Becoming Vegetarian Can Be Good

The most that are clear of forest and trees are in the Amazon Basin since the 1960s has been caused by cattle ranchers and the people who watch the land, they burned the rainforest for pasture. Brazilian government data shows you that more than 60 percent of lands that are clear of forests and trees ends up as cattle pasture but the transfer to cattle pasture isn't a lot to Brazil in the 1970s and early 1980s of the rainforest in Costa Rica, Honduras, and El Salvador were burned and turned into cattle pasture lands to give America beef.

Most of the animals under this condition will develop illnesses, abnormalities, go insane, or die before they make it to the slaughterhouse (Alfie, 2010). In the U.S., over 10 billion animals are raised and killed each year for food about 9 billion chickens, 250 million turkeys, 100 million pigs, 35 million cows. The vast majority of these are not raised on small family farms but, rather, in the major agricultural facilities called?factory farms, also known as Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). The idea of factory farming originated in the 1920s with the discovery of vitamins A and D. When mixed with feed; farm animals were capable of growing without sunlight or exercise, which enabled them to be raised more efficiently in barns throughout the year (Fieser, 2015). Factory farming is a form of capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system that is privately controlled by owners for profit and self-interest (Fieser, 2015). Many philosophers have proposed the principle of equal consideration of interests, in some form or other, as a primary moral value; but, we shall see in more element shortly, not many of them have documented that this principle applies to members of other species as well as to our own. (Singer, 1989). In today society the consumer is much more interested in knowing how the chickens are raised, what they?ve been eating

However, due to more people searching for plots there is greater pressure on the amount of available land. The logging industry is responsible for a relatively small level of deforestation, accounting for 3% in Brazil. Consequently, all these activity contribute together to the rapid loss of what is left of the rainforest and a large proportion of the world’s biodiversity. All of the resources that the rainforest provides could be lost in the next 40 years.

Franklin D Roosevelt once said, “the history of every Nation is eventually written in the way in which it cares for its soil.” The United States began seeing sustainable management practices in farms, and healthier soil through this act. In 1982 through 2007, the United States soil erosion had declined by 43%” (Montanarella, 2015). Every year the United States loses about $400 billion dollars due to crop soil that is eroded. Soil is a limited resource and the largest resource for growing food, accommodating diverse ecosystems, and providing food resources. Therefore laws, acts, and provisions are necessary to protect this natural resource.

One of the primary cons of factory farming is that the breeding of cattle in unnatural, unsanitary and artificial settings along with the injection of additives and antibiotics, greatly lessens the quality of the food produced. The antibiotics can even harm the human body as the body learns to produces antibiotic resistant cells (Miller). Harm to human health has time and time again been stressed as an effect of factory farming. The cattle and poultry can breed diseases staying in a small and filthy space which has a high chance of being passed on and contaminating

No industry has seen the level of dramatic, exponential growth and change over the past three decades as animal agriculture. The present day global society and its accompanying hunger for flesh and other animal derived products has forced the production and husbandry of animals to adapt in order to satisfy this high demand. Modern farming practices are far from the idealized, picturesque image that is frequently portrayed in American media and advertising. Animal production in the United States has been industrialized, and consequently the adverse effects of large scale production and industry are taking their toll in new and devastating ways. A nation which was once saturated with small farms and farmers who supplied to the local

For years, capitalized agriculture has replaced our small, family owned farms with intentions to develop a way to produce cheap, fast meat. This newly efficient way of farming has caused an increase in consumption and a decrease in regards for the health of the animals they are raising. Cows, pigs, and birds each suffer at the hands of factory farm workers.

“On the global basis, the soil degradation is caused by over grazing (35%), agriculture activities (28%), deforestation (30%), over exploitation of land to produce fuel wood (4%), and industrialization (4%).” 100% of what causes soil degradation is caused by humans and animals. 35% of the blame goes to the animals for over grazing, but the other 65% of the blame goes to the humans for agriculture activities and chopping down trees. Another example is, David Pimentel also states, “The bottom line on soil production is that it takes (on average) about 100 years to generate a millimeter of soil. This is about a human lifetime.” Although it is stated that animals contribute to land degradation, it’s only a small portion (35%). The main reason for loss of arable land is human development. Forests are cut down for farming space, fuel wood, or space to build some kind of industry. When land is being used and used, and no one manages it, it can become deplete; which means, the land is dried out and unable to grow vegetation. Soil production takes a long time, on average, it takes 100 years. 100 years is too long to wait for new soil to plant food.

