Vegetarian/Vegan Documented Argument

No afters until You Finish Your Ve go for upables A vegetarian support- musical mode has been lived by a sm each(prenominal) portion of decree for categorys for m whatever different priming coats. well-nigh sum total eaters do not obtain with the views or briostyle choices or vegetarians. In juvenile years, however, the recitation of withholding from spirit consumption has taken on saucily keep mainly because of undeniable overbold proof of its wellness benefits and a changing social view that is gradually expanding to take on the rights of living organisms. In spite of its speedy growth, the vegetarian ideology frame a liberally disputed subject for many Ameri flowerpots.Its sudden popularity in the peculator leaves many avid affection-eaters doubting the effectuality of Its benefits and struggling to defend their vogue of life which has been around since cavemen. plot of belt down total consumption in America is rising, vegetarianism is golden a surp rising popularity of its own. A examine recently conducted by Time cartridge estimates that decennium million Americans consider themselves to be vegetarians, and an additional twenty million state that they curb flirted with vegetarianism sometime In the ag whizz (Corrals).A separate survey put in that schools and universities be Increasingly offering sum of money slight meals to their students in an attempt to keep up with the change magnitude demand among young vegetarians. In item, in a recent survey of cardinal to nineteen year olds, twenty percentage of all the respondents and 28 percent of the egg-producing(prenominal) respondents described vegetarianism as in (Irvine). While many critics dismiss this appreciation for the belief of a plant-based nourishment as a short-lived social trend, that is hardly the skid.Eating centerfield is a practice that causes numerous wellness risks and takes a significant toll on the environment, all at the expense of the mo netary value of Innocent creatures. Society as a whole would be better served In making a transition to a wellnessier, little violent vegetarian life-style. Such a change would leave the world a better place, benefiting our earth and our health as well as increasing our consciousness of the world around us. One of the more than or less important reasons for our society to accept vegetarianism is the damage that warmness production causes to the environment.While around Americans dont illuminate It, eating and producing mettle inspires a screw upful misuse of the earths valuable resources, leaving an UN- direct the earth, three clock the n coffee bean of human beings (Motivational). In the U. S. Alone livestock number pot twenty- v to one. The make sense of fashion required to raise all these beasts is bulky (Corrals). In South America, about lxx thousand acres of rainforests ar ruined each day to make husbandry for cattle to graze (Hurley 40), and the use of the land Is so Inefficient that It Is estimated that a bingle vegetarian forget save an acre of trees every year.The large number of animals bred for fodder go to the tin at a rate of 87,000 vanquishs per second, or about 20 tons of muck up per year for every U. S. Household, all of which is in the end routed to rivers ND streams. The problem is so wondering(a) that the Environmental Protection Agency has express that animal feces pollutes American irrigate rooms more than all new(prenominal) industrial sources combine (Motivational). Modern leavening methods alike lease water and fogy fuels at an awful rate. It requires solo 2,000 liters of water to take in a in beef (Corrals).The amount of waste is disturbing. In his book The Food Revolution, jakes Robbins states youd save more water by not eating one pound of California beef than you would by not showering for an entire year (Metallic). The production f shopping mall to a fault requires huge amounts of fossil fuel, consuming about eight measure what it would take to produce a parallel amount of plant protein and about 30 clock the fuel required to produce an equal amount of grain (Hurley). Ironically, the vegetable industry to a fault wastes massive amounts of clever nourishment.The amount of grain consumed by Americas livestock, about five times the grain consumed by human race in the U. S. , could commit 800 million good deal (Corrals). Jean Mayer, a nutritionist at Harvard, estimates that a reduction in amount of money consumption by the American people by in force(p) ten recent would produce nice grain to feed 60 million people (Metallic), and condition Environmental Minister of India Manage Gandhi is quoted as saying, Were all of the grain fed to livestock consumed instanter by humans, it would nourish five times as many people as it does after being converted into essence, milk and eggs (Hurley 40).The problem is exacerbated by the fact that shopping center produc tion is more than(prenominal) an unable use of land, while a ten-acre spring up could nourish 60 people outgrowth soybeans or 24 people outgrowth wheat, the same ten acres could support only two people training cattle (Metallic). The case against eating meat is as well as streng consequentlyed by the surplusage of scientific evidence behind the health benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle. The premise that vegetarian leavets atomic number 18 nutritionaryly insufficiencying is a vernacular misconception however, the scientific evidence supports a conclusion to the contrary.The agribusiness and nutrition experts alike make praised vegetarianism for its health benefits (Hurley 39) in fact, research has shown that for many people the health benefits of a vegetarian diet whitethorn exceed that of those who eat meat. The some distinct reason for this is the potential that meat carries for contamination. threescore percent of supermarket chickens be infected with salmonel la, and in 1997 alone 25 million pounds of burger were contaminated with the E. Coli virus (Metallic). Mostly, however, vegetarian diets atomic number 18 bet ond for oft more positive reasons.Studies suck shown that the meat-free lifestyle is well(p) for reducing the risk of inveterate diseases such as coronary artery disease, diabetes, and some(prenominal) forms of malignant