Textbook Problem

(1) Flesh food is not a necessity in the human diet, as (2) nutritionally adequate alternatives are readily available. (3) Many people in the world thrive on a nonmeat diet. (4) Indeed, vegetarian Seventh-Day Adventists in this country live an average of six years longer than their meat-eating counterparts. (5) The National Academy of Science warns that our fat-laden diet is directly responsible for much of the heart disease and cancer that afflict so many. (6) At a time when people are starving in certain parts of the world, it should be noted that a steer must consume sixteen pounds of grain and soy to produce one pound of meat. (7) The grain and soybeans we feed our meat-producing animals would feed every hungry mouth in the world many times over. (8) Cattle are competing with humans for food. (9) Clearly, a reassessment of the whole concept of killing and eating animals is in order.