A Vegitarian Society Essay, Research Paper

Have you ever wondered, How can a impoverished nation with a population four timesthe size of the USA feed all of its people when much of its land is mountainous or barren desert? The answer is the diet. The staple food of many Asian countries with high populations is either rice or rice-related products; small amounts of meat (if any) are needed to feed nations that have close to or surpassing 1 billion people. I therefore push for a governmentally controlled health program, removing or diminishing the amounts of meat from the diets of Americans to promote a healthier, more humane way of life. Although vegetarianism is seen as a current fad or New Age rebellious movement to set people aside from those that came before them, it actually is a healthier diet to follow. Many doctors will say that you will not receive the proteins necessary for a strong and prosperous life. They will say this because meat, be it from cattle or poultry, is an excellent source of these proteins. What they won t tell you is foods such as lentils and other legumes contain an equally high amount of protein. Another health benefit that a meat-free diet provides, proven by modern medical science, is that animal fats present in meats contribute to the development of many diseases ranging from high blood pressure to heart disease and heart attacks due to fatty build-up. Since a vegetarian diet removes the salt, saturated fats, and cholesterol (present only in animal products), you can expect to feel healthier and live longer by following one. A well balanced meat-free diet, often in conjunction with supplementary vitamins, can increase your health and allow you to feel better about yourself.

When you think about what you are eating, do you wonder where it comes from? Does it just appear in your local grocer s freezer? No, it does not. Beef is meat that comes from cattle, which are mostly bred in extremely cramped areas, without enough room to turn around, wallowing in their own excrement. After living their lives in stalls only large enough to hold them and fed a slim diet that is often fortified with steroids so that more of their body mass is the desired muscle, the cattle are shipped and then butchered. Someone once said that if slaughter houses had glass walls, people would readily be vegetarians. This type of treatment is disregarded everyday by the same people

that claim to be working to create a more peaceful world. Millions of cattle are butchered daily to satisfy America s desire for meat. Is it then acceptable to eat chicken or another poultry? They receive an equal, often less humane treatment than the cattle. Chicken are held down as they are butchered because they can survive for a time without their heads. This type of animal cruelty is seen as acceptable. It isn t and must be stopped. The easiest solution would be instead to follow a plant-based diet, the more humane choice. Many people will say that it takes too much farm land to feed a country on grains and plant foods, that it is more space efficient to use the land for cattle grazing. Did you ever consider that a cow has four stomachs that need to be filled? If the land used to feed cattle in the US was instead planted with grains, the food produced would be MORE than ample to feed the entire nation. Only about a quarter of lands needed to graze cattle are needed to feed the US population. Meat is also expensive to produce, requiring years of animal growth, personnel to operate farms, and space to shelter the animals. Grain can be produced at a fraction of the cost of meat, reducing the consumer s food bill. Other nations have realized this and use their land to cultivate rice and legumes to feed their large populations. Many corporations in America have also realized this. Fast food chains including McDonalds produce burgers that contain soy products and sugar to improve the flavor and cut down on the cost of buying meat. The economic benefits that America would reap from a nation-wide vegetarian diet should surely be cause enough to establish one. Why not?

Perhaps people can not accept the change: cars were not at first widely accepted as a replacement for the horse (not until Ford brought the price of the car within everyone s budget), but look where we are now. I urge you to consider a meat-free diet. Until you do, think about the sweet feeling of oil and fat and cholesterol coating your arteries and decreasing your time on earth, time spent with the ones you love.