Elisabet Chiguil
Food & Nutrition
December 13, 2016
Every Day Diets
Whenever people hear the words vegetarian or vegan they immediately think
about a diet containing vegetables only. They think about the meat that the diet restricts. They
think about all the ice cream, chocolate, steaks, and clothes that they are not allowed to
wear. When people decide to become vegan or vegetarian, they are not following a diet, they
are choosing to take in a new lifestyle. Most people around the world think that becoming a
vegan is only a trend, and decide to ignore the true causes that lead people to adopt this
lifestyle. Changing a lifestyle is not simple, especially when it comes to changing food
choices. Animal products are tasty, but are they really worth all the consequences that they
bring along? Consuming animal products can bring harm to peoples health, to the
environment, and to animals as well. Having a plant-based diet benefits all of the negative
effects that a diet containing meat can bring along, and fulfills all of the nutrients a human
organism needs.
There is a current epidemic of obesity and autoimmune diseases all over the world.
Different studies carried out by Harvard, link the consumption of red meat to many diseases.
Cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, cancer, and osteoporosis are some of the
illnesses that are linked to the consumption of red meat (veal and pork). There are other
factors such as genes, radiation, and mutations that play a main roll in these diseases, but by
excluding all meats or at least reducing your consumption of meat in you diet, you may
reduce the risk of suffering from these illnesses. People who suffer from diabetes might
reduce the effects of the illness in their bodies, and even get rid of the sickness completely.
According to the American Cancer Society cancer is the second most common cause of death
in the United States, after heart diseases. According to the World Health Organization, cancer
cases may increase 70% in the next two decades. Meat is very high in saturated fat,
cholesterol, calories, carcinogenic compounds (when cooked), synthetic hormones, etc.
Animal protein is closely related to ours, so the body naturally tries to destroy them, and it
then may begin to turn on itself since auto-immune procedures are used to destroy such
proteins in our organisms. Meat does contain protein that many vegetables do not contain, but
by eating a combination of grains and vegetables, these protein needs may be met.
Meat is not the only food that is causing or triggering many diseases in our body.
Dairy products and eggs may cause damages to the human body. For centuries milk has been
promoted as a bountiful source of calcium, and that it is essential in the growth of children.
Milk is a good source of protein but there is no evidence that it reduces bone fractures. A
research published in the JAMA Pediatrics journal in 2013 found that countries that have
lower accessibility to milk had lower fracture rates in children, than children who lived in
milk-drinking countries. Also, consuming too much milk can lead to anemia due to large
consumption of iron. There are other foods that have the same and even more protein that
milk that could bring more nutritional value into ones diet. Eggs are another food that people
think they need in their every day diets. They are not as harmful as dairy is, but egg
consumption should be limited to only one egg per day. Eating more than one per day, or
more than three yolks per week, might significantly increase risk heart failure.
Not only does the consumption of meat, dairy, and eggs affect ones health greatly, it
also impacts the environment. Meat was necessary for our survival at one time, but we have
come to a point where the environment can just not support the rate that food is being
produced. According to the UN in 2010, Impacts from agriculture are expected to increase
substantially due to population growth, increasing consumption of animal products. A
substantial reduction of impacts would only be possible with a substantial worldwide diet
change, away from animal products. National Geographic says that the worlds rainforests
could run low and even disappear within the next 100 years due to the deforestation.
Agriculture is one of the biggest reasons why deforestation occurs, since farmers cut down
trees for more land to grow crops or to graze their livestock. The Wageningen University and
Research Centre says that 80% - 87% of deforestation worldwide occurs due to agriculture.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of The United Nations A new report
from FAO says livestock production is one of the major causes of the worlds most pressing
environmental problems, including global warming, land degradation, air and water pollution,
and loss of biodiversity. Currently, about 795 million people around the world suffer from
malnourishment when there is so much food that people would be able to eat if it were given
to them, but instead are fed to animals. To produce 1 pound of flesh, cows have to eat 16
pounds of vegetation, and it takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce a pound of meat. Enough
fossil fuels are used to make a hamburger to drive a small car 20 miles. 85% of the soil
erosion in the United States is due to the meat industry. The Worldwatch Institute said,
Roughly 2 of every 5 tons of grain produced in the world is fed to livestock, poultry or fish;
decreasing consumption of these products, especially beef, could free up massive quantities
of grain and reduce pressure on land. Not only is the depletion of our natural resources an
effect of raising livestock, but also cow emissions have become an incredibly big problem.
