REASONS TO GO VEG!
Have you ever wondered how exactly the pork chop you’re eating got from the farm to your dinner plate? You might not want to know. Researching the meat industry might make you feel a little less hungry for meat. Animals are usually mistreated and forced to live in awful, poor conditions. Giving up meat might help you sleep a little better at night.
Animals raised for food today are not raised on picture-perfect family farms like you might think, but are instead reared in an agricultural system that includes drugs, antibiotics, cages, intensive confinement, and dirty slaughterhouses. Dairy cows and egg-laying hens don't have it any better than animals raised for meat, either. A quick look at the websites of PETA or the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) will show you everything you need to know. It is estimated that by going vegetarian, a single person will save the lives of 95 animals annually. If you love animals, adopting a vegetarian diet is one of the best things you can do to help them.
A study based out of Loma Linda University states that vegetarians will live about seven years longer than meat eaters. This is evidence is further backed up the China Project.
A diet filled with meat, eggs, and dairy is a huge burden on the planet as well as a tremendously inefficient use of our natural resources. It takes over 5,000 gallons of water to produce one pound of meat, compared to 25 gallons for a pound of wheat. Over 80% of the agricultural land in America is used to grow food that we feed to farmed animals. These same farm animals produce over 130 times the amount of excrement as the entire human population in America each year, which ends up polluting our lands and waterways. Clearly, our environment would be better off if everyone were to adopt a vegetarian diet. Forget about the hybrid car. If you're serious about reducing your environmental foot print, going vegetarian is the place to start.
A vegetarian diet is also pretty cost effective – if you stop and think about it, meat is pretty darn expensive. Ditching the burgers and fried chicken for beans and apples WILL save you money.
If you decide to give up meat, you will also undoubtedly see a difference in your waist size. On average, vegetarians have a lot less weight problems than meat eaters. This is because diets that contain large amounts of fruits and vegetables usually have relatively low amounts of fat and calories.
One thing stopping a lot of people from going vegetarian is the concern that not eating meat will prove to be inconvenient and a nuisance. But the reality is this: it is WAY easier than ever to give up meat. Check out your local restaurants and grocery stores – there are plenty of options for meat free dining.
Many people don't know just how much healthier vegetarians are compared to their meat-eating counterparts. In studies of vegetarian diets, it has been found that vegetarians tend to weigh less, have lower cholesterol, live longer, and have fewer serious diseases than those who eat meat. Nearly every major health organization in the world has gone on record as saying that one of the keys to good health is a diet that is rich with fruits and vegetables. Now with the recent "Mad Cow Disease" and e-coli scares, it seems like the smart thing for anyone who is really concerned about their health to do is to stop eating meat and other animal products.
The meat industry is notorious for abusing its workers. From hiring illegal immigrants (who are afraid to complain) to denying valid workers' compensation claims, a quick search on Google will reveal the many atrocities of the American meat industry.
