“I always knew that becoming a vegetarian would help prevent cruelty to animals but I was not aware of the environmental consequences of a meat-eating diet.” writes Lillie Ogden, a writer for the popular recipe magazine, Vegetarian Times. The first part of her statement, about “cruelty to animals” is a familiar argument, and generally the one that surrounds the case for adopting a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. However, this exhausted argument is ineffective in actually changing anyone’s eating habits. You can show me as many videos of suffering farm animals as you want, but that argument isn’t going to change the fact that at the end of the day I’m still going to enjoy a juicy, medium-rare steak. The reason being isn’t that I’m not a empathetic person or that I …show more content…
All through elementary school I can remember being taught how to save water: take shorter showers, don’t leave the faucet running, don’t use the dishwasher unless it’s completely full. However, no one ever told me about the more insidious way we waste water --our food choices. According to the Water Education Foundation, it takes 1,581 gallons of water just to produce 1 pound of beef. To compare, it only takes 138 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of wheat. There has been debate about the specific number of water it takes to produce anything because different studies have used different methods of calculations. However, the general consensus among all of these studies is that it takes a significantly higher amount of water to produce meat products than it does to produce non-meat products. The reason being is obvious -plants don’t consume things that need to be watered, animals do. In fact, 40% of the fresh water used in the US is to irrigate livestock feed, and only 13% is used for our every day to day use, like showering, or washing dishes
The argumentative article “More Pros than Cons in a Meat-Free Life” authored by Marjorie Lee Garretson was published in the student newspaper of the University of Mississippi in April 2010. In Garretson’s article, she said that a vegetarian lifestyle is the healthy life choice and how many people don’t know how the environment is affected by their eating habits. She argues how the animal factory farms mistreat the animals in an inhumane way in order to be sources of food. Although, she did not really achieve the aim she wants it for this article, she did not do a good job in trying to convince most of the readers to become vegetarian because of her writing style and the lack of information of vegetarian
Between watering the crops for farmed animals, providing drinking water for these animals, and cleaning away their waste that is found in factory farms, transportation trucks, and slaughterhouses, the farm-raised animal places an enormous strain on the water supply. Nearly half of all the water used in the United States goes to raising animals for food (Meat Production). According to PETA, one would save more water by not eating a pound of meat than they would by not showering for six months. As seen Fig4. it takes many more thousands of gallons of water to produce meat, while growing the same amount of fruits and vegetables requires significantly less water. An article in the New York Times asserted that “by changing one’s diet to replace 50% of animal products with edible plants like legumes, nuts, and tubers results in a 30% reduction in an individual’s food-related water footprint. Going vegetarian reduces that water footprint by almost 60%” (McWilliams). Armed with this knowledge, one can clearly see that vegetarians save tremendous qu...
Is it possible to be an ethical meat-eater? Well, in my opinion, it is not ethical. There are many animals that suffer in the process of being slaughtered. Federal law requires mammals be stunned prior to slaughter. Typically, electric current is used to induce a heart attack or seizure. Then a captive bolt gun is used to deliver a blow to the skull or to shoot a rod into the animal’s brain. Eating meat is not ethical; animals suffer, they are tortured, because there are not enough Federal regulations protecting the animals, and there are environmental issues, as well as the health issues concerning the consumption of meat.
One of the biggest environmental impacts of a meat-eating diet is the depletion of natural resources, particularly the consumption of vast amounts of water for livestock production. Today, there are more than 17 billion livestock in the world; that’s about triple the number of people. Raising these animals requires huge amounts of water, most of it used to irrigate the grains and hay fed to the animals. According to the Water Education Foundation, it takes 2,464 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef in California. This is the same amount of water you would use if you took a seven-minute shower every day for six entire months. In contrast, only 25 gallons of water are needed to produce one pound of wheat. Present human water consumption drains aquifers around the world. Water tables
Being vegetarian opens up so many doors for people. For those who do not know what a vegetarian is or are confused on what they do or eat let me inform you that being a vegetarian simply means that you go off of plant-based diets. Although there are several kinds of vegetarian diets, it is all based on what type of food you are consuming. For example, a strict vegetarians or vegans avoid all foods of animal origin, including meat, poultry, fish, diary products, and eggs. Many people become a vegetarian for different reason according to the Calorie King he states, “being vegetarian means different things to different people, and people follow a vegetarian diet for different reason including health, religion, and ethical beliefs.”(Deusen p.1)
The term vegan, devised in 1944 via Donald Watson, is referred to as an individual that follows veganism, which is the exclusion of all animal products to be consumed, predominantly in their diet (Kahn, 2011). Veganism is primarily supported due to preventing animal cruelty, as well as its health benefits and environmental consequences (Craig, 2009). Adolescence is referred to as the transition from childhood to adulthood, due to biological changes that occur via the onset of puberty (Ellis, 2004). Essential nutrients that are vital to be consumed during adolescence are proteins, which are in the category of macronutrients as they are required in large amounts, as well as calcium and iron, which are categorised as micronutrients, thus being required in smaller amounts (Bialostosky, Wright, Kennedy-Stephenson, McDowell & Johnson, 2002). Protein, calcium and iron are claimed to be essential nutrients in an adolescent female following a vegan diet as they are at higher risk to be lacked via plant-based sources if the consumption of these nutrients are inadequate, which may implicate negative effects on the growth and development during the pubertal growth spurt (Craig, 2009; Ilich-Ernst et al., 1998). This essay will be regarding to a 14 year old female named Jenny Brown, whom is currently following a vegan diet and is not consuming any supplementation in order to obtain adequate nutrition. As Jenny Brown is at the age of adolescence, this essay will discuss the biological changes that occur during puberty, followed on by a discussion on each of the vital nutrients including the macronutrient protein, as well as the micronutrients calcium and iron that are essential to be adequately consumed in order to attain nutritional competence ...
