Why Vegetarianism/ Veganism isn’t the right choice!
A 12 oz juicy steak has been plopped down on your plate and on the other side of the table there is a meal made of carrots, broccoli, and other nutritious edible plants and now the decision is on you, Steak or plants for dinner? or both? About 99% percent of the people I know would undoubtedly choose the savory, flavor blasting, hot, juicy, and delicious steak that awaits their hungry stomachs and a side salad to go with it! (Steak vs) Without question I would sit down and order the same steak with the same desire to enjoy every last bit of the grilled meat and mix it up with some greens as well to get that healthy dietary combination. Why are we meat lovers accused of global warming, slaughterhouses, and health problems when those things undoubtedly will still occur if we put our meat cravings to a stop? In matter of fact, why even consider converting to vegetarianism when we as human beings grew up with meat craving in our blood? The one whose wrong is those who support vegetarianism and worst off, veganism. Vegetarianism is completely overrated when it comes to our health, our body needs nutrients, minerals, proteins, and fats that animal products provide along with the millions of jobs that the meat industry provides (Issitt/Dewitt). There is no possible way that going vegetarian or vegan will be as beneficial as what the hype about it says and in many cases vegetarianism/veganism can be harmful to humans.
So I’ve heard that the meat industry is no place for someone with a weak stomach nor is it environmental friendly in any way, being a huge distributor to green house gases and the issue of global warming. With our already greenhouse gases infested air the meat industry isn’t helping much: “According to Environmental Defense, if every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetarian foods instead, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off U.S. roads” (Meat and). Can’t deny facts about the meat industry being responsible for a major contribution to greenhouse gases when studies show the ugly side of eating meat. Studies all over the world have proved this occurring issue, for example: a German study stated that the average meat-eater’s diet creates seven times more greenhouse gases than a vegan’s diet in 2008 (Meat and) Also in the mix of concerns pertaining to the topic of animal welfare, we as humans slaughter innocent animals that are bred to fill our stomachs and be our deliciously fattening meal (Kevin’s Know). The Meat industry is expensive, threatens the environment, and also brings up the whole issue of animal welfare. Vegans and vegetarians argue that the meat industry has no right to take the life of innocent animals and breed them specifically for being later served on a plate and also if we were to eliminate meat industries we could contribute to the prevention of global warming. (Ballaro/Sprague)
Vegetarians, I’m about to hit you with some knowledge that will leave you considering if vegetarianism/veganism is the right way. The people already know that the meat industry is a huge distributor to pollution and global warming but you also might want to know a little about the vegetarian food industries that aren’t so environmental friendly. You know that soy stuff you guys eat for protein and other nutrients that veggies don’t provide? Well if you didn’t know, most soy farms use genetic modification, chemical fertilizers, and toxic pesticides in order to farm the protein source for vegetarians. On top of that, Soy farms are destroying vast amounts of our pristine rain forests in order to make room for soy farms as well as grains which also use a negative farming method on the environment. (Vegan diets-unhealthy). Vegetarians and vegans may argue that meat industries destroy more rain forests than vegetarians and vegans but much of the land destroyed for room for cattle/livestock are absolutely necessary in third world countries where economically third world workers need that money to get by when already living in poor conditions. Livestock also includes animals that aren’t for eating as well, much like horses where they’re needed for manual labor jobs and hundreds of other things that horses have provided for humans(Kevin’s Know). There are tons of pregnant women that try to follow a vegetarian diet in order for their infant to develop as healthy as possible and even their vegetarian diet created by the Livestrong foundation include fish, eggs, and dairy products in the vegetarian diet for pregnant women (Vegetarian Diet During). An on going argument that vegetarians and vegans have used against meat-eating is the issue of animal welfare. Mentioned as unethical and immoral for slaughtering innocent animals but consider the fact that many women have tried feeding their new born infants with a vegan diet. Studies have shown that vegan women have smaller babies that grow slower and are developmentally retarded because of the lack of nutrients and minerals that animal products provide(Vegan Diets-unhealthy). Animal welfare is an issue of the meat industry and reason why vegetarians/vegans oppose animal products but for a vegan parent to feed their offspring a strictly vegan diet can be considered so harmful that it can be unethical, immoral, and incredibly dangerous to the offspring’s health(Vegan Diets-Unhealthy). Maybe vegetarians and vegans need to rethink what unethical and immoral deeds really are.