According to the UNs Food and Agriculture Organization statistics, cattle population are is
of 1.4 billion and cows produce methane due to the fact that they have to eat a lot, and chew
cud to be able to grow. In 2006 the organization also reported that livestock generates more
greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent 18 percent- than transport. The
average cow can produce enough methane per year to do the same damage as 4 tons of
carbon dioxide. Granted, sheep, goats, giraffes, and deer all have four stomachs (they are
called ruminants due to that) but due to the amount of veal that has to be produced for
consumption, cows currently produce more methane than all other ruminants combined.
When the food reaches the first stomach of the animal, it has to regurgitate it which is called
cud and they do this to be able to digest the food. Microbes help in their digestive process,
and create methane gas. This methane is then released into the atmosphere through cows
burps, manure, and farts. Methane is known to be 21 times more potent in trapping heat from
the sun than carbon dioxide itself. According to NASAs Goddard institute, methane
emissions have increased by 150% since the 19th century. Leaks from oil drills and landfills
also are part of the problem in producing methane gas, but livestock produce over 28% of all
emissions. According to Crown Research Institute in New Zealand, one cow lets out about 30
to 50 gallons of methane per day, now add that up to 1.4 and 1.5 billion cows. Waste from
pigs, cows, chicken, and fish typically end up in the ocean, contributing a majority of
pollution in the oceans.
Many vegetarians think that eating fish does not contribute to animal cruelty or
environmental hazard since they are not raised on land like other animals. Fish meat does
contain less fat than other animals, but it also contains omega-3 fatty acids. Such acids can be
found in much healthier foods such as flax seeds, canola, soybean, walnuts, tofu, pumpkin,
and wheat germ since they do not contain heavy metals and carcinogens found in fish. As
mentioned before, all the pollution from raising animals for food ends up in the oceans and
such waste is absorbed or eaten by fish. Impaired behavioral development in children,
cancers, nervous system disorders, and fetal damage has been linked to the toxic chemicals
found in fish flesh from pollution in the ocean. Dr. Neal Barnard (director of Physicians
Committee for Responsible Medicine) says fish are, a mixture of fat and protein, seasoned
with toxic chemicals. Nets used for fishing can take 800,000 pounds of fish, which destroys
coral reefs and scrapes up ocean floor. Other species are caught in the nets accidentally, and
about 30 million tons of animals are thrown back into the ocean each year. Such species have
laws that protect them, and fishing in the ocean has caused many species to decline in
population. When the animals are thrown back into the ocean they are either dying, or already
dead. The number of large predatory fish tuna, swordfish, cod, etc.- has decreased over the
last 50 years. Ransom Myers, a biologist at Dalhousie University says, Unless we seriously
control industrial fishing worldwide, many of the species will go extinct.
Finally, animal cruelty is another issue that consuming animal products brings along.
51.4 billion chickens are artificially hatched and raised every year around the world.
Chickens life span is 10 to 15 years, but they are fattened up and slaughtered as 42-day-old
babies. Turkeys and chickens represent 99% of the land animals that are slaughtered for food.
Cows, pigs, and chickens are genetically manipulated to grow which often results in
disastrous consequences. Chickens are arguably the most manipulated since they are forced to
grow 65 times faster than they naturally would. Heart failure is common in chickens (at a rate
of 4.7%) but only in the first 42 days of their life. Two of Free from Harms rescued chickens
die of heart failure in their first 4 months since they still have the organs of a baby chick but a
body of a full-grown chicken. About 12.5 billion chickens around the world suffer painful leg
problems yearly, like lameness due to their unnatural growth. The beaks of chickens, turkeys,
and even ducks are removed since stress from being confined can lead to cannibalism. Their
excrement is high in ammonia so respiratory diseases and ammonia burn are common
illnesses in chickens. After six weeks, chickens are stuffed into crates to be transported. They
suffer from broken legs and wings, lacerations, dehydration, hemorrhage, heat stroke,
hypothermia, and heart failure. Millions of chickens die even before reaching the
slaughterhouse due to the transportation process. All of the transportation process from the
farms to the slaughterhouses takes up to 12 hours, and even after they arrive, they stay
another 12 hours in tiny crates with no food or water. Chickens that are sick or injured are
thrown alive into mass graves. Chickens who do enter the slaughterhouse are dragged upside
down through electrified water, still fully conscious, and most slaughterhouses use this
method since the feathers come off easier after they die. Millions of chickens and turkeys are
scalded alive after their throats are cut open, which is incredibly painful to them since they do
not die immediately. Virgil Butler, a former slaughterhouse employee says, the chickens
scream, kick, and their eyeballs pop out of their heads. Other chickens are stuffed down a
funnel, head first, and their necks are slashed. It is considered the most humane method of
killing chickens but they do not die immediately, making it an incredibly painful death. Egg-
laying chickens are sometimes starved up to 14 days without any water in order to prepare
them for molting. 5% to 10% percent die during the process.