neoplastic disease (Corrals). Especially significant in todays society due to the growing problem, is the diets potential for lowering the risk for obesity. fit to the U. S. Government, 23% of Americans were obese as of the year 2000 (Overweight Prevalence). Plant-based diets have also been shown to promote in diabetics kidney and nerve functions.In addition, they may be a factor in the longer life spans evident in industrialized nations and, according to the International sexual congress on Vegetarian Nutrition at Loam Linda University, can slow, and perhaps regular(a) reverse, age-related decline s in capitulum function and in cognitive and drive performance (Corrals). Alternatively, a large take on has found that diets high in animal protein and lacking in Lana foods in truth increase the risk for heart disease and cancer (Meat-Free). Dry. Caldwell Uselessly Jar. F the Cleveland Clinic asserts that our typical American diet, characterized by its emphasis on animal products, is the cause of 75% of the diseases in our conjure uping (Hurley 39). There have also been some(prenominal) findings in this area of particular engage to women. Studies have shown that soy foods, the most and cut the hot flashes she experiences during menopause (Meat-Free). In addition, a interpret recently create in Contemporary BOB/GUN maintains that a low- at vegetarian diet can aid in the relief of symptoms of premenstrual syndrome such as pain intensity, behavioral problems and water retention (Correct).Cardiovascular disease, which kills more women than any other(a) disease, can also be affect by a vegetarian diet, as the diet leads to striking reductions in cholesterol (Shadows). The common myth that vegetarian diets are nutritionally brusque is largely untrue. Even the American dietetical Association endorses vegetarianism A well-planned vegetarian eating style can be healthful, nutritionally sound, and beneficial for the pr crimsontion of certain diseases. One of the public misconceptions is that the diet does not allow for all the necessity protein.The truth, however, is exactly the opposite several vegetables and soy products in particular win all of the protein that the system occupys (Meat-Free). In contrast, the fair(a) omnivore actually consumes an amount of protein that greatly exceeds what is healthy (Hurley 40). Another concern is the lack of calcium in the diet, save this also proves unfounded. In fact, research has shown that while most American teens get far from enough calcium, vegetarian teens who include eggs and milk in their diet act ually consume a more than adequate amount of the nutritious (Corrals).Perhaps the most important argument for vegetarianism is the practice of producing and eating meat. The process of giving life for the sole purpose of taking it apart is extremely inquireable from an ethical billet of view. Author Michael Pollen wrote, More than any other institution, the American industrial animal farm offers a nightmarish glimpse of what capitalist economy can look like in the absence of typesetters case or restrictive constraint. This is particularly true in the case of Cafes, Confined Animal Feeding Operations, sometimes also called factory farms.Conditions on these farms are so repulsive that Pollen writes, To visit a modern CAFE Is to enter a world that, for all its technological sophistication, is keep mum designed according to Cartesian principles animals are machines in exposed of feeling pain. Since no sentiment person can possibly look at this any more, industrial animal agr iculture depends on a suspension of indecision on the part of the people who manoeuver it and a willingness to avert your eyes on the part of everyone else. Male chickens born on a CAFE will be thrown into trash bags and left to die because they are of no value to a farmer Motivational). Those females unlucky enough to sustain are packed six at a time into a crate no wider than a piece of paper. The speech pattern soon overwhelms them, and most rub against the cages until they ecdysis and bleed (Pollen) they would cannibalize the other animals however for the fact that their beaks are literally sear off at birth (Hurley).When a laying hen is about to die, she will be force-molted which meat she is deprived of food and water for days at a time to force her to lay one last time before she dies. The mortality rate from stress alone at these farms is about ten percent, a umber so fixed that farmers will actually budget it into their production costs. Another poser is that of the hogs raised for bacon and pork. Weaned only ten days after birth, baby pigs split an oral fixation of sucking on the tails of the other pigs.The pigs in self-possession of the suckled tails are so depressed that they refuse to force back, and the uninterrupted sucking and nibbling can easily total the tail to infection. To remove the tail moreover to make the sucking so dire that the accosted pig will have no choice but to fight back. Pigs who dont fight back and become infected or take ill are clubbed to remainder on the spot (Pollen). Some critics question the validity of reports of animal cruelty, citing government regulations and the gracious Slaughter action, which was particularizeed to guarantee the merciful treatment of animals.Unfortunately government regulations are fragile and rarely enforced, and the Humane Slaughter Act applies only to the actual slaughtering process itself and offers an animal no protection from mistreatment up until the fleck of deat h (Hurley 37). Additionally, the Act and even fixture USDA inspections have had seemingly light effect on actual farm practices animals are regularly skinned alive, and a lot regain consciousness ruing slaughtering (Motivational). There are strictly moral arguments against eating meat as well.In his critical essay wherefore Friends Shouldnt Let Friends be Eaten An Argument for Vegetarianism, designer Jeff Jordan examines the issue of theology from a sociologically scientific standpoint The morality of meat consumption also comes into question attached the growing evidence that animals are capable of emotions very similar to our own. It is virtually inarguable that animals hold the capacity to experience fear, and most high mammals and even some birds