Are Animals Worth It

Today, many Americans are not doing a great job taking care of themselves and their well-being. As a result, the rates of obesity of many Americans continues to increase. Many are suffering from diseases that not only is affecting their health but also their lifestyle. Many believe that by consuming a healthier vegetarian diet not only will it help individuals maintain a healthier body but by reducing the amount of foods that contain fertilizers can protect the planet from further damage to the environment.

Meals with more fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of several different cancers among many other diseases. Vegetarians generally have lower body weight than those who eat a significant amount of meat.

According to The Middle East Journal of Family Medicine, “many researchers have reported a direct relationship between a vegetarian diet and the prevention of and curing several illnesses, such as: hypertension, obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart

Research shows that in countries where people eat a pound or more of fruit and vegetables a day , the rate of cancer is half what it is in the United States. Pollan argues that vegetarians are less susceptible to most of the western diseases, and as a consequence live longer than the rest of us(164). Apparently, we can’t live without plants, but we don’t need to eat meat in order to obtain the nutrients we need for growth because they can be found elsewhere (Pollan 165). Since plants are less energy dense than other foods, by eating a plant-based diet one will likely consume fewer calories which is itself protective against many chronic disease (Pollan 165).I agree with Pollan that a plant-based diet can help reduce the risk of obesity, Diabetes, and Heart Disease.

Going vegetarian can help preserve the limited land and water system that us humans take for granted sometimes. Factory farming along with free range farming are destroying the earth and its biodiversity. When people think of pollution like unnecessary CO2 emissions and deforestation of rainforests, they do not think about the animals being raised for consumption. In an article, “Concentrated animal Agriculture Is The Biggest

One of the most important reasons why people decide to change their diet is health, because it determines the amount of essential nutrients for the proper functioning of our body. It is said that a vegetarian diet provides health benefits, like the risk of suffering from certain diseases is lower. “The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), the British Medical Association, and the World Health Organization (WHO) have all published studies that conclude that vegetarian diets provide certain health benefits, based on findings that vegetarians tend to weigh less, have lower cholesterol levels, and even face a reduced risk of some kinds of cancer.” (Vegetarianism). The list includes heart disease, diabetes, gallstones, kidney stones, osteoporosis and diverticulitis. However, to avoid deficiencies in proteins, calcium, iron, vitamin D, vitamin B12, omega-3 and iodine, we must inform ourselves very well when we are performing a vegetarian diet or be advised us by a nutritionist, to be sure that our food plan satisfies all the nutrients that our body needs. What is important is doing things well. Eliminating animal products from our diet is nothing new. It is true

The few things that vegetarians are able to eat are vegetables, fruits, and some other things such as carbohydrates. They try to avoid any meat, poultry, fish, eggs or dairy products, unless they are lacto-vegetarians which in that case they can eat dairy products like milk, cheese, and yogurt. When you contrast a meat-eater and a vegetarian you will notice how they differentiate in ways, for instance their life-span. Unlike meat-eaters, vegetarians are known to have a longer life-span. Being a vegetarian provides many benefits for the health of a person. One of them include improving and boosting up their mood. A lot of people may ask, why go vegetarian? Well, being one is great for you. You’ll keep your weight down, build strong bones, and you’ll have more energy. As well as all these advantages, there are many bad effects of being a vegetarian. One of them is a high risk of colorectal cancer, which is a cancer that starts in the colon.

People have the right to act on what they believe in. choosing to change your diet and eat no meat or fish is okay. In fact, it is encouraged to become vegan. But making a dietary change may be a hard thing to do especially in today’s time – people are demanding for more meat – but it may perhaps be the simplest and cheapest way to help our planet from dying. Eating less meat or no meat can reduce the impact of humans on the environment.

Fortunately, 70% of patients diagnosed are able to reverse their heart disease when physicians prescribe a low-fat vegetarian diet. Vegetarians are 50% less likely to develop heart disease and 25% less likely to die from it. They also have 40% of the cancer rate of meat eaters. Meat eaters are also 9 times more likely to gain unnecessary weight than vegetarians. By becoming a vegetarian, you can also avoid food poisoning such as mad cow disease or salmonella from undercooked meat and poultry.

Vegetarians eat things such as tofu, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, organics, and many other things. Meat contains high amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol which in excess amounts, contributes to heart disease, cancer, and other degenerative diseases. The Vegetarian Resource Group has a conservative 4% of vegetarians in the U.S. in 2012, up from 2.3% in 2006. Their lifestyle will help address key environmental concerns. Vegetarians often cite the massive environmental damage caused by raising food animals.

There are many different diets you could try, to see which one works for you and not only makes you healthier, but also makes you feel healthier. Trying to stop eating meat all together and becoming a vegetarian could be about impossible for some people. There might be people who eat at fast food restaurants every day and some might even eat there for about every meal. Some, could try and watch what they eat and try to stay under the average calorie limit per day, but most people just stick to the Standard American diet just because it’s the simple and easy. Eating the regular “American diet” each day may not always be a bad thing. Studies show that eating regular food is cheap. Our government gives food stamps and WIC money for much of this food to the people in need and who are struggling financially so it benefits them positively(Baker 2011). Also, as I said before, this diet is the easiest to follow because you can just buy whatever you want and don’t have to check the box and see how many calories are in the certain type of food or even how much sugar we are consuming.

     One cannot omit the fact that there are some global economical problems caused by mass meat consumption, such as starvation. Cattle are fed soybeans, corn, and other grains that could be eaten directly by people. You can feed a cow 16 pounds of food, and only one pound becomes meat that people can eat. The other 15 pounds are waste. It has been proved that decreasing global meat production by 10% would allow us to feed additional 60 million people. I am convinced that it is a strong argument why all people should become vegetarians.

Meat and dairy products can increase the risk of developing many forms of cancer, including; breast, ovarian, prostate and colon cancer. “Studies conducted by scientists at the University of Toronto and St. Michael 's Hospital have found that a vegetarian diet made up of certain plant foods can lower cholesterol as effectively as a drug treatment” {Medical News today, 2014} The results of this study showed that a vegetarian diet reduced levels of 'bad ' cholesterol that are known to clog coronary arteries. In a meat-eaters diet the main source of saturated fat comes from animal products, by cutting these products out the risk of heart disease decreases. Within two weeks of becoming a vegetarian blood pressure significantly reduces. Through a healthy vegetarian diet and exercise non-insulin-dependent diabetes can be controlled and sometimes even eliminated, a diet such as this that is low in fat, high in fibre and complex carbohydrates allows insulin to work more effectively.

Having a healthy dietary method can reduce the chances of receiving many health diseases. These health diseases include obesity, heart disease, and cancer. By consuming certain foods and nutrients in one’s diet the risk factors for these health diseases can be reduced. A healthy dietary method that is beneficial to reducing and/or improving these health diseases is the vegetarian diet. The vegetarian diet follows a dietary pattern that is characterized by the consumption of plant-like foods and the avoidance of flesh foods (meat, poultry, and fish). The foods in this diet provide the body with many essential nutrients. This is why many health benefits have been associated with the vegetarian

"Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet" (Einstein). “70 percent of all Americans are dying from diseases that are directly tied to their eating habits.” Studies show people who have a diet full of fruits, vegetables, and grains are more likely to live a healthy, happy life (Dworkin). More and more people around the world are realizing the real benefits a vegetarian diet can provide them. A vegetarian diet contributes benefits to animals, cardiovascular health, and a longer, healthier life.