Not too long ago, a famous pop star caused a minor stir when he suggested that one step everyone could take towards helping the environment would be to abstain from meat for one day a week. That’s all he asked - that we adopt a vegetarian diet for a single day out of the week. A few papers took him seriously, but most of them just laughed.
None of the media that covered the story did it in any depth. If they had taken him a little more seriously and considered the facts, they would have understood just how much sense he made. If you look at the issue square in the eye from a vegetarian’s standpoint, you will see why they so passionately believe in it.
You might wonder what giving up meat has to do with the environment. There are whole books devoted to facts about the meat processing industry. One of the points made is that raising beef is a terribly inefficient use of arable land. The same amount of land that it takes to satisfy America’s voracious appetite for meat could be put to far better use producing soy products, for instance.
There are direct health risks involved with the processing of beef. Workers in these industries suffer from a variety of illnesses directly related to their industry and the risks spread to the nearby communities, as well. You can look up the medical data on this or you can quickly find out for yourself by visiting one of these places. If you have never smelled a meat processing plant before, be forewarned. You’re likely to get sick to your stomach before you even pass through the gates.
Unless you are a hardened killer, you will be shocked by what you see inside the meat processing plant. To call it inhumane is putting it mildly. While the killing process itself is not necessarily an environmental issue, it is a moral one. It is doubtful that you will reach for a shrink-wrapped sirloin steak quite so quickly after you have seen what happened at the slaughterhouse. You are more likely to turn away and go to the vegetable department and start your vegetarian diet!
The meat industry will tell you that beef makes you strong and healthy. They will talk about a protein-packed meat diet as if a high intake of meat is essential for health. What they won’t tell you is that you are consuming far more meat than you could possibly need for good health. They will also not tell you that your predominantly meat diet contributes to cancer, heart disease and other life-threatening illnesses.
Ask anyone who has given a vegetarian diet a chance and most of them will tell you that they are happier for it. Many never eat meat again. Almost no one who has been a vegetarian ever goes back to eating large amounts of meat. No matter what the meat industry tries to tell us to the contrary, a vegetarian diet is a healthy diet.
Something that a lot of people overlook is the fact that all of the major religions advocate abstaining from meat, at least periodically. This includes the Catholic Church, Judaism and the Muslim faith. While these religions do not advocate total abstinence, both Hinduism and Buddhism do advocate a strictly vegetarian diet. The only “religion” that advocates meat eating is the cattle industry!
A vegetarian weight loss diet is no laughing matter. Do you think that the superstar who recently advocated abstinence from meat didn’t know he was going to be laughed at? Give him a little credit for trying to open people’s eyes to the vegetarian diet. Check out the facts, for your sake as well as everyone else’s!
Read More About: Vegetarian Diet - Don’t Judge Until You Have Tried It
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