Cows are thought to be stupid but they are as diverse as cats, dogs, and people. They
feel fear, and they have a natural preservation instinct. Cattle who do survive veal farms and
dairy sheds are crammed into trucks where they are not given food or water during their
journey to the slaughterhouses which can last for days. Many cows collapse due to the heat
and other cows freeze to the sides of the truck in low temperatures, until they are pried off
with crowbars. Some cows are too sick or hurt to walk, so they are chained or roped by their
legs to be dragged off the truck. The cows that are healthy enough to walk, are afraid to leave
the truck so they are shocked with electric prods. A former USDA inspector reports that,
Uncooperative animals are beaten, they have prods poked in their faced and up their
rectum. After being unloaded, cows are shot in the head captive-bolt gun that is used to daze
them. But due to the amount of cows, the technique fails and leaves the animals insensible to
pain. Ramon Moreno was a slaughterhouse worker who told the Washington Post that he cut
off legs from completely conscious cows. He says, They blink. They make noises. The head
moves, the eyes are wide and looking aroundthey die piece by piece. Another worker
named Martin Fuentes also told the Washington post that many animals stay alive or
conscious for as long as 7 minutes after their throats are cut. He says, The line is never
stopped simply because an animal is alive.
Pigs life span is about 10 to 15 years but factory pigs are sent to be killed only six
months after they are born. After piglets are born, their tails are removed, they are castrated,
and their teeth are cut without any anesthesia, resulting in infection and incredible pain. The
piglets writhe and squeal in pain. When farmers load the pigs into the truck, they beat their
noses or backs with sticks or electric prods if they are too afraid to go inside. Pigs are
crammed into trucks, and are given no food or water, and are so tightly packed that they
suffer from injuries. Just like cows, some pigs die from the heat in hot weather and other may
freeze to the sides of the truck in cold temperatures. Sometimes pigs are even piled on top of
each other creating even more stress. Many pigs die from heart attacks due to stress, panic,
and fear. Since pigs at farms are raised in crates, many of them have difficulty walking. When
they are unloaded from the truck, they try to run when they see all the space ahead of them,
but often collapse due to their weak state. 1,100 pigs are slaughtered every hour typically in
factories. Due to the amount of pigs that need to be slaughtered, a humane death is not an
option. They are stunned, but it often fails due to the speed that they need to be killed, and
reach the scalding tank alive. The USDA reported 14 humane-slaughter violations at a
processing plant. Hogs were walking and squealing after being stunned as many as four
times. The pigs are chained by their hind legs (occasionally only one) and hung up. Their
throats are then sliced open, from the base of their neck to their jaw, but they cannot bleed out
in a few minutes. Some are left hanging alive in pain and bleeding to death, while others
reach the scalding fully conscious.
Fish are probably the hardest animals to sympathize with, but inhumane methods of
slaughter are still globally used. The most traditional method for killing farmed fish is to
asphyxiate in air or on ice, which is a slow process. The EUs AHAW panel of scientists
reports that fish are removed from water to up to 20 minutes before being stunned. Other fish
have their bellies sliced open while they are still alive, and may stay alive for hours after that.
Fish feel pain and fear, which is why they writhe so much when these methods of slaughter
are used on them. There are many methods that could kill them instantly, but only if they are
carried out correctly, and are not used often. Many fish are sold alive and fresh, which
violates the World Organization for Animal Healths fish welfare guidelines.
Meat, dairy, and eggs have become part of society and part of our diets. We have
reached a point where the earth cannot sustain the rate of food production. But, we have also
reached a point where there are many methods of fulfilling all of the protein and nutrients we
need, without the consumption of animal products is possible. Taking up a vegan lifestyle is
now easier to reach than ever before; it benefits your body, the environment, and the animals
greatly. In the future, there will have to be drastic changes in our diets if we do not start now.
Reducing the amount of meat we eat is also a solution, but it has to be reduced quite
significantly. The deforestation of our forests worsens every year, and will continue to
increase unless something is done. Animal cruelty will continue to occur, and even increase
in number over the next 20 years. Products derived from animals are delicious, but are they
really worth all the harm to your health, to the environment, and to animals? Having a plant-
based diet benefits all of the negative effects that a diet containing meat can bring along, and
fulfills all of the nutrients a human organism needs.
Part of my reason for being vegetarian was because it practices respect and love for life all through the day,
so three times a day, you make the decision to eat things that have not been killed. Natalie Portman
Sources
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meat
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