Meat has been claimed to cause many health issues but there is a bright and beneficial side to eating meat as well. According to the Weston A. Price Foundation, Saturated fats don’t clog arteries or cause heart disease, if you vegans were wondering. In fact, Saturated fat lowers a substance called Lp, which is known as a marker for proneness to heart disease. Not only does it lower the Lp, but even strengthens the immune system, protects the body against cancer by being involved in cellular communication, helps Insulin receptors for prevention of diabetes, needed for function of lungs, involved in kidney function and hormone production, required for the Nervous system, provides vital fat-soluble vitamins A,D, and K12, and half the human brain’s fat is saturated. (The pros) These nutritional facts state that saturated fat, found in animal products, are crucial to the health of the human body along with all the proteins and minerals that meat provides to the human body. People say that turning vegan is most beneficial to the health of human beings and that an all vegetable diet will prevent heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and also prevent some sorts of cancer as well lowering cholesterol(Carper, Food). Never does anyone mention that the human body needs a variety of nutrients as well a good balance of animal fats. Not knowingly, many vegetarians and vegans will ignore the fact that their bodies need many of the fats and nutrients that animal products provide. Saturated fat, doesn’t sound pleasant but it’s a crucial fat that the human body absolutely needs in order to function at its best.( The pros) Even vegetarian diets for pregnant women that are created professionally by the livestrong organization include that even though their vegetarian diets don’t consist of meat, they do consist of fish, dairy products, and eggs. Also pregnant women need a vital source of protein and even if they may not use animal products for that purpose than rice and beans are supposedly sufficient for that case (Vegetarian Diet During). But then again, rice and beans are required to be grown in vast fields where pristine rain forests are destroyed for the farming ground (Vegan Diets-unhealthy). Vegetarian diets can also cause malnutrition, which is a condition where a human is lacking very important nutrition. This is very common within vegans because of their belief against eating any sort of animal product, vegans then become vulnerable to lacking protein and important nutrients and may result in fatal conditions where they need to see nutritionist or doctors for protein injections and other ways to obtain those important nutrients that only animals products can provide. (Issitt/ Dewitt)
Along with all the environmental damage caused by the meat industry, it’s sound nearly impossible to find a counter point to the argument that vegetarianism is far superior and better than eating meat. My point is not just eat meat but only to continue to eat these animal products that have evolved the world we live in today and to disrupt the concept of eating animal products and wearing them on our backs will do more harm them good. The health of our bodies is a growing concern and is found to be another reason for people to convert into vegetarians or vegans. Our nation’s obesity rate increases annually and people are trying to find answers to other health issues such as cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, and other health risks that need to be avoided. Many have found the answer to their health problems when they stopped eating meat and started an all vegetarian diet to avoid all sorts health problems and to stop the epidemic spread of obesity. It’s absolutely true that vegetables are the key to vital nutrients, vitamins, and minerals are body needs to optimal health. (Ballaro/Sprague) Vegans and vegetarians say they do it for animal welfare but the idea of ridding modern agriculture contradicts the concept of animal welfare. Neither will ridding the meat industry help the economy in anyway, our medical industry would suffer from the lack of unhealthy patients as well as our pharmaceutical industry, gyms and the weight loss industry will vanish after people develop habits of rather eating healthy than actively staying in shape, and finally it will destroy a billion dollar meat industry that contributes to our nations economy in numerous ways. Not to mention the 800,000 cattle producers that supply the meat in the U.S. will lose their jobs that they worked hard for. (Are vegetarian) The world we live in today is a world that was created with the meat industry and to take away and eliminate everything about meat, even the entire of concept eating meat is something that may find its glory in the future but not during this time period. Our culture and lifestyle revolve too much around the meat industry, making it nearly impossible for vegetarians and vegans to overcome meat-eaters but maybe over time: decades, millenniums, or centuries vegetarianism/ veganism will have their time to shine.
Vegetarians and vegans believe what they are doing is right but when it comes down the undeniable truth, they are proven wrong in numerous ways from stone-hard evidence found in my sources. Vegetarians and vegans have made a name for themselves that create so much hype about being healthier and being “greener” than meat lovers but never did they expect that they were hurting the environment with their soy/alternates to proteins and nutrients and destructing the concept of animal welfare by feeding their babies a vegan diet and supporting the banishment of modern agriculture. They could be called hypocrites for several reasons, one pertaining to alcohol and how many vegans drink it even though it’s filtered using fish particles (Southan, Mortality). Do vegans know that? Probably not because as long as products aren’t specifically labeled for using animal products, it seems to be fine to the vegans. Vegetarians and vegans simply argue that meat industries should be banished for the environment, animal welfare, and health issues it causes but ironically those issues are caused by vegetarians and vegans as well and even if everyone in world were to convert into a vegetarian or vegan, those issues would still exist due to our modern lifestyle. There, I proved vegetarians and vegans aren’t the answer to a optimal healthy life style and cure to global warming. Meat is loved, and always will be no matter how hard veggie lovers try to spread their “greener” concepts to people. We’ve evolved eating meat for centuries and there is no possible way that it will come to a halt now especially when becoming vegetarian or vegan won’t be getting rid of many problems, instead creating new ones.
