Scott Supersonic

People for centuries have chosen to become vegetarian, whether for moral, religious, health, or environmental reasons. Abstaining from eating meat saves animals that would have been raised for food, lowers cholesterol, makes you less susceptible to various diseases, and uses much fewer resources in producing food than you would if you ate meat. Overall, being vegetarian is more ethical, healthier, and better for the environment than eating meat.

Every second, 863 animals are killed for food in only the United States. However, it is possible to save at least one hundred animals’ lives each year simply by being vegetarian. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; http://peta2.com) A common argument for why eating meat should be acceptable is that animals are inferior and less intelligent than humans, therefore we have the right to eat them. Also, meat gives us protein, so supposedly we should eat it. Several problems exist with this argument. Firstly, using the "meat gives us protein so we should eat it" argument would rationalize cannibalism. Secondly, humans are merely animals too. We are a more evolved form of animals, but we are animals nonetheless. Thirdly, just because we are more intelligent than something does not give us the right to do what we want with it. It is fair to say that children and people with down-syndrome are less intelligent than average humans, but we do not eat them. Another common argument is that humans were made to eat meat, and that since humans have been eating meat for hundreds of years, we should not stop now. However, doing something for a long period of time does not necessarily mean it is the best way to do things. Racism and slavery was deemed acceptable for a very long period of time, however, it has been since concluded that there is a better way to go about living. Furthermore, humans are not made to eat meat. Humans’ nails are short and soft, unlike the claws that most carnivores possess. Likewise, humans’ canine teeth are short and blunt, unlike the sharp, curved canine teeth of carnivores. Also, humans do not naturally salivate when we see a freshly killed animal, as most carnivores do. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; http://goveg.com/naturalhumandiet.asp) Lastly, even if we were made to eat meat, the fact that we are able to do something does not make it ethical to do so. I could potentially use my arms and legs to severely injure another person if I wanted to do so, but that does not make it right. A final argument brought against vegetarianism is that eating meat is a form of population control, because otherwise there would be an uncontrollable number of animals. However, the reason there are so many animals is that humans inject animals with steroids and chemicals to force them to grow and reproduce unnaturally quick. Due to these drugs causing the animals to grow abnormally fast, animals’ limbs often break because they cannot support the weight of their disproportional bodies. If humans did not alter the growth of animals forcing them to reproduce at a much higher rate, the population would be significantly lower, and eating meat as a form of population control would not be necessary.

The leading cause of death in the United States was heart disease in 2004. It has been shown that meat eaters are twice more likely to develop heart disease than vegetarians are. According to the American Dietetic Association, vegetarians have "lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; … lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer (American Dietetic Association; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12826028?dopt=Citation)." Scientists have also found that vegetarians have stronger immune systems than meat eaters, as well as vegetarians living, on average, six to ten years longer than meat eaters. Vegetarianism benefits children as well, with studies showing that vegetarian children grow taller and have higher IQs than other classmates, as well as being less susceptible to heart disease, obesity, and diabetes later in life. Moreover, it is not simply red meat that can be unhealthy, as some people believe. Seafood is the leading cause of food poisoning in the United States, not to mention the mercury found in fish’s flesh can cause brain damage, memory loss, and damage a growing fetus. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; http://fishinghurts.com/HealthConcerns.asp) Some people claim eating meat is necessary for humans because meat contains essential protein that humans need. However, most meat substitutes, made with soy, contain more protein and less fat than actual meat. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; http://goveg.com/healthConcerns.asp)

The United Nations released a report in 2006 stating that raising animals for food creates more greenhouse gases than all cars and trucks in the world combined. (UN News Centre; Rearing cattle produces more greenhouse gases than driving cars, UN report warns)Therefore, going vegetarian is a more significant way to fight global warming than any hybrid car. Scientists state that every pound of methane is twenty times as effective as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in our environment, and according to the Environmental Protection Agency, animal agriculture is the largest source of methane emissions in the United States. Almost eighty percent of all agricultural land in the United States, about half of the total land mass of the United States, is used in some way to raise animals. More than 260 million acres of forest in the United States has been cleared to grow grain to feed farmed animals. According to scientists at the Smithsonian Institute, the amount of land of seven football fields is bulldozed every minute to create more room for farmed animals, but every vegetarian saves one acre of trees every year. Moreover, more than one third of all fossil fuels produced in the United States are used to raise animals for food. Likewise, it takes up to sixteen pounds of grain to produce only one pound of meat. As for conserving water, it takes five thousand gallons of water to produce one pound of meat, compared to only twenty-five gallons to grow a pound of wheat. You would save more water by not eating a pound of beef than you would by not showering for an entire year. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; http://goveg.com/environment.asp)

In conclusion, vegetarianism saves lives, is good for your health by lowering chances of diseases such as heart disease, and saves the environment by preventing global warming. According to Paul McCartney, "If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is stop eating meat. That’s the single most important thing you can do." (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; http://goveg.com/environment.asp) Lastly, Albert Einstein sums up vegetarianism in his own words, "Nothing will benefit human health or increase the chances for survival of life on earth as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." (http://soystache.com)




American Dietetic Association. Position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada: vegetarian diets. 2003. 24 Feb 2008 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12826028?dopt=Citation.

Bogo, Jennifer. "Where’s the Beef?(meat substitutes are gaining popularity in the United States)." E 1 Nov 1999. Encyclopedia.com 24 Feb 2008 http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-57800749.html.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Cruelty to Animals: Mechanized Madness. 14 Feb 2008 http://www.goveg.com/factoryFarming.asp.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Health Concerns. 22 Feb 2008 http://www.fishinghurts.com/HealthConcerns.asp.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Health Issues. 22 Feb 2008 http://www.goveg.com/healthConcerns.asp.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Meat and the Environment. 24 Feb 2008 http://www.goveg.com/environment.asp.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The Natural Human Diet. 22 Feb 2008 http://goveg.com/naturalhumandiet.asp.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. 14 Feb 2008 http://peta2.com.

National Center for Health Statistics. Leading Causes of Death. 14 Feb 2008 http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm.

SoyStache. A unique project to promote an awareness of the many benefits of a plant-based (vegan) diet. 14 Feb 2008 http://www.soystache.com.

UN News Centre. Rearing cattle produces more greenhouse gases than driving cars, UN report warns. 29 Nov 2006. 24 Feb 2008 http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=20772&Cr=global&Cr1=environment.