The Pros And Cons Of Vegetarianism

In addition to his solutions, Pollan’s modern narrative sheds light on the façade of our food industries; asking us to rethink what we know. Despite the mention of certain inhumane acts in All Animals are Equal, Pollan takes us one step further to uncover the reason for which we continue to purchase our corrupt food. We all know animal abuse exists, but the average consumer like myself is more worried about the best price and the fastest way to get a burger rather than how fairly the animals are treated in the process. Whether it be the confined living space of chickens or the mental and physical torture of pigs, we continue to blind ourselves from reality. Is it purely out of selfishness? Or are we too ignorant to come to terms with our wrong doings? Like Pollan explains, it takes seeing the abuse before the shame of our disrespect can be felt (pg.6). After seeing Pollan’s truth, I might now think twice before eating out and the choice to support organic produce can make a dramatic difference for those farmers who promote the ethical lifestyle.

One of the most common moral debates is that of whether one should become vegetarian or not. Some of the factors that help tip that scale include religious practices and beliefs, environmental issues, animal rights and health issues. Vegetarianism is no longer a question of morality surrounding the maltreatment and slaughter of many innocent animals, but also on how hugely livestock production is affecting our environment. Furthermore, many people choose to become vegetarian, or quit eating certain meats, for religious purposes or in the best interest of their health. Vegetarianism, being such a large part of our current society, is met with three different reactions: acceptance, tolerance and hostility.

More than ever before, our planet is one filled with meat eaters. In fact, the average American consumes 270.7 pounds of meat per year. And, as one might have guessed, the question of where this food set before them on the table came from is often unregarded or ignored altogether. As more media forms commercialize extremely unhealthy versions of double cheeseburgers and meat lover’s supremes, the consumer’s demand for meat spikes up and companies in the food industry are faced with the ethical dilemma of benefiting themselves, their companies, increasing profits...and doing right by the animals- who without, they would not even be where they are today. Needless to say that animal rights and the humane treatment of their precious lives have been disregarded. Why do we, as a

Today, the food industry has not just altered the American diet, but it has also had a negative effect within the labor sector as well as the animals meant for consumption and the lack of government oversight. Eric Schlosser in Fast Food Nation, and Jonathan Foer in Eating Animals, illustrate the mistreatment of labor workers as well as the animal abuse that goes unseen within the food industry. Foer gives such examples of employees who work in slaughterhouses giving accounts of what goes on in the kill floors, and stories of employees who have witnessed thousands and thousands of cows going through the slaughter process alive (231). Eating meat does not have to be so inhumane for example, Foer quotes Frank Reese, who does not permit inhumane practices on his ranch that are cruel, and Reese believes that there are other ways of having a sustainable humane animal agriculture instead of the methods of the large corporate meat industry (238). Namit Arora in the article “On Eating Animals”, as well as Michael Pollan in his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, address some of the issues that animals face once they hit the kill floor. The food industry has transformed not only what people eat, but how the government has neglected the issues of the wellbeing of labor workers and the animals that are processed for consumption.

Vegetarians are people who do not eat meat, and for some, do not consume any animal products at all. Vegetarian has been along for a long time and with time has grown the controversy over the topic. The reasons that vegetarianism has grown into a controversial topic are mostly the human beliefs and health reasons associated with it.

About a year ago, I asked myself a question why am I not a vegetarian? After all, I am one of the green kids. I grew up with my vegetarian dad in a small town. I even joined a club called “Tree Huggers”. I knew that eating a mere hamburger a day could increase my risk of dying by a third. I knew that the 10 billion animals we raise each year for meat are raised in factory farmed conditions that we hypocritically wouldn’t even consider for our own cats, dogs and other pets. I knew that I was not alone, we as a society are eating twice as much meat as we did in the 50s. So, what was once the special little side treat now is the main course much more regular. What if I told you, that we can change our world through our food choices. The fact

