Is Meat Really Murder?

VEGANGELICA · 03-26-2010, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anticipation

So, can any of the vegans/vegetarians here give me one good reason for not eating meat that doesn't deal with inter-species respect and hypothetical environmental conjecture?

One good reason: Your health.

Diets high in saturated fats (prevalent especially in animal products) and high in cholesterol (found only in animal products) increase your risk of heart disease and a variety of cancers. Eating red meats and especially processed red meats is particularly harmful to health; less is better.
The Growing Case Against Red Meat - TIME

Recent studies have found red meat consumption correlates with increased breast cancer risk.
Arch Intern Med -- Red Meat Intake and Risk of Breast Cancer Among Premenopausal Women, November 13, 2006, Cho et al. 166 (20): 2253

Dairy product consumption may be associated with increased risk of ovarian cancer and prostate cancer.
Prospective Study of Diet and Ovarian Cancer -- Kushi et al. 149 (1): 21 -- American Journal of Epidemiology
Dairy products, calcium, and prostate cancer risk in the Physicians' Health Study -- Chan et al. 74 (4): 549 -- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Anticipation, the harmful environmental effects of animal agriculture are not hypothetical but occur even now. Two examples: approximately 18% of greenhouse gas emissions are due to the livestock industry; water pollution and lack of potable fresh water in many locations is worsened by agricultural runoff from crops grown primarily for livestock feed (see "Dead Zones" Dead in the Water | Environmental Working Group).

Quote:

Originally Posted by tore

I think there's a fair chance we're heading for such a scenarion and shifting diet to plants may increase the amount of time it takes until we get there. That alone wouldn't solve the problem, though, we can still deplete edible plant resources. What we need is to live sustainably, but what's sustainable with a world population of 7 billion people is not necessarily sustainable in a world with 14 million people.

In other words, veganism is not a solution to that problem. You'd need something more extravagant like a way to control the world population and keep it from increasing to the point where we're too many .. for example by controlling how many kids families have. On a global scale, that's a near impossible political task. Divided nations and all that aside, we're not exactly bees working in the best interests of the collective hive.

edit :

Well, Erica is

Tore, the best way to reduce population growth, which is occurring mostly in developing nations, is to reduce poverty. Approximately 1.2 billion people currently live on less than $1 per day. Poverty (due to lack of economic democracy) is the main reason people decide to have many children.

When you are poor, especially in countries that do not provide social security in old age or universal healthcare and education, then deciding to have many children is the only way you will ensure some children survive to maturity, which is the only way to ensure someone is around to care for you in old age. Children become your only source of wealth in countries where governments fail to make sure people are able to earn an adequate living and have access to healthcare.

The best way to slow population growth is to provide people in developing countries with universal health care, universal education, opportunities for employment, and access to land and agricultural products. People then decide on their own, even without the use of birth control, to have fewer children, since they no longer need to rely on children as potential sources of income and future security.

What role could plant-based diets play in the future world? Foods derived from plants are cheap and efficient to produce, using up fewer resources than diets based heavily on animal products. Fresh water and resources are scarce in developing countries; ensuring people can eat healthful, plant-based diets is actually the ideal way to minimize the use of energy and maximize calories and vitamin intake, saving energy and resources for use in helping people. Until vitamin B-12 is readily made available in developing nations, then consumption of some animal products by poor people is important to ensure good health.

If developed countries lived more efficiently...and reducing animal product consumption is one way to do this...then there would be more money available to use to help people in developing countries.

And you're right, Tore! I am thinking of the collective hive! Thanks for noticing!