I. Vegetarianism and the Environment First off, there is no guaranteed diet that is best for the environment. Some people who switch to vegetarianism as a way to fix the world, but others realized restricted diets aren’t the answer. Meat eaters do, however fuel the factory farming business. Factory farming does destroy; it destroys prairies, forests, soil, and animals. Overgrazing is destroying arable land more and more each day (ProCon.org 3). Around 85% of all grazing land cannot be farmed (ProCon.org 3). While the meat industry is destroying the environment, vegetarians are not innocent either (ProCon.org 3). Vegetarians do contribute to destruction, and Lierre Keith is very passionate about bringing that to attention when she says, “When the rain forest falls to beef, progressives are outraged and ready to boycott. But our attachment to the vegetarian myth leaves us uneasy, silent, and immobilized when the culprit is wheat and the victim is prarie.” (2). The prairies are not the only victim (Keith 2). While 98% of America’s prairies are gone, 99% of Canada’s humus farmland has been destroyed (Keith 2). Pollution is another reason that people turn to vegetarianism. The production of edible meat contributes to air pollution, and the raising of cattle in confinement contributes to water pollution (vegetariantimes.org 2). These controlled agricultural activities, like confined animal facilitation, plowing, pesticides, irrigation, fertilizing, and harvesting, contribute to many types of pollution (vegetariantimes.org 2). Manure runoff pollutes water via irrigation systems, and consequently 173,000 miles of rivers and streams have been polluted (vegetariantimes.org 2). Greenhouse gases are increasingly relevant and contributing to air pollution (ProCon.org 3). Approximately 54% of all greenhouse gases are caused by contained meat production: manure decomposition, deforestation, and gases (ProCon.org 3). Some people believe in eating meat over vegetarianism simply because that is just the way things are on the food chain.
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The idea that humans are supposed to eat meat can be called dominance and subordination, mutual indebtedness, or kas-limaal (Keith 3). Lierre Keith makes the point that all organisms need each other by stating the example, “the cow produces food for someone else. Her manure feeds soil, plants and insects. The mechanical action of her hooves and her teeth helps the grasslands stay diverse. Her digestive processes free up nutrients -- and not just for her, but for the whole community. Her body will become a meal for predators, scavengers and degraders of all sizes.” (3). Even though what Keith said is true, but it doesn’t always apply. The natural life cycle isn’t so natural anymore with factory farming and humans intervention. “Grazers in the wild are much different from grazers in domestication.” gives an explanation against eating meat to continue the food chain of animals (Zaikowski 4). The food chain has been manipulated so much that we cannot go off what history tells us about organisms’ relationships. II. Vegetarianism and Diets There are many diets that are said to fix certain problems, whether it is obesity or emaciation. A vegetarian diet is being more commonly recommended and is said to manage and/or prevent disease. Many cancers are linked to meat consumption and a vegetarian diet can help prevent that. Colon and rectal cancer are commonly caused by the consumption heme iron which is found in meat (ProCon.org 2). The iron found in vegetables is non-heme iron which does not contribute to cancers (ProCon.org 2). Many other carcinogens found in meat products, like, PCBs, DDT, mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium cannot be removed by cooking or freezing (vegetariantimes.com 3). A meat inclusive diet is also linked to heart disease. Death due to ischemic heart disease is significantly greater in meateaters as opposed to vegetarians (vegetariantimes.com 1). Other heart diseases are are dangerous also, like, cardiovascular disease which kills around 1,000,000 americans anually (vegetariantimes.com 1). Replacing many of your daily dairy fats with vegetables can significantly reduce the risk of mortality by coronary heart disease (Scientific Dietary Studies--Vegetarian Diets 4). Prevention of disease is possible as well as reversal. If someone is already diagnosed with diseases they, often times, can be managed and prevented with a restricted diet like vegetarianism. High blood pressure, also known as, hypertension is
The idea that humans are supposed to eat meat can be called dominance and subordination, mutual indebtedness, or kas-limaal (Keith 3). Lierre Keith makes the point that all organisms need each other by stating the example, “the cow produces food for someone else. Her manure feeds soil, plants and insects. The mechanical action of her hooves and her teeth helps the grasslands stay diverse. Her digestive processes free up nutrients -- and not just for her, but for the whole community. Her body will become a meal for predators, scavengers and degraders of all sizes.” (3). Even though what Keith said is true, but it doesn’t always apply. The natural life cycle isn’t so natural anymore with factory farming and humans intervention. “Grazers in the wild are much different from grazers in domestication.” gives an explanation against eating meat to continue the food chain of animals (Zaikowski 4). The food chain has been manipulated so much that we cannot go off what history tells us about organisms’ relationships. II. Vegetarianism and Diets There are many diets that are said to fix certain problems, whether it is obesity or emaciation. A vegetarian diet is being more commonly recommended and is said to manage and/or prevent disease. Many cancers are linked to meat consumption and a vegetarian diet can help prevent that. Colon and rectal cancer are commonly caused by the consumption heme iron which is found in meat (ProCon.org 2). The iron found in vegetables is non-heme iron which does not contribute to cancers (ProCon.org 2). Many other carcinogens found in meat products, like, PCBs, DDT, mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium cannot be removed by cooking or freezing (vegetariantimes.com 3). A meat inclusive diet is also linked to heart disease. Death due to ischemic heart disease is significantly greater in meateaters as opposed to vegetarians (vegetariantimes.com 1). Other heart diseases are are dangerous also, like, cardiovascular disease which kills around 1,000,000 americans anually (vegetariantimes.com 1). Replacing many of your daily dairy fats with vegetables can significantly reduce the risk of mortality by coronary heart disease (Scientific Dietary Studies--Vegetarian Diets 4). Prevention of disease is possible as well as reversal. If someone is already diagnosed with diseases they, often times, can be managed and prevented with a restricted diet like vegetarianism. High blood pressure, also known as, hypertension is