Meat is seen as this ultimate source of food. It is a rare, valuable source of food full of important nutrition which we need to survive. In the hunter gather days, 2.3million years ago, obtaining meat was difficult because it had to be hunted for (ProCon.org). Our ancestors saw meat as a source of extremely nutrient dense food that would keep them and their families from going hungry, especially in the winter. Most of the time our ancestors had to survive on the plants that they had gathered to keep themselves from going hungry. Our ancestors risked their lives just for a little bit of meat. But now, in our modern era, we have no need to hunt for food. Meat is conveniently provided to us in large quantities from meat factories. If our ancestors
Imagine living a life without eating anything with an animal product in it. No meat, fish, milk, eggs, honey, not even gelatin. Vegans are people who adapt a lifestyle where they live without any animal based goods; some do this for the health benefits that come with eliminating meats and dairy. Many become vegan as a way to protest and eliminate animal cruelty which is extremely apparent in the meat industry. A vegan diet is based largely on fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and soy. Many people would say this is unhealthy, that a person cannot live like this. Much of this skepticism comes from being misinformed, and under informed about veganism. It is safe to live a vegan lifestyle. On a vegan diet a person can get all the vitamins
Healthy lifestyles have come and taken over many people and veganism is becoming increasingly popular in society. People are becoming more aware of their diets. People base their diets off their lifestyles and/or beliefs and values. Veganism is the practise of both abandoning the use of animal products, mainly in diet but also with the philosophy of abstaining from using other animal related products such as leather and animal tested products. Veganism is a healthier way of living , it's good for the environment and it is also good for the well being of animals. Avoiding animal products is one of the ways you can take a stand against animal cruelty. As you are not contributing to the meat and dairy industries. It is a small part in the world to go vegan but it is a right step in helping the world and I personally believe it is morally right as many other people do. More people going vegan could positively impact the world. There are many famous celebrity and big names out here that are vegan, names such as Ellen Degeneres, Woody Harrelson, Brad Pitt and even boxer Mike Tyson! Veganism is easier to incorporate into people's lives more than they think and with it becoming a big aspect of society and more common than ever there are a lot of options for vegans out there in terms of food, recipes and general information
Vegetarianism is the dietary way of avoiding animal products. Many individuals are replacing animal products in their daily meals with different kinds of vegetables. They believe that eating non-animal products is an ideal way of cleansing out the toxins in their bodies. Moreover, most people consider vegetables as the best foods that can help them lose weight without causing any side effects. Although many people believe the animal products are the best foods for providing the basic vitamins in life, the UTA community should be interested in vegetables because eating vegetables help people maintain a healthy body, growing vegetables would also help our world reduce pollution, and more animals will not be killed for food.
Today people are concerned with what they eat in order to lose or maintain their weight. What people do not know is how their food is obtained, how veganism is beneficial to their health and what the food industry thinks of vegans. Veganism is the avoidance of any animal products particularly food. Veganism confronts the issues of animal welfare as well as dietary concerns for humans. It is an effective method to live a healthy and humane lifestyle.
For several years the issue of eating meat has been a great concern to all types of people all over the world. In many different societies controversy has began to arise over the morality of eating meat from animals. A lot of the reasons for not eating meat have to deal with religious affiliations, personal health, animal rights, and concern about the environment. Vegetarians have a greater way of expressing meats negative effects on the human body whereas meat eaters have close to no evidence of meat eating being a positive effect on the human body. Being a vegetarian is more beneficial for human beings because of health reasons, environmental issues, and animal rights.
A person that is vegetarian does not eat meat from any type of animal, and that includes seafood, but they can eat cheese, eggs and milk. “About 3% of U.S. adults are considered full-fledged vegetarians”.(Hellmich 4). When people think of vegetarians, they think about weak little hippie girls, and they 're all about world peace. Some things might be true, but the majority is so unbelievably untrue. When other people think about Vegetarians they mostly think of healthy people which is true. They respect the earth more than meat eaters. Also, vegetarian caring about the environment as well, which I 'm going to talk about later. Caring for the environment is an uncommon way of life which vegetarian lives by. Some reasons why vegetarians turn vegetarian is that they want to save animals. Other reason is that they want to save the environment because the majority doesn 't care for it. Vegetarianism is good for many reasons for; instance a person’s health, ethics, and religious beliefs
Many people strive to be healthy. Following a vegetarian diet is healthy. Therefore, people should live a vegetarian lifestyle. The vegetarian lifestyle is quite easy to maintain if one starts by just cutting out red meats from the diet, and then progress into chicken, and finally fish. This is the easiest way to become vegetarian, as you are stopping step by step instead of all at once. A majority of vegetarian diets have several easy to prepare meals and are fairly easy to follow. Countless restaurants serve meatless dishes, and salads are almost always available. Vegetarians tend to be healthier than those who consume meat. This is due to the prevalent unnatural chemicals used in the processing of meats, which are very harmful to the human body. Meats already contain harmful amounts of cholesterol, and over-consumption of red meat can lead to early heart disease. The meat must maintain a safe temperature all throughout travel, and stay that way
Food, an extremely important factor in the health of all living organisms. It gives our bodies nutrients and energy which allow us to continue on the journey of life. However, with the increase in population more and more food is needed to feed the human race, or is it? The weekday vegetarian diet is a relatively new idea that would help reduce land and resources needed for agriculture, reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as increasing the overall health of those participating. The research appears to be sound yet some are still skeptical with the idea. Throughout this reading, we’ll go through the environmental impacts, how to implement this practice, and the pros and cons.