Eat Your Veggies

Eat Your Veggies

I’ve spent almost 10 years in an on again off again relationship. I decided it was finally time to commit. There’s a lot that has to be given up, mainly beef, pork, poultry, fish and seafood. That’s right; I’ve finally converted to vegetarianism for good. But why would someone choose to not eat meat when it’s so accessible, you don’t even have to hunt the animal yourself like people once had to? That’s the exact reason.

Factory farms are one of the biggest reasons to not eat meat. “On today's factory farms, animals are crammed by the thousands into filthy windowless sheds, wire cages, gestation crates, and other confinement systems” (GoVeg.com). You can find an endless amount of horror stories about today’s farm animals from their birth until their death. Some animals don’t even make it to adulthood, “Every year, more than 100 million of these young [male] birds are ground up alive or tossed into bags to suffocate,” (GoVeg.com).

It’s hard to think about all the animals suffering, and most people put it easily out of their minds so that they continue to eat their favorite meals that have been fed their whole lives, that are familiar, that they’re used to. But with our growing population, factory farms have become worse and worse to feed our growing nations’ appetite.

Factory farming is bad for animals, bad for the environment, and bad for people. Think of the pesticides used on the foods that animals eat, if you know anything about bioaccumulation that means those pesticides end up in the flesh of the animals. Since the animals are in cramped conditions there is disease and infection among the animals, so farmers must treat them with drugs and antibiotics, which end up in you too. “Research has shown that vegetarians are 50 percent less likely to develop heart disease, and they have 40 percent of the cancer rate of meat-eaters” (GoVeg.com).

Another reason you may not want to support the meat industry is its effect it is having on our environment. Factory farms waste water, use one third of the raw materials used in the use are consumed by the farm animal industry, contribute to soil erosion, and raising farm animals creates more greenhouse gases than all of the cars and trucks in the world combines, adding carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide to the atmosphere (GoVeg.com).

You may be thinking, how much of a difference does it really make? All those little particles, the pesticides, the antibiotics, the steroids, add up. Think of all the meat you eat in a year, and if even a fraction of a percent of that is contaminated, you will end up consuming at least one meat sized portions of these contaminates a year. Does that sound very yummy? Hardly yummy at all if you ask me.

What are delicious though are fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and, if you choose, eggs and dairy products as well, all preferably organic. Organic products are grown without the use of pesticides or chemicals, which is better for you and the environment. Organic dairy and organic free range hen eggs are best as well. If you don’t believe it, try it for yourself. You can taste the difference, but you can also feel the difference in your wallet. That’s why organic is best when possible, but if you can’t afford these, not eating meat is a good first step towards eating all around better food.

What you eat is a personal choice. If you want eat food that is good for you, good for animals, and good for the planet, vegetarianism and veganism are two options you should look into. The more research you do, the more reasons you’ll find to make the switch to a healthier lifestyle.