If you eat meat, eat less, please
First off, I will admit that I do eat meat. However, as I become more self-educated in nutrition I find myself moving away from eating meat. It does take time to unlearn from our old eating habits and to relearn and most importantly apply new, healthier habits. Below are some statistics to show why it’s worth it to eat more food grown from the Earth than taken from the flesh of an animal.
- Of all antibiotics used in the U.S., 55% are fed to livestock.
- In 1961, the “Journal of the American Medical Association” reported that a vegetarian diet could prevent 90-97% of heart diseases.
- Studies reveal 59% less cancer among people who eat small amounts of meat, compared to average meat-eaters.
- The kidneys of the meat-eater must work three times harder than the kidneys of the vegetarian.
- 75% of available fresh water, 35% of available land and 20% of all energy resources are currently used for food production.
- There are fewer than one out of every 250,000 slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues.
- 80% of the corn and 95% of the oats grown in the U.S. is eaten by livestock.
- 300 million pounds of meat are imported annually to the U.S. from Central and South America, even though 75% of all Central American children under the age of five are undernourished.
- One hundred million people could be adequately fed using the land freed if Americans reduced their intake of meat by a mere 10%.
We hope that people who enjoy eating meat will lessen their consumption by at least 1-2 days. You can even choose to have meat as a side dish rather than main item in a meal. Get creative with your meals and share this information with people who will listen.
For more information or details on the statistics provided visit the websites below.
http://cleanse.net/scientificfactsaboutmeat.aspx
http://www.animalsuffering.com/vegetarianism.php
They should title the article “eat less American meat”. First, most of the meat that comes from South America is grass feed and free range. The only thing they do is let the cows roam in the natural grasslands, impacting the environment less than for example, growing soy beans, or anything in large cultivated areas (which destroys and pollutes everything). Them out of the blue they give the percentage of undernourished children ( for no apparent reason) of the total population of the whole South America, while the countries that export meat are mainly Argentina and Uruguay, the ones with less or very low malnourishment levels. I support the concept that fruits and vegetables should be the most important part of anybody’s diet (like is mine), but of course I can afford organic produce, while most of America eats super coated fertilizer and pesticides veggies. This article is just crap!.
The statistic about malnourished children is to show that most AMERICANS are consuming the meat that is imported in, as opposed to the children of the countries that it is grown in. I know they need the money, but maybe the land could be used for plant-based food instead and the children could eat that food. The last statistic is basically explaining that.
Luis you are deluded, the meat from South America is literally eating up the rain forest. As farmers chop down more and more forest for cattle grazing land the impacts of human/farm encroachment are devastating on the natural landscape and ecosystem. The percentage of undernourished children is given to show the terrible injustices of our food production system(s). And you are again deluded if you think SA doesn’t import beef, who do you think is McDonald’s biggest beef supplier? As for pesticides, I am glad you told us what you are doing to ensure food security at home, to ensure that people in your community have access to pesticide free food.. oh wait, you didn’t tell us… the only thing that is crap is your logic Luis!