Have you ever questioned what you put into your body? Do you ever wonder where it came from? The next time you eat, think about where it came from. Is it a vegetable that grew from a garden at a nearby farm, or is it a fat saturated hamburger that came from a mistreated animal slaughterhouse. Meat can be very harmful to your health and the environment. That's why vegetarianism is an idealistic lifestyle. Meat-eaters unethically use resources by: killing animals, causing pollution and deforestation, and putting themselves at risk for high cholesterol, cancer, and obesity.
We all know that one person amongst our friends or family that has a heart for animals and refuses the thought of eating a poor furry friend. Others believe that animals were put here for a reason to be eaten and used as a resource, but what most people don't know is how badly animals are mistreated in factories and in slaughterhouses. Most animal's diets are interchanged and modified to save money and make the company more efficient. What this means is that the animals often suffer from deficiency of vitamins and nutrients. The PETA organization says, The factory farming industry strives to maximize output while minimizing costs—always at the animals’ expense. The giant corporations that run most factory farms have found that they can make more money by cramming animals into tiny spaces, even though many of the animals get sick and some die. The industry journal National Hog Farmer explains, “Crowding pigs pays,” and egg-industry expert Bernard Rollins writes that “chickens are cheap; cages are expensive.” (4). Realistically, a healthy diet doesn't need to contain meat. Killing animals is an unethical use of resources. In fact, diets not containing any...
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...rse there are meats you should stay away from, but others like chicken and pork supply some protein. When choosing your meat, be very careful.
There are many reasons you shouldn't eat meat, and there are many reasons out there that you should. These reason need to be prioritized and recognized. Vegetarianism is a very idealistic lifestyle, over all it promotes better health, saves the environment, resources, and our animals. Eliminating meat from your diet affects more than just what you're eating.
Works Cited http://vegetarian.procon.org http://hhwa.org/natural-conncetion-articles/63-the-pros-and-cons-of-vegetarian-diets http://www.livestrong.com/article/196211-pros-cons-of-a-vegetarian-diet/ http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/factory-farming/ http://www.vrg.org/blog/ http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/diet/2001-12-07-vegetarian.htm
“The assumption that animals are without rights and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality."( Schopenhauer). Vegetarianism and animal rights movement have been crossing each other since 70’s. The meeting point between two is veganism which means strict vegetarianism. Vegetarianism was firstly founded as being formed on ethical issues and then it became mostly based on health reasons. Even though vegetarianism has evolved drastically over time, some of its current forms have come back full circle to its early days, when vegetarianism was an ethical-philosophical choice, not a mere health choice.
Though vegetarianism was never a taboo subject as are some other controversial topics, The question of whether or not human beings should live off meat still is highly discussed amongst all types of people. Spiritual leaders, activists, scientists, and doctors have spoken up on behalf of their group’s opinion. Amongst the arguments of what is right when it comes to the food chain, resonating on many a mind is where the concept of vegetarian came from. Was it started as a religious virtue or a moral decision? Perhaps it was a forced lifestyle or a diet trend gone wrong (or right depending). Health wise, which is better for us? Educating ourselves by answering these questions helps us answer the, perhaps, most important question of all. Which lifestyle will we, as individuals, choose?
Every day across America millions of people wake up to start their morning. Throughout the day the vast majority of these people will consume meat, but 3% will replace the pig, cow, and chicken products for vegetable or fruit made meals (Harris). These vegetarians all have many different reasons to make this choice. This decision is a huge change in one’s life and is not without questions. Some people may wonder why would anyone abstain from the amazing food that contains meat. This essay will briefly explain the history of vegetarianism, the reasons for vegetarianism, and answer questions about vegetarianism. Vegetarian diets are all around better than diets containing meat because of three main reasons; the abuse of animals, the environmental damage, and the health benefits for humans.
“Let food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.” stated Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, 460-377 BC (Silverstone 15). Every American should live by this quote, but things have drastically changed since Hippocrates voiced that divine statement . Nowadays peoples personification of health has nothing to do with what we consume on an everyday basis. Our generation, most certainly will drive straight to McDonalds’s for a Big Mac without hesitation of the harm it is doing to your body. Education of health is essential; people need to learn what they are eating and how it will affect them in the long run. Due to mega rich corporations and institutions, they are keeping all of us in this denial because of pouring millions of dollars into efforts to keep us from knowing what is truly going on (Silverstone 16). Whether it’s to help reduce your risk of diseases, or purely to attain better health, leaving farmed animals entirely out of your diet is an effortless decision with life-long benefits. Plant-based diets will strengthen your immune system, beautify your skin, increase your energy, and reduce risk of various diseases (Silverstone 1). Being vegetarian is a step in the right direction by protecting your health, animals, and the environment.
Appropriately planned vegetarian diets can be essential to any one, in any stage of their life. Vegetarian diets are associated with lower risks of cancer, death from ischemic heart disease or any cardiovascular disease. Also lower body mass index (BMI), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, low blood pressure and lower rates of hypertension than those of which are non-vegetarians.
Like many other industries, the farming industry has evolved into big business, “Animals on factory farms are regarded as commodities to be exploited for profit.” In each industry from clothing to instruments, the bosses want to make a profit. The more they can supply with the least amount of waste, the more profit they make. The same goes for factory farming. However instead of humans being the ones directly affected by big bosses, the animals are. They don’t have a voice, and can’t stand up for what is right or wrong. These animals are manipulated in every way to make a better profit. Factory farms mass produce animals for ...