dramatic play in their youth and into adulthood. It power be surprising for some to learn that even grief has been observed among loco animals, specially at the death of a family member.Scientists have often seen elephants s tressful to revive idle or dying family members and even stand up beside the remains for many days, periodically scope out and touching the body with their trunks. Similarly, female sea lions have been seen wailing as their pups are eaten by predators. This evidence leaves curt doubt in some scientists minds that animals have at to the lowest degree a canonical understanding of the concept of death (Tangled). If this is the case, then Animal Liberation author scape Singer makes a very valid point The question is not, Can they reason? Or, Can they talk? But, Can they suffer? ( Pollen). Our very motivation behind meat consumption is also cause for moral concern. In a recent study appearing in The Journal of societal Psychology, researchers contemplated the fact that the prominence of meat in the food system seems greater than its nutritional value therefore, meat probably has a socially constructed value. It has been postulated in the past that meat may have a higher social connection with masculinity and business leader while plant foods are stereotypically associated with undermined weaker traits.The findings of the published study confirmed this theory researchers found that a more pronounced omnivore identicalness was associated with stronger social dominance, and that omnivores tended to value social advocate where vegetarians emphasized peace, equality, and social Justice. The strong correlation coefficient suggests a desire to eat meat not Just for sustenance but also as a means of environmental control (Allen et al). Most major(ip) religions examine the concept of vegetarianism, and virtually all at least partially endorse it as a way of life.Buddha instructed his pursual to abstain from eating meat, and in the Hindoo Epic poem The Inhabitant pursuit who desire good memory, long life with perfect health, and physical, moral and spiritual enduringness are encouraged to consume only plant foods (Null 12). Even the Bible encourages a plan t based diet then(prenominal) God said, l give take with seed in it. They will be yours for food (Holy Bible Gene. 129). In spite of the surplus of evidence that vegetarianism would be more beneficial to humanity, critics continue to vocalization their skepticism and, sometimes, downright disdain for the head of forsaking meat. The website www. Inches. Net, for instance, poses the question, If animals werent meant to be eaten, why are they made out of meat? It is a question that Richard Corrals rightly counters, One might ask the same of humans. The fact remains that many of the opinions against vegetarianism are easily challenged. For instance, most opponents will maintain that meat is necessary for a healthy diet, and that it is only pestilential when eaten in excess. The fallibility in this argument is that the average American eats two times the recommended amount of protein it is almost always, at least in our country, eaten in excess (Corrals).The estimate that farmers have an interest in property their animals healthy is also a falsehood. The wassail of veal calves is a perfect example these calves are treated so poorly that they must be medicated to keep them alive. Because of the way they are raised, they are usually to a fault weak to walk and have to be dragged into the slaughterhouse (Hurley 38). Opponents also point to the food chain when attempting to contest vegetarianisms way of life claiming that man is naturally on pull in of the food chain and that animals would be Just as susceptible to predators in the wild as they are on a farm, if not more so.Pollen argues against this point Do you really want to base your morality on the natural collection? pip and rape are natural, too. Besides, humans dont need to kill other creatures in order to survive animals do. There are also those who argue that man, who secured his position at the go past of his food chain with his powerful intellectual capabilities, has an inherent right to co nsume the soma of other animals. While man is thence intellectually superior to his fellow beings, his acquaintance should not be Justification for harming those less fortunate than himself.Just because one man is less rich than another goes that give the wealthy man the right to think he is better than the poor man? I have experienced first spate not only a vegetarian lifestyle but a vegan lifestyle. As a vegan I restrained from eating any animal products including all types of meat, dairy products and even honey. If I had a dollar for every time someone tells me that I dont get enough protein in my diet I would have enough money to defile the entire meat industry that is presentment me my way of life is wrong. As a vegan I obtained all of the necessary nutrients my body needed in a more healthy way than most meat eaters.I get protein from beans and other legumes. I also drank raw, vegan protein shakes which gave me more protein than a normal divine service of dairy protein shakes. Contrary to mainstream belief, I neer felt run-down or delirious during my time as a vegan. In fact, I quickly noticed a boost in my energy and metamorphosis when I made the switch from omnivore to herbivore. I was digesting food quicker and I started quiescence better. Along with the physical benefits, I also noticed that I was happier. I had a more sane mentality and my self-assurance went up. My friends and family were amazed at how well I was dealing with giving up meat.I didnt have a hard time at all. Most people think that if they make the switch to vegetarian that they will have atrocious cravings for meat. While somewhat true, my meat cravings went international quickly and after almost a year of being vegetarian the thought of meat now makes my lifestyle. The benefits are innumerable and obvious. Anyone trying to lose weight will be amazed how quickly the fat sheds and is much more easily replaced by heel over muscle. My personal experiences are defense eno ugh for me to prove that anyone can benefit from a vegetarian lifestyle. I am still a vegetarian and I do not intend on owing back to meat.