People become vegetarians for a number of different reasons, some of the most popular reasons are for the environment, the wellbeing of animals, their own health and wellbeing or simply for a lifestyle change. Some people are vegetarian from birth as their parents are vegetarian or they follow a religion with certain moral beliefs. It has been said that a vegetarian diet is more sustainable and can also be more beneficial to your health- should more of us be willing to ‘miss out meat?’
More and more people are becoming aware of the vegetarian lifestyle and the vast health benefits. Studies show that people who are vegetarians are less likely than meat eaters to suffer from type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancers and other medical conditions. Those who follow a vegetarian diet are also less likely to become obese and tend to have a lower average body mass index (bmi). In 2013 one of the largest studies in the UK compared the rates of heart disease between those who were meat eaters and vegetarians, the study concluded that
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Millions of people around the world believe it’s barbaric for the animals to suffer and then die. The UK is said to be a nation of animal lovers, but more than two and a half million farm animals are slaughtered everyday just to satisfy the nations love for meat. Cats, dogs and other animals share our lives and our homes whereas cattle, pigs, sheep and other farm animals are seen as little more than disposable commodities. In order to produce such large amounts of meat, growth rates have increased 300% in the past 50 years. Around 100,000 chickens die each year as a result of health problems caused by the way they are treated many animals are killed at just 6-7 weeks old, while they should live for seven years. Similarly cattle should have a life span of 25 years but are killed at just 2 years
Instead, big companies are choosing to risk their client’s health by feeding animals what they are not supposed to eat and pumping them with e Coli and stuffing them in a tiny barn where they can’t flap a wing and are forced to stand in feces which may or may not be their own . In The Jungle, they described how they treated dead animal meat, now just imagine how they must have treated the alive animals. This next quote is describing how they kept the meat . “Every Spring they did it; and in the barrels there would be dirt and rust and old nails and stale water- and cartload after cartload of it would be taken up and dumped into the hoppers with fresh meat, and sent out to the public’s breakfast” (Pg. 143, The Jungle)
The pain is far less than hammed the animals into death. It is undertand why farm does not have technology like the slaughterhouses. New technology costs money. Profit is out-weight than humanity. In this situation, it is important for state rule maker to insure that animal suffer the least pain at possible.
“To satisfy the public's ever-growing appetite for meat, slaughterhouses in the United States killed ten billion animals last year. That's 27,397,260 animals every day, 1,141,553 every hour, 19,026 every minute” (Jones). Many animals are being placed in slaughter houses each year to meet this high demand. Farm animal welfare refers to the state, living condition, and treatment, animals are but under in farms. Cruel animal welfare has spread throughout the world killing millions of animals in inhumane ways.
“Strong growth in meat production and consumption continues despite mounting evidence that meat-based diets are unhealthy, and that just about every aspect of meat production is an environmental disaster with wide sometimes catastrophic consequences.” “The Case Against Meat” article attempts to convince environmentalists to become vegetarians and achieves this purpose efficiently. “The Case Against Meat” is written by Jim Motavalli, a speaker, journalist, and author of nine books specializing in environmental issues. The article was published in The Environmental Magazine in February 2002, with fellow environmentalists as Jim’s target audience. Vegetarianism is a divisive topic today.
There are many reasons why people choose not to eat meat. Studies indicate how animals are mistreated. Animals’ are known to carry diseases but are more seen as impure for they are injected with steroids, drugs and hormones in order to produce larger quantities of meat which not only has a negative effect on the animal but can lead to cancer in humans. Research has claimed that
Growing up with a pescetarian mother (eating no meat other than fish) and omnivore father has not been the easiest of tasks. My mother likes to think she is holier-than-thou because of her diet, while my father just sits and laughs in the corner while eating a stack of ribs. When I read Alan Richmands excerpt “Fork It Over: My Beef with Vegans” I identified with his experiences with vegans because they were what I had experienced with my pescetarian mother over the years. Despite non meat eaters trying to convert meat eaters through persistent ranting, describing in great detail how the animals are raised and slaughtered (guilt tripping), and by trying to demonstrate that food made without animal products can taste just as good as those made with animal products a person can still make the decision to eat meat and enjoy it.
