Being Vegetarian Essay

As Americans become increasingly more health conscious, vegetarian diets are becoming more and more common. Produce-aisle signs stating eat 5 a day for better health are beginning to pay off, along with the USDA-DHHS Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which state: Many American diets have too many calories and too much fat (especially saturated fat), cholesterol,and sodium. They also have too little complex carbohydrates and fiber. Such diets are one cause of America’s high rates of obesity and of certain diseases-heart disease, high blood pressure,stroke, diabetes, and some forms of cancer http://www.childsecure.com/veggie.htm

As humanity becomes more civilized, many of us perceive that eating livestock is morally incorrect, but aren’t we are designed to be an omnivore? Our teeth and digestive system serve the purpose of breaking down animal and plant foods and to bring these important nutrients to every part of the body. Despite the fact that, in 2011, U.S. meat and poultry production reached more than 92.3 billion pounds, the ethic of killing and eating animals as well as the concern of the environmental burden caused by the production of meats is debatable. However, animal based diet is necessary for the human body to function properly and we can choose the meat produced from environmentally sustainable farms to avoid the moral ambiguity.

Replacing all the meat in the human diet with vegetables and fruit is difficult. At the expense of refraining from eating meat, we are expected to partake in excessive

What is a hamburger without grilled meat, hotdogs without sausages, or Thanksgiving without turkey? These foods contain an excessive amount of meat that people like to enjoy in their foods which make it tasty and delicious. However, an excessive amount of meat is affecting people’s health because people are consuming more meat instead of the necessary fruits and vegetables that are needed in their body. People do not realize that excessive meat is affecting their health. Most of the human diseases such as diabetes and heart disease are caused because people are consuming a great amount of meat. People fail at having a well-balanced scale in which they can balance their diet and consume smaller portions of everything. It is incredible to realize where meat comes from. According to the article in order to obtain 1 pound of meat it takes approximately sixteen pounds of soybeans and grain.

The world has a need for meat, and it is almost obsessive. Most cultures typically consume some sort of domesticated animal in agriculture. Whether it is cows, chicken, lamb, deer, turkey, or fish, many people are not educated to the fact that the alternative diets are better for their health. There are different animal products for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Hundreds if not thousands of diverse chain restaurants dedicated to meat consumption.There are also many different holidays around the world such as Thanksgiving and Christmas where meat is consumed. With affordable prices and an acquired taste, it is likely to be a lifelong habit. There are vast miles of subsidized agricultural land dedicated to the cultivation of animals. According to Amir Khan, staff writer for U.S.News, reporting on the American Meat Institute, Americans consume, “57 pounds more meat than they were in the 1950s”(Khan).

“Meats, Dairies, and Eggs, Oh Why” (2014) is an argumentative essay written by Rebecca Dent that explains the benefits of eating a plant-based diet and advocates for the better treatment of the animals affected by the meat industry. Dent supports her assertions by discussing the negative health effects of an omnivorous diet, addressing reasons some might be hesitant to convert to a plant-based diet, describing the advantages of substituting meat for vegetables for both the consumers and the animals, and finally, by including expert opinions and statistical facts. Dent’s purpose for this essay is to highlight the benefits of vegetarianism in order to convince readers to convert to a plant-based diet. The intended audience for this argument is those who currently eat an omnivorous diet so that they would assess and change their eating habits.

The meat industry has become quite the debate relating to the quality of the meat and its production in the past couple years. Even in the story My Year of Meats, which was during the 20th century, it exemplifies and gives various examples of how meat is potentially bad for your health and our environment. Of course, many would probably disagree on the grounds that “the average American eats 270 pounds of meat per year” (Walsh 1.5). However, is eating meat the only way it can be harmful to us? Regards to those who don’t eat meat, it still has and still will, largely impact their lives because of the way it is being produced because of the emissions and environmental problems that can arise.