However, by carefully planning and knowing which plant foods to choose, vegetarians can avoid these disadvantages. Leafy greens and almonds, for example, are high in calcium, and flaxseed and chia seeds provide omega-3s. Eating plant-based iron with a source of vitamin C will improve absorption, such as a spinach salad with sliced strawberries or orange sections. Most plant-based proteins – with the exception of soy and quinoa – are incomplete, which means they don’t provide all the amino acids necessary to build muscle and tissue, like animal foods do. To avoid a protein deficiency, vegetarians need to combine proteins throughout the day. For example, eating beans with brown rice or hummus with whole-wheat pita bread will supply the needed amino acids. (Paula
Today’s medical experts say that avoiding meat helps you avoid saturated fat. They have found out from studies that women who eat meat daily have a fifty percent greater risk of developing heart disease than vegetarian women and a sixty-eight percent greater risk in men (staff writer). People may not know about serious diseases meat can cause such as, mad cow disease and foot-and-mouth disease. In the September 1999 issue of the Emerging Infectious Diseases, approximately 76 million food-borne illnesses- resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths occur in the United States each year from improperly cooked or diseased meat (Licher). That is a lot of fun!
Factory farms have portrayed cruelty to animals in a way that is horrific; unfortunately the public often does not see what really goes on inside these “farms.” In order to understand the conditions present in these factory farms, it must first be examined what the animals in these factory farms are eating. Some of the ingredients commonly used in feeding the animals inside factory farms include the following: animal byproducts, plastic, drugs and chemicals, excessive grains, and meat from members of the same species. (Adams, 2007) These animals are tortured and used for purely slaughter in order to be fed on. Typically large numbers of animals are kept in closed and tight confinements, having only little room to move around, if even that. These confinements can lead to suffocation and death and is not rare. Evidence fr...
The animals that are raised in factory farms, and the farms are ran just like any other business. According to the article Factory Framing, Misery of Animals, the factory farming industry strives to maximize output while minimizing cost, always at the animal’s expense. “The giant corporations that run most factory farms have found that they can make more money by squeezing as many animals as possible into tiny spaces, even though many of the animals die from disease or infection” (Factory Farming). This is actually quit disgusting that we eat food that walks around in each other’s feces and can attract disease. These animals live a life of abuse, but we sit back and say it’s okay because we will eventually eat them. “Antibiotics are used to make animals grow faster and to keep them alive in the unsanitary conditions. Research shows that factory farms widespread use of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria that threatens human health” (Factory Farming). These animals aren’t treated with proper care and we act as if they are machines. Chickens for example, become so big and distorted that their legs can longer support them. Eventually they die because they can longer walk to get food or water. According to Factory Farming, most of these animals have been genetically manipulated to grow larger and to produce more eggs and milk than they naturally
People have used the argument that eating meat plays an important role in the overall health of a human and it is the way the cycle of life is meant to be, but this is not the case. Eating meat is unnecessary. Becoming a vegetarian could save countless animals from unnecessary suffering, improve human health, and help preserve numerous natural resources.
Numerous people believe that a vegetarian diet is unhealthy for the reason that one is not consuming enough protein since there is a decrease in the consumption of meat. However, meat is not the only source of protein. Nuts and grains contain great amounts of protein, and by eating these in the place of meat, one not only gets protein, but avoids the harmful carbohydrates and fats that are in animal meats. Consuming supplements can also help gain nutrients if the diet is not providing enough. There are countless amounts of nutritional supplements that one can purchase, including fish oil and omega 3s. These can be fairly cheap if purchased at the right place, and easily give bodies the nutrients they crave to function.
...ming I will be willing to contribute in any way that I can, and becoming a vegetarian will help the environment a great deal. Becoming a vegetarian can also lead to becoming a healthier person and living a healthy lifestyle. And lastly, the way animals are killed and treated in factory farms are unethical and they should not be treated the way they are just to create a meal for the next person.Consider that the animal you are eating was a vegetarian and the meat contains all the minerals and vitamins of the plant foods it ate when you eat it. Along with fats yourbody needs in substantial amounts to stay healthy.....more on the fats later. Meat is as close to a complete meal as you can get because of this.
Every person has the ability to make their own choice of whether to eat meat or not. However, eating meat is directly tied to negative health effects, pollution leading to a depletion of ozone, and the depletion of hundreds of thousands of acres of land “wasted” on animal production when they could be used to solve the hunger crisis or lower emission levels. What humans eat is no longer a matter of choice; it has become a matter of life and death. Literally, the future of the whole planet rests on the decision of whether or not to eat meat. If humans chose to eat less meat the world that wouldn’t have to suffer the consequences (outlined above.) Vegetarianism is one possibility, as is Veganism; however the world would be
In conclusion, vegetarianism benefits many part of our life. A healthier body, a better environment, and more fair treatment of animals are all requites of becoming vegetarians. It is hard to change eating habits, but it is not impossible. There are many kinds of food that vegetarians can choose today. The taste of the non-meat food is not all bad and some of them maybe much better than imagination. It is not wise to deny being a vegetarian before trying to be. With more and more people adopting the vegetarian diet, the world will be a better place in the future: animals will be treated better; global warming will be alleviated; fewer people will be starving, and ultimately, people will be healthier and be living longer. Therefore, people should start action before it is too late.