As diets and health become more and more of a public concern in America. Two authors weigh in on their opinions on how the American public should handle the problem of obesity as well as their solutions to the overwhelming issue. In one article, “Against Meat,” published on the New York Times website in 2009, points out that the solution to obesity should be vegetarianism. Johnathan Foer who is a vegetarian, claims that his diet and way of living is his the way of improving health in the American public. Foer’s article provides a sense of humor as well as personal stories to attempt to persuade his audience for the ethical treatment of animals along with his personal solution for his own health and the health of his family.
The types of evidence provided throughout the essay, primarily consists of facts, examples, and descriptions, with only one account of statistics provided. For the most part, the evidence given, is unreliable and does not prove to be credible or strong enough to be taken into consideration as sound proof to Garretson’s claims on vegetarianism. An example of an unreliable instance of evidence presented by Garretson, can be seen through her first fact. At the beginning of her essay, Garretson reasons that vegetarians are healthier than meat eaters and lists supposed benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle, which she says includes “a lower body mass index, significantly decreased cancer rates…longer life expectancies, and [avoidance] of Alzheimer’s disease and osteoporosis”. (162)
In today’s world, there is a division among the people in the world regarding whether or not it is ethical to eat meat. After researching about eating meat and vegetarianism, I have come to the conclusion that it is indeed ethical to eat meat in today’s society. Sure, eating meat might have its drawbacks, but I have found that the benefits of eating meat far outweigh the negatives of eating it. Eating meat not only helps improve people’s health, but it also helps strengthen our economy and it has little difference in the environmental impact that involves in the farming of vegetables. Eating too much of anything usually results in a negative outcome.
“I asked myself a question: "Knowing what I know, why am I not a vegetarian?"’ Graham Hill, an inspiring speaker, introduced a new way to eat. During his speech on TED Talk, he explains to his audience how eating meat has affected the world. In a calm and humorous tone, Hill proposes his purpose. He explains to his audience by becoming a “weekday veg” you will live a better live, it’s great compromise that will help people, animals, and the environment.
The meat packing industry disregards animal’s emotions and their rights all together by the malicious treatment of animals. The way animals are being treated is highly unfair. Being slaughtered for their body parts and suffering just to be used for protein or an asset to humans is unbearable. An animal’s life is at equal values to a human and deserve the same rights as
“In 2016, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated that Americans ate an average of 54.3 pounds of beef, 92.1 pounds of chicken, and 50.4 pounds of pork, per person, per year” (Vegetarianism). Food production counts for only one of the many injustices animals face daily. Although they have been proven emotionally intelligent, mankind views these entities as subservient and continue to harm them. People around the world have created organizations that work to ameliorate the treatment of animals. As the animal rights movement nobly fights to improve the conditions of these living creatures, daily human activities and the moral values of some prolong the acceptance of animal equality.
Also, ubiquitous vegetarians negatively affect the environment. Hence, a regular diet consisting of meat outclasses vegetarianism in health and environmental impacts. To go along with poor personal health, vegetarianism negatively affects the health of the environment and endanger the lives of other organisms. For starters, David Pimentel and Marcia Pimentel from the “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition” states, “about 90% of US cropland suffers from topsoil loss at 13 times the sustainable rate” (qtd.
Vegetarians consume less animal fats and cholesterol and replaces it with more antioxidants and fibers. If more people decided to become vegetarians it would not only improve people’s health but also the environment and the economy. Taking America as an example, the statistics show that nearly 70% of America 's adults are suffering from obesity and one of the consequences of this is getting a heart disease meaning that you most likely have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. This is usually because the typical american diet is not very healthy because of the amount of bad fats and fast food they are consuming. If an american were to change to a vegetarian diet, the majority of the bad fats will be eliminated and replaced by foods that are
Today the modern American is not vegan, but what is commonly known as a “meat-eater,” or more specifically an omnivore. It is widely known that eating meat comes with various positive and negative attributions. Though for non meat-eaters, where does their health state stand? Becoming vegan for one's health,