An estimated fifty-six billion animals are slaughtered every year just for human consumption. The consumption of these animals is now redundant and wasteful because meat and dairy products are not necessary for the majority of human’s survival. Humans should stop eating animals and animal by-products because it is morally wrong, this is due to the fact that many of the animals humans consume can feel pain. Humans should stop eating other animals if it is not essential for their survival. In addition, the conditions that animals are subjected to in farms and slaughterhouses are harsh. Moreover, the amount of grain that is required to feed farmed animals is high and can be used to feed humans instead of animals that will inevitably be killed

Even though meat may provide protein, the animals people consume are treated wrongfully. When animals are not killed, the life they are subjected into is harmful to their growth and development. According to Elizabeth Kolbert in "Should You

If I could only use one word to describe myself as a person, it would be healthy. When I say healthy I do not mean your average american’s portrayal of the word. Healthy as in no animal products in my system whatsoever. Yes! That means no meat, no dairy, and no eggs; this is also known as veganism or plant based. Some may say that it is an extreme and completely unnecessary way to live, but for me it is a form of activism for the animals, our health, and our dying planet. Whether the word “veganism” has a bad taste in your mouth or not; I still would like to share my personal experience and how it has positively changed me mentally, emotionally, and physically.

3 and a half years; that’s how long I have been vegan. I would rave about the benefits, but vegans are told that doing that is shoving our beliefs down someone’s throat. I became healthy, both physically and mentally. It feels great and something that makes you feel great makes you want to talk about it. Vegans get a bad reputation for that, but people who talk about feeling great from fitness or a sport do the same without being stereotyped.

We are a nation of meat eaters. We are socialized from a young age to consume high levels of animal products. This deeply ingrained meat-eating tradition is a big part of the American standard diet. A visit to the local grocery store shows that there is no shortage of animal products. Isle by isle you see a plethora of meats, neatly packed and ready to be cooked, dairy products neatly shelved, and even candies that contain animal by-products. This is an omnivore’s utopia, allowing for a lifestyle that involves the overconsumption of meats and animal by-products. The rampant meat industry has managed to condition people to disassociate the meats in our grocery markets and the animals from which they came. Most people have become unaware omnivores, consuming whatever meats are available to them. This shift of moral degradation is evident in how we process and consume our meats. We have become a selfish society that values our own convenience and affordability of meat rather than the consideration of the animal. This begs the question, is eating meat inherently wrong and should we forbid meat consumption under any and all circumstances? To fully address this issue, we must first define the moral status of animals. So, are animals equal to humans in worth and value and should they receive similar treatment?

Can it be morally permissible to eat meat when plant-based foods are available? In this paper my aim is it to explain why this is morally wrong to do. One problem with eating meat is humans are putting animals in unnecessary pain. Another problem is that the majority of our environmental destruction on our planet is due to agriculture. Philosophers Peter Singer and Tom Regan, both back up this view with their own arguments.

As we can now observe, vegetarianism has become something fashionable, and the number of people who reject eating meat is constantly increasing. In Britain, for instance, over 5 million people have done it so far. It is obviously connected with the recent animal diseases, but this tendency is likely to spread on the other regions of the world. However, it is not only a fashion or fear of illnesses. I myself became a vegetarian about 2 years ago, and I can see a number of reasons why people should stop eating meat. They are mainly of ethic, economic and health type. Those who think in an ecological way should also be aware of how this meat consumption ruins our environment. I don’t have an intention

In the year of 2012, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated that Americans ate an average of 52.3 pounds of beef, 57.4 pounds of chicken and 43.5 pounds of pork per person.(citation?) Only 5% of Americans are vegetarians and with that much meat eaten by Americans, in one year alone why should you to forced to become vegetarian? With meat being the main staple in the Americans diet there is no reason we should take that of the table. That fact alone shows that most Americans’ diets are made up of meat sources. According to the United States Census Bureau (USCB) the U.S. population was 313.8 million; meaning that 16 billion pounds of beef, 18 billion chicken and 13 billion pounds of pork was eaten by Americans alone in