Retreat from Meat

Retreat from Meat

“By eating meat we share the responsibility of climate change, the destruction of our forests, and the poisoning of our air and water. The simple act of becoming a vegetarian will make a difference in the health of our planet.” 

-Thich Nhat Hanh  – The World We Have:  A Buddhist Approach to Peace and Ecology

 

When I became vegetarian three years ago, I told myself that if I ever went back to eating meat, it would show a real regression in values.  At that point, nothing made more sense to me than the idea that if animals were sentient beings, and we could survive without them, then naturally, we should count them out of our diets.  This was strictly a moral issue, and I did not impose vegetarianism on anybody.  Then, last semester, I took a class on nutrition and learned that for certain body types (Thyroid deficient, such as mine), animal cholesterol is very important for health.  Having dealt with chronic stomach problems for the last three years, I began to consider the potential relationship between my poor health and my practically vegan diet.  For a month, I tried a Paleo-style cleanse and found little health benefit.  Soon after reverting to my whole foods only vegetarian diet, I watched the documentary Cowspiracy.  This documentary paved the way for continued research on the relationship between raising animal livestock for food and the effects on different global issues.  Below are some facts from the Cowspiracy project.

1. Climate Change:  Animal agriculture produces more Greenhouse Gases than all cars, trucks, planes, boats, and other forms of transportation COMBINED.
2. Water Consumption:  Animal agriculture is responsible for 55% of all US water consumption.  One Hamburger uses the equivalent of TWO MONTHS worth of showers.
3. Wildlife Extinction:  Animal agriculture is the leading cause of Species extinction, habitat destruction and wildlife culling.  2.7 million animals were killed in 2014 by the USDA — the majority for livestock.
4. World Hunger:  Livestock consumes up to 50% of all grains, while an estimated 795 million people, a ninth of the total human population, lack sufficient nutrition.
5. Land Use:  Animal agriculture occupies 45 % of the Earth’s ice-free land.
6. Rainforest Destruction:  Animal agriculture is the leading cause of rainforest destruction, responsible for 136 million acres and 91 percent of the destruction of the Brazilian Amazon.  That is over 5 times the destruction caused by the Palm Oil industry.
7. Water Pollution:  Animal agriculture is the leading cause of all fresh water pollution, ocean dead zones, and the die-off of the Great Barrier Reef.

Here is the impact of switching to a VEGAN diet:

• 1,100 gallons of water saved;
• 30 sq ft of forested land unharmed;
• 20 lbs CO2 equivalent not released;
• 45 pounds of grain available for other uses;
• One animal’s life not taken…

…..EACH DAY!

Becoming Vegan (or at least Vegetarian) is perhaps the most instrumental personal effect that each of us can make on the world.  Supporting and promoting the meat industry is immoral at a level that transcends the level of immorality that I sensed in it three years ago.  Supporting this industry is immoral at a personal, societal, and planetary level, and it is the inter-weaving of all of these levels that have led to the state of the world today and the prospective future of it.

Ironically, effects of eating meat on our own health is not even listed above.  The health detriments of eating red meat, corn-fed meat, anti-biotic raised meat, and other atrocious practices of factory farms, is the chief cause for Heart Disease — the far-and-away leading killer in this country.  The consequences on personal health from eating meat, especially poor-quality meat, are profound.  Obesity, Cancer, Alzheimers, Strokes, and Diabetes, are all linked to the meat industry, and yet we would rather spend our money on hospital bills to save our lives than just create more positive habits from the start.

Likewise, it is also important to consider that the use of Anti-biotics in livestock is giving rise to anti-biotic resistant bacteria.  We are almost inevitably going to have to deal with new strains of bacteria that we cannot treat with current medicine.  The scale and timeline of this issue is so mysterious that a new “superbug” could be looming in our near future.

The scariest part of the facts above is that, though significant meat consumption is predominantly from only a few wealthy countries, the meat industry is growing exponentially.  As with many facets of the advancement of the species, developing countries such as China and India are beginning to grow exponentially in meat consumption, following the Paradigms of Western nations.  As we consider the already prevalent issues such as water and food scarcity and environmental degradation, adding billions more people to an unsustainable paradigm lifestyle will only accelerate this degradation of people and planet.  It is absolutely crucial that we, the United States, the paragon nation for much of the world, change the way we eat and the industries we support.  There is no more personal, productive, and prolific change that each of us can make than this.

Like all personal choices, this too gets back to the question of values.  Meat offers nutrients and taste. It’s often cost-effective.  Maybe, for some, it brings out their inner “carnivore.”  But is it really so important that we actually “can’t live without it”?  Is it really so delicious that we can’t acknowledge the absolutely devastating effects each bite has on the world?  See, I believe that we are stronger than this.  We are more altruistic than this.  The problem lies not in our ability, but in our awareness.  Choose against meat, and help others do the same.

The end of the “meat dynasty” is upon us, and promoting a new, meat-less paradigm, could prove to be the difference between devastation and sustainability.  In my “Conscious Eating” section I explain a new paradigm diet — vegan, trash-less, healthy, and all-around sustainable.