Vegetarianism: The Negative Effects On The Environment

In Michael Pollan’s book, An Omnivore’s Dilemma, we are focused on many different views of eating meat and other foods that are products of animals. The majority of those who chose to consume

Is eating meat a detrimental threat to the environment? This debate over meat’s involvement in the global warming crisis was what inspired Nicolette Hahn Niman to write, “The Carnivore’s Dilemma.” Niman hoped writing, “The Carnivore’s Dilemma,” would cause her audience to understand that eating meat, raised on traditional farms, was a superior alternative to vegetarianism. Niman supported her claim by explaining how industrialized farms and vegetarians produce more of the three greenhouse gases that caused global warming, than that produced by traditional farms. Niman’s article fell short of being effective due to flaws in her supporting evidence and conclusion.

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.

If you are choosing to eat vegetarian and you are not doing it in the right way, the health risk that your lifestyle is imposing is very high. If you become vegetarian, you have to make sure to incorporate a lot of different sources of protein and nutrients since you aren’t getting that from meat. Unlike most meat consumers, you can’t eat whatever you want as a vegetarian because you have to ensure that your body is getting enough nutrients (Health). But why is eating meat really so much healthier for you?

In the article, “Is It Possible to be a Conscientious Meat Eater”, the authors argue that processed meat can greatly affect the many things in our everyday life. Sunaura and Alexander’s argument is significantly unreliable because of the certain professions both authors yield. As stated in the article “Sunaura is an artist, writer, and activist in Oakland.” “Alexander’s profession is studying philosophy, and ethics in Athens, Georgia.” This shows that neither of them are qualified to argue in the subject of conscientious meat eaters.

Furthermore, 51% of total greenhouse gas emissions is derived from animal agriculture. Moreover, red meat is a very inefficient means to produce food because of the amount of

Over the past years, the average global temperature on Earth has increased significantly due to gas emissions. The demand for fruits, meats and other sources of food has been rising rapidly and respectively with the increase in Earth’s temperature due to increase in gas emissions in the atmosphere and the expanding global population. More significantly, countries with huge amounts of population growth, such as the United States, China, India, and the European Union have greater demand for food, which has higher carbon footprints. For example, China with 9040.74 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, and is number for fuel combustion. 1 The problem is that people do not know that switching to vegetarianism can help reduce the causes of global warming, which means what you eat can affect how the world will be in the future.

The documentary Cowspiracy, overall, wants to tell us about the truth behind animal agriculture, which heavily affects the survival of our planet. Basically, the documentary said that animal agriculture is responsible for most of the greenhouse gases that lead to global warming, which also affects our planet. The goal of this documentary is to make us believe that the meat industry, and by extension the fast food industry, are the causes that lead to most of our environmental issues. Also, the documentary stated that the amount of water that is used for cows and other livestock is way too much and our planet will gradually face a lack of water. The solution that they propose is just to become vegetarians, which will solve everything.

Being a vegetarian means that you have to exclude all foods that contain any sort of meat in it including all dairy products if you are a strict vegetarian or a vegan. Some people choose to become a vegetarian as it can help with weight loss due to the decreased calorie intake and the fact that plant proteins,fruits and vegetables have less calories in them and are high in minerals and vitamins. Ofcourse there are multiple reasons why people choose to become vegetarians but weight loss,saving the planet and saving the animals are common reasons why vegetarianism is growing. It is proven that being a vegetarian decreases the chance of getting diseases or illnesses such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes due to a healthier diet.

Although people irrefutably need sustenance to survive, humans have developed an unbalanced reliance on creatures like cows and chickens as their main food source. “In the United States, about 35 million cows, 115 million pigs, and 9 trillion birds are killed for food each year” (Vegetarianism). This constant demand for meat illustrates the endless cycle of breeding animals and then slaughtering them. However, many first-world countries hold a surplus of provisions that supplies more than enough to feed their people, making the use of livestock pointless.

There are numerous arguments in support of the claim that it is not wrong to eat animals. I am going to discuss and evaluate some of them. One of the common arguments is that eating meat provides nutrients like protein and iron, which can only be obtained by eating meat. Therefore, it is not wrong to eat animals. I think this argument is unsubstantiated.

In everyday conversations about vegetarianism, a lifestyle without meat, the most common reaction is disbelief quickly followed by the question, “But how do you get any protein?”

Eating meat is beneficial to humanity, because they provide nourishment that cannot be obtained from other sources. Without the support of animals, humans lack a distinctive diet, that is essential to their well-being. However, since animals are so important to the diet, they deserve great care and respect as well. Humans were always hunters and gathers. They always knew that meat was a big source of protein that helped keep them going(Araki).

Starting off small and becoming vegetarian is an amazing start. Vegetarians, are a less radical version of vegans. While they eliminate meat products, like chicken or meat, they still consume dairy products like, milk or cheese. The point is, it can be done. Veganism is the key to a healthier

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.