Veganism has grown into a widespread trend in the last 70 years; in fact, in the United States approximately 3% of the population reports that they do not eat meat and about a third of this group declare themselves as vegan (Singer and Mason 187). Factory farming is an intensive method of farming that results in inexpensive meat products at the expense of one’s health, the environment, and animals (“Factory Farms”) . Moreover, this form of farming has led to the slow destruction of the planet, the mistreatment of animals, and the increase of various health diseases. Veganism is increasing due to the exposure of the secondary effects caused by industrialized

“You are what you eat”, a famous saying says. If this were truly the case, then the majority of Americans would be unhealthy, chemically processed, commercially grown slabs of animal meat. And although this is not a particularly pleasing thought, it is the epitome of a standard American diet that consists of Big Macs and Taco Bell. There are a select few who stray from this typical diet, and have altered it to where they can substitute meat with other nutrients. This type of diet is called vegetarianism, and is considered the way to live without poisoning oneself with the harmful and hazardous treatment that animals go through before becoming the next meal on your plates. While vegetarianism was once thought to be a movement without much action,

It’s safe to say that majority of people, particularly those who live in places where pre-made food and conveniently packaged goods are readily accessible, don’t put much thought into what they use on a day-to-day basis. Although what goes in to making these (mostly) essential items may not seem to be of much importance, it is easy to forget that animals and animal products are principal staples of human consumerism. Because they are living, breathing beings that are capable of experiencing pain, it becomes necessary to question the morality of using animals for the sake of human pleasure. In this discussion, I will go beyond the vegetarian argument to argue that abstaining only from eating meat is not the end-all moral solution to problems involving the treatment of animals; rather, the vegetarian argument must encompass the avoidance of all uses of animals in order

The Vegetarian/Vegan diet is a very intense debate right now. There are so many people and organizations involved in the fight, and it gets very biased very quickly. On the one side, people claim that it is healthier for us to cut meat out of our diet. While the other side claims that it is healthier to keep meat in our diet. This debate gets very confusing, very fast. When looking into the science side of things, it is said that the human body needs meat and the nutrients that we receive from meat, which is why the vegetarian diet is not as healthy as it seems.

Our diet is a huge part of our lifestyle. It is what sustains us and keeps us healthy. However, there are things about our diet that are actually pretty harmful. For this reason, many people have changed their diets pretty drastically to help remain healthy and protect the environment at the same time.

The mere thought of abstaining from meat makes some revolt, an instinctive reaction to giving up something they enjoy so regularly, but lots of folks do it because they believe it is the healthier option. Though, when thoroughly looked at, that isn’t always the case.

In the beginning of chapter 33 Persons says "When a set of interdependent phenomena shows sufficiently definite patterning and stability over time, then we can say that it has a "structure" and that it is fruitful to treat it as a "system" (421). If we were to apply the social system to our lives and create our own personal system, it would allow us to expand ourselves. We would have to continuously need to do something until it becomes a solid pattern in our lives. We then move on to allowing new patterns to become part of the system we have created for ourselves. For example, if I decided to become a vegetarian, I would have to follow certain rule/steps to officially become and say I have converted to a vegetarian. It doesn't become part of my lifestyle until it shows sufficiency.

Is a vegetarian diet healthier than a meat eating diet? Becoming vegetarian certainly has pros because of its potential health benefits. However, becoming vegetarian also has its cons because it can cause the human body to become deficient on some of the body’s needs such as iron. With that, there are many advantages and disadvantages to vegetarianism that could make or break the choice of becoming one.

Whether it be because of religion, culture, or personal choice, millions of people worldwide do not eat meat, and the majority of the population, the omnivores, often ridicule these people, the vegetarians, for their choices. This has sadly created a divide between thousands of people, however the cause of this separation is simple. One side, whether it be the omnivores or the vegetarians, feels the need to impose its choices onto the other side. Both sides are at fault here, as the omnivores tell the vegetarians that they cannot get proper nutrients from a plant-based diet, and the vegetarians try to tell the omnivores that they are torturing animals by killing them for food. The omnivores are wrong because, while it does require careful planning, vegetarians can easily get the nutrients they need, and the vegetarians are hypocritical because, as the article will show, farming kills thousands of creatures.