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"... why would anybody want to give up eating meat?"

50 Reasons Why I'm A

VegetarianThis is the "printable" version. | Back to original version

There are many reasons to abstain from real animal products. Here are fifty of the best reasons I

can think of, all abstracted from The Lumen Book. -- G.J. Caton

Environmental / Ecological

Conservation of Fossil Fuel. It takes 78 calories of fossil fuel to produce 1 calorie of beef

protein; 35 calories for 1 calorie of pork; 22 calories for 1 calorie of poultry; but just 1 calorieof fossil fuel for 1 calorie of soybeans. By eating plant foods instead of animal foods, I help

conserve our non-renewable sources of energy.

1.

Water Conservation. It takes 3 to 15 times are much water to produce animal protein as it

does plant protein. As a vegetarian I contribute to water conservation.

2.

Efficient Use of Grains. It takes up to 16 pounds of soybeans and grains to produce 1 pound

of beef and between 3 and 6 pounds to produce 1 pound of pork, turkey and egg. By eating

grain foods directly, I make the food supply more efficient and that contributes to the

environment.

3.

Soil Conservation. When grains and legumes are used more efficiently, our precious topsoil

is automatically made more efficient in its use. We use less agricultural resources to provide

for the same number of people.

4.

Saving Our Forests. Tropical forests in Brazil and other tropic regions are destroyed daily, in

part, to create more acreage to raise livestock. By not supporting the meat industry I directly

reduce the demand to pillage these irreplaceable treasures of nature. Since the forest land

"filters" our air supply and contains botanical sources for new medicines, this destruction is in

many ways irreversible.

5.

Aesthetics. Decaying animal parts, whether in a freezer case or served in public restaurants

can never be as aestheically pleasing to the senses as the same foods made from wholesome

vegetable sources. Only habit can allow one not to perceive this; a change in diet makes this

self-evident.

Personal Health

6.

No Deficiencies. There is no nutrient necessary for optimal human functioning which cannot

be obtained from plant food.

7.

High Fat Plus Cholesterol. Animal foods are higher in fat than most plant foods, particularly

saturated fats. They contain cholesterol; plants do not.

8.

Carbohydrate Deficient. Meat is deficient in carbohydrates, particularly the starches, which

are so essential to proper health.

9.

Vitamin Deficient. Except for the B-complex, meat is largely deficient in vitamins.10.

Agricultural Chemicals. Being higher on the food chain, animal foods contain fat higher

concentration of agricultural chemicals than plant foods, including pesticides, herbicides, etc.

11.

Exposure to Livestock Drugs. There are 20,000 different drugs, including sterols,

antibiotics, growth hormones, and other veterinary pharmaceuticals that are given to livestock

12.

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animals. I consume these drugs when I consume animal foods. The dangers therein,

particularly in secondary consumption of antibiotics, have been well documented.

Pathogenic Micro-Organisms. There are a host of bacteria and viruses, some quite

dangerous, that are common to animals. When I eat meat, I eat the organisms present in the

meat. Micro-organisms are present in plant foods, too, but ther number and potential danger

to human health is by no means comparable. This is because animals are so close to us both

anatomically and physiologically.

13.

Worms and Other Parasites. Also common to animals. The same argument applies here as

that for Pathogenic Micro-Organisms.

14.

Shelf-Life Differential. Plant foods "last" longer than animal foods. Try this experiment:

leave out a head of lettuce and a pound of hamburger for one full day. Which one will make

you sick?

15.

Organoleptic Indications of Pathogens. Plant foods tend to give tell-tale signs of "going

bad" much sooner than animal foods. Did you ever hear of somebody getting sick from "bad

broccoli"?

16.

Heart Disease. Meat-eating increases the risk of heart disease, the No. 1 killer in the U.S.

The correlation is an epidemiological fact.

17.

Cancer Prevention. Of all the natural cancer prevention substances found: Vitamin C, B-17,hydroquinones, beta-carotene, NDGA -- none has been found to be animal-derived. Yet most

meats, when cooked, produce an array of benzenes and other carcinogenic compounds.

Cancer is infinitely easier to prevent than to cure. Soybeans, for one, contain protease

inhibitor, a powerful anti-cancer compound. You won't find it in useful quantities in animal

food.

18.

Disease Inducing. The correlation between meat consumption and a wide range of

degenerative diseases is well-founded and includes...

19.

Osteoporosis. Strong correlation.20.

Kidney Stones and Gallstones. Strong correlation.21.

Diabetes. Strong correlation.22.Senile Dementia. Meat-eaters are up to three times as likely to suffer from dementia in old

age; in addition, there's a strong correlation with multiple sclerosis.

23.

Arthritis. Strong correlation.24.

Gum Disease. Compelling correlation.25.

Acne. Aggravated by animal foods.26.

Obesity. Vegetarians tend to be thinner than meat-eaters, and studies contain it. Obesity is

considered by many doctors to be a disease in itself.

27.

Intestinal Toxemia. The condition of the intestinal flora is critical to overall health. Animal

products putrefy in the colon.

28.

Transit Time. Wholesome food travels quickly through the "G.I. tract," leaving little time to

spoil and incite disease in the body. Animal products uniformly have longer transit times.

29.

Fiber Deficient. Fiber absorbs unwanted, excess fats; cleans the intestines; provides bulk and

aids in peristalsis. Plant food is high in fiber content; meat, poultry and dairy products have

none.

30.

Body Wastes. Food from animals contain their waste, including adrenaline, uric and lactic

acid, etc. Before adding ketchup, the biggest contributors to the "flavor profile" of a

hamburger are the leftover blood and urine.

31.

Excess Protein. The average American eats 400% of the Recommended Daily Allowance

(RDA) for protein. This causes excess nitrogen in the blood that creates a host of long-term

health problems.

32.

Longevity. To increase one's risk of getting degenerative disease means decreasing one'schance to live a naturally-long, healthy life. Huzas and other peoples with large centenarian

populations maintain lifestyles that require little or no meat.

33.

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