“The antibiotics these animals consume with their corn at this very moment are selecting, in their gut and whatever else in the environment they end up, for new strains of resistant bacteria that will someday infect us and withstand the drugs we depend on to treat that infection (Pollan. 81.)” Similarly, we will possess those same microbes from the animals we eat. There are roughly 5 diseases that can be attributed to antibiotic resistance due to factory farming; e. coli H-7, MRSA, Campylobacter/Salmonella, Mad Cow disease and Obesity. E. coli strains are normal in cows, but this particular strain thrives in feedlot cattle. Due to high grain diet the cows are fed, allows the deadly strain to withstand acidic environments in other words, resist acidity in our stomachs. This strain of E.coli can cause severe kidney damage. Children and elderly people are more likely to have severe symptoms and die. According to an Oxford Journal article MRSA infections leads to more deaths than HIV/ AIDS every year(Stryjewski 19.) MRSA is very common to pass in hospitals, and it’s antibiotic resistance makes it very difficult to treat. Campylobacter and Salmonella can be killed through proper cooking. Although, both are becoming more resistant to antibiotics. Campylobacter can be found on more than half the chicken being sold in stores. Mad Cow disease occurs when cows are fed other pieces of butchered cow, sheep or goat. Causing an infectious neurodegenerative disease in the animals which get passed to us. Luckily this is a disease more rare than the others I have discussed. Roughly 1 in 3 Americans is considered obese, calling obesity a disease is debatable. The country with the largest food industry also has the largest obesity rate. Arguably it doesn’t meet the requirements for a disease, but the American Heart Association and the American

According to the European Union’s Joint Research Center, soil contains nearly one third of all living organisms, but only about one percent have been identified. Another study in 2003 featured in the journal Ecosystems estimated that 5% of the United State’s soil biodiversity was “in danger of substantial loss, or complete extinction, due to agriculture and urbanization.” (Robbins) The damage comes from multiple sources. Paving or building over soil effectively blocks out the air, water, and light needed to have a functioning soil biome meaning that roads, cities, sidewalks, houses, and businesses have destroyed the soil beneath it. Agricultural practices remove organic material, decreasing food, and then allows fallowed land to become dry and exposed to the elements. Household, industrial, and agricultural toxins can also sterilize soil if not disposed of

Over the past few decades, livestock farming has gone through a dramatic transformation that has adapted to consumer wants and needs. Food production has shifted from small, family-owned farms to large agricultural farms. The larger farms often have corporate contracts, and meat and dairy products are produced with single species buildings or open air-pens. There are two different types of large farms: animal feeding operations (AFO) and concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO). A CAFO raises animals for the consumption of eggs, meat, and milk. CAFOs usually contain a high density of animals and are large-scale industrial agricultural facilities (Hribar 1). CAFOs contain many animals in a confined space that have little or no access to

As the soil becomes more and more polluted with these toxins, it becomes unsustainable. Therefore, land that would have remained fertile for centuries through the commonsense farming of our ancestors, is being ruined by farming controlled by big corporations whose sole interest is in immediate short term profit (Goodall 38). Industrialized livestock farming with thousands of animals crammed into small factory spaces is responsible for numerous bacterial and viral infections such as E.coli., Avian bird flu, Mad cow disease, Salmonella, and many more. Therefore, conventional farmers use antibiotics to keep these animals alive. This over use of antibiotics is causing the creation of new, resistant strains of deadly diseases that kill people and animals. Disease is actually caused by the bad practices, shortcuts, and antibiotic resistance. This has the opposite effect of what was intended and also costs farmers millions of dollars every year instead of saving money. Unfortunately, conventional agriculture experts recommend these monocultural farming practices in the name of quick, mass production.

Today I would like to inform to you about the benefits of the livestock industry and how it is apart of your everyday lives. As I have just shown you, the majority of people enjoy items from livestock or partake

Slaughterhouses and calf’s on steroids vs. eating plants and being healthy? Think about the pros of becoming a vegetarian. Vegetarian food is very delicious and easy to make and a whole lot more frugal. Think of all the money you could save becoming a vegetarian, you could go on cruise put money away for college with that entire savings.

The rate of deforestation is increasing and the tropical forests are falling at approximately 140,000 acres per day (Miller & Tangley 1991: xvi). The forests are crucial to the environment. They are important in minimizing erosion, providing a stable habitat for many animals, and helping to keep the environment clean. Deforestation has devastating effects, not only on the biological dependents within the depleted forests, but also on the surrounding human-populated communities.