Not too long ago, a famous pop star caused a minor stir when he suggested that one step everyone could take towards helping the environment would be to abstain from meat for one day a week. That's all he asked - that we adopt a high protein vegetarian diet for a single day out of the week. A few papers took him seriously, but most of them just laughed.
None of the media that covered the story did it in any depth. If they had taken him a little more seriously and considered the facts, they would have understood just how much sense he made. If you look at the issue square in the eye from a vegetarian's standpoint, you will see why they so passionately believe in it.
You might wonder what giving up meat has to do with the environment. There are whole books devoted to facts about the meat processing industry. One of the points made is that raising beef is a terribly inefficient use of arable land. The same amount of land that it takes to satisfy America's voracious appetite for meat could be put to far better use producing soy products, for instance.
People living near beef processing plants and process plant workers report a high incidence of health problems directly related to the processing of beef. There is sound medical evidence to prove this, but one way to find out for yourself would be to visit one of these places. But be prepared - you may get sick from the smell before you even enter the premises.
Unless you are a hardened killer, you will be shocked by what you see inside the meat processing plant. To call it inhumane is putting it mildly. While the killing process itself is not necessarily an environmental issue, it is a moral one. It is doubtful that you will reach for a shrink-wrapped sirloin steak quite so quickly after you have seen what happened at the slaughterhouse. You are more likely to turn away and go to the vegetable department and start your vegetarian diet!
The meat industry will tell you that beef makes you strong and healthy. They will talk about a protein-packed meat diet as if a high intake of meat is essential for health. What they won't tell you is that you are consuming far more meat than you could possibly need for good health. They will also not tell you that your predominantly meat diet contributes to cancer, heart disease and other life-threatening illnesses.
There are very few people who have turned to a vegetarian weight loss diet who ever go back to eating meat. Those who do generally eat far less than they did before. Vegetarians, contrary to what the meat lobbies try to make us believe, are healthier and happier than heavy meat eaters.
The two largest religions in the world, Buddhism and Hinduism, both advocate a total abstinence from meat eating. Interestingly enough, all the other major religions, including Catholicism, Judaism, and the Muslim faith advocate abstinence from meat during certain religious holidays. Why is it that only the cattle industry advocates a strict meat eating diet?
None of the media that covered the story did it in any depth. If they had taken him a little more seriously and considered the facts, they would have understood just how much sense he made. If you look at the issue square in the eye from a vegetarian's standpoint, you will see why they so passionately believe in it.
You might wonder what giving up meat has to do with the environment. There are whole books devoted to facts about the meat processing industry. One of the points made is that raising beef is a terribly inefficient use of arable land. The same amount of land that it takes to satisfy America's voracious appetite for meat could be put to far better use producing soy products, for instance.
People living near beef processing plants and process plant workers report a high incidence of health problems directly related to the processing of beef. There is sound medical evidence to prove this, but one way to find out for yourself would be to visit one of these places. But be prepared - you may get sick from the smell before you even enter the premises.
Unless you are a hardened killer, you will be shocked by what you see inside the meat processing plant. To call it inhumane is putting it mildly. While the killing process itself is not necessarily an environmental issue, it is a moral one. It is doubtful that you will reach for a shrink-wrapped sirloin steak quite so quickly after you have seen what happened at the slaughterhouse. You are more likely to turn away and go to the vegetable department and start your vegetarian diet!
The meat industry will tell you that beef makes you strong and healthy. They will talk about a protein-packed meat diet as if a high intake of meat is essential for health. What they won't tell you is that you are consuming far more meat than you could possibly need for good health. They will also not tell you that your predominantly meat diet contributes to cancer, heart disease and other life-threatening illnesses.
There are very few people who have turned to a vegetarian weight loss diet who ever go back to eating meat. Those who do generally eat far less than they did before. Vegetarians, contrary to what the meat lobbies try to make us believe, are healthier and happier than heavy meat eaters.
The two largest religions in the world, Buddhism and Hinduism, both advocate a total abstinence from meat eating. Interestingly enough, all the other major religions, including Catholicism, Judaism, and the Muslim faith advocate abstinence from meat during certain religious holidays. Why is it that only the cattle industry advocates a strict meat eating diet?
Don't be so quick to laugh along with the media the next time a superstar takes a stand for a vegetarian weight loss diet. That would be a good start to a vegetarian diet.
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