundred years the USA have lost about seven inches due to animal farming.
4 ) Reduce Pollution
The mass production of meat produces an excessive amount of manure that ends up polluting both the nearby rivers and streams and kills fish. Many reports show higher rates of respiratory problems, miscarriages and neurological diseases among people who live near factory farms.
5 ) Avoid Mad Cow Disease
Mad cow disease takes years for the disease to show up in humans. There is more of a risk in America as unlike their European counterparts they didn’t follow advice on stopping the unnatural feeding of animal protein to cows. Despite the third case of mad cow disease in the US in 2006 the USDA scaled back their testing. This article is just one example of a BSE cover up in 2010
It seems that avoiding cow meat is the only sure way of avoiding Mad Cow Disease.
6 ) Avoid Bird Flu
The World Health Organisation states that in the event of the mutation of the avian flu virus- it could even be caught touching eggshells contaminated with the virus (eating the meat and eggs would be more dangerous).
7 ) Ward off Obesity
Meat-eaters are nine times more likely to be obese than vegans.
8 ) Live Longer
Vegetarians live an average of seven years longer than meat-eaters do. Studies show that vegans tend to live about fifteen years longer.
9 ) Show Respect for Life
Despite all of the technology man has manufactured we cannot manufacture life from scratch. We don’t have the right to take the life of any living being. As Leonardo da Vinci quoted “The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men.”
10 ) Eating meat doesn’t make you anymore masculine
Everyone knows someone who feels their masculinity is threatened if they stop eating meat. Tell that to Andre 3000, Nelly, Tobey Maguire, Mike Tyson, Vegan Badass Patrik Baboumian and professional skater Ed Templeton.
11 ) Protection from Cancer and Heart Disease
Studies suggest that vegetarians are 50 percent less likely to develop heart disease than meat-eaters. Drs Dean Ornish and Caldwell Esselstyn have used a vegan diet to prevent and reverse heart disease with a 100% success rate. Vegetarians have 40 percent of the cancer rate of meat-eaters.
12 ) To Keep a Healthy Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Level
Meat-eaters often consume more bad fats that clog arteries leading to higher blood pressure and resulting in higher cholesterol levels.
13 ) To Lower the Risk of Diabetes
Meat eaters have a higher rate of diabetes- possibly because they consume less whole grains, fruits and vegetables than vegans and vegetarians.
14 ) To Save Money
A well planned vegan lifestyle is a lot cheaper, and as mass production of meat is subsidized via taxes the prices seen in supermarkets do not reflect the real cost of meat.
15) Conserving Precious Water
It takes more than four hundred gallons of water to grow and supply a pound of beef compared to only fourteen gallons of water for a pound of wheat.
16 ) Preserve Rare Animal Life
It has been estimated that for each hamburger made from beef raised in the rain forest- approximately twenty-five different plant species and numerous birds, mammals and reptiles are destroyed.
17 ) To Keep Bones Healthy
Studies show that at the age of 65, the average meat-eater has twice the bone loss of their vegetarian counterparts. It is likely to be excess protein consumption that leads to poor retention and absorption of calcium.
18 ) Eating Meat is Bad for Health
Beef and other meat products increase your chances of developing heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease and even impotence.
19 ) Compassion for Animals
Factory farming crams animals in filthy spaces and horrible conditions. Cattle are subjected to abuses such as having their horns sliced off, branding with chemicals and castration for males (often with no painkillers). Many animals live in their own waste, are forced to constantly breathe in ammonia, and are fed hard to digest cheap food. When time for slaughter comes animals are shipped without food or water to the slaughterhouse, where many of the animals are still conscious throughout the process.
20 ) Reduce Toxic Exposure to Chemicals
Meat is usually treated with chemicals and preservatives to help them look more appealing and stay fresher. These chemicals can be toxic and the EPA estimates that about 95 percent of pesticides in a meat-eaters diet come from eating meat, fish and dairy. Fish is more problematic as it contains carcinogens and metals such as mercury and arsenic that cannot be eliminated by cooking them.
21 ) Spiritual Benefits
According to Vedic philosophy and many religions, eating meat hampers spiritual development. The bad karma gained from meat eating results in a lower vibration. Some people claim that when animals are slaughtered, negative emotions like fear and anger leak into their cells and remain in the flesh for the meat-eater to absorb when they eat it.
22 ) Mental Benefits
People who stop eating meat often describe a mental fog being lifted after adopting a vegetarian diet. This effect is amplified when becoming vegan (as found by Steve Pavlina).
23 ) Cows Are Sacred
Cows are sociable gentle animals. In Vedic philosophy the cow is likened to the mother as she gives milk. Studies have found that cows have different personalities and even grieve when their friends or family members die. More reasons to not eat cows are here and reasons to forsake dairy in Cruelty free Dairy.
24 ) The Best Tasting Food is Meat-Free
If you don’t believe me get yourself down to your local Hare Krishna temple and eat some prasadam. No other food tastes as good!
25 ) The Human Body is Not Made for Digesting Meat
Looking at the human body and teeth with flat rear molars for grinding, weaker stomach acid and alkaline saliva it is clear that human body is not carnivorous. Meat putrefies in around four to five hours and bodies suited to digesting meat have a straight and short intestinal tract to avoid poisoning. The human intestinal tract shares characteristics with herbivores being around ten times the body length to fully absorb nutrients from plant matter and grain.
26 ) Following My Ancestors Diet
Surprisingly the ADA (American Dietetic Association) finds that “most of mankind for most of human history has lived on a vegetarian or Lacto-ovo vegetarian diet”. This is true in my own family, and many live to their nineties. The vegetarians suffer less illness and are fitter and younger looking.
27 ) Avoid Food Poisoning
Meat-eaters get food poisoning more than vegetarians. Meat is often frozen and during transportation can thaw and refreeze making it a breeding ground for bacteria. Estimates hold meat responsible for around eighty percent of food poisoning cases.
28 ) To Avoid Eating Body Waste
Meat contains the animal’s waste and it has been said that leftover blood and urine are the flavouring elements in a hamburger.
29 ) To Eat The Right Amount of Good Quality Protein
It is estimated the average American eats three to four times the recommended daily protein intake. The excess protein can cause a lot of related health problems due to the excess nitrogen in the blood.
30 ) To Raise the Vibration of Human Society
How can we live in a peaceful society when millions of innocent animals are being slaughtered? I believe in ahimsa or nonviolence. The words of Mahatma Gandhi sum it up perfectly: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”