Health at PSU

Vegetarians and vegans will tell you that the ‘why?’ and the ‘where do you get your protein?’ get old SO QUICK. After 4 years of being vegan then vegetarian, sometimes I just want to tell them to Google it themselves – but (most of us) are vegan or vegetarian because of moral or health reasons, so don’t we owe it to our cause and the wellness of others to share what we’ve learned and the benefits of vegetarianism/veganism? If you’re tired of constantly being asked ‘why?’ or are wondering why yourself, here’s your one-stop-shop for most of the reasons people decide to go vegan or vegetarian.

 

The animals

1. First of all, there is no such thing as ‘humanely’ killing something. Its killing something. Its not humane. Now on to the stats…
2.  50% of all dairy cows are physically lame (disabled) due to the extreme conditions and mistreatment of dairy cow farms. (veganstats)
3.  85% of fish populations are over-exploited, depleted, or fully-depleted due to overfishing and the widescale use of illegal overfishing methods. (veganstats)
4. Male chicks and injured female chicks born at egg hatcheries are ground alive in the equivalent of a large blender. (veganstats) (https://kb.rspca.org.au/knowledge-base/what-happens-with-male-chicks-in-the-egg-industry/)
5. Baby animals are immediately separated from their mother and caged. (peta)
6. Animals are kept in pens or large warehouses filled to the point where animals cannot move. (peta)
7. Animals in pens have their necks locked into the feeder so they have no option but to continue eating hormone-filled grain. Most animals in agriculture never see the outdoors. (peta)
8. Honestly, I spent years researching this and learning about the inhumanities of the meat and dairy industry and it hurts to look at, so I am going to play the ‘Google it yourself’ card for the rest of the animal section, because when it comes down to it, if watching animals suffer, be tortured, then be murdered gruesomely so you can have a burger does not bother you, nothing I can say about it will change your mind. Your morals are your morals. For a look into what I am talking about, watch ‘Forks over Knives’, a documentation of the meat industry, or just look up on YouTube or Google, ‘animal agriculture mistreatment’.

 

The environment

1. Animal agriculture contributes 14-18% of global greenhouse emissions directly, beef being the main contributor. (skepticalscience.com) This is more than all transportation emissions combined (all cars, trucks, planes, and ships in the world combined)  (Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options, a 2006 report published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization)
2. Cows in the meat industry produce 150 billion gallons of methane per day, methane being a greenhouse gas 1000 times more potent than carbon dioxide. (plantbasednews.com)
3. Livestock account for an estimated 9% of global CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) emissions, estimated 35-40% of global CH4 (Methane) emissions and 65% of NO2 (Nitrous Oxide) emissions (Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options, a 2006 report published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization)
4.  Animal agriculture is the leading cause of ocean dead zones, global species extinction, and water pollution. (plantbasednews.com)
5. Animals raised for food produce approximately 130 times as much excrement as the entire human population and animal farms pollute our waterways more than all other industrial sources combined. Run-offs of animal waste, pesticides, chemicals, fertilizers, hormones and antibiotics are contributing to dead zones in coastal areas, degradation of coral reef and health problems. (The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency).
6. The massive amounts of excrement produced by livestock farms emit toxic gases such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia into the air. Roughly 80% of ammonia emissions in the U.S. come from animal waste (The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency).
7. When the cesspools holding tons of urine and feces get full, factory farms will frequently get around water pollution limits by spraying liquid manure into the air, creating mists that are carried away by the wind. (“Neighbors of Vast Hog Farms Say Foul Air Endangers Their Health,” by Jennifer Lee, The New York Times 11 May 2003)
8. By replacing your “regular car” with a Toyota Prius the average person can prevent the emission of about 1 tonne of CO2 into the atmosphere, By replacing an omnivorous diet with a vegan diet the average person can prevent the emission of about 1.5 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. That’s 50% more CO2 saved! (“It’s better to green your diet than your car”, The New Scientist, December 17, 2005.)

 

Water and Resources

1. The production of one calorie of animal protein requires more than ten times the fossil fuel input as a calorie of plant protein. (The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition)
2. Producing a single hamburger uses enough fuel to drive 20 miles and causes the loss of five times its weight in topsoil. (“The Food Revolution” by John Robbins)
3. 2,500 gallons of water go into 1 pound of beef compared to 20 gallons for 1 pound of tomatoes, 25 gallons for a pound of wheat, 30 for a pound of potatoes. The UN recently reported that by 2030 only 60% of the global population’s freshwater needs will be met. We are giving water to immensely overpopulated animal farms to feed rich, developed countries meat while leaving millions with no drinking water. (plantbasedscience.com) (“Water Inputs in California Food Production” by Marcia Kreith)
4. More than 1/3 of all raw natural resources in the United States go to feeding and maintaining agriculture animals. (“Ecological Cooking” by Joanne Stepaniak and Kathy Hecker)
5. 1/2 of all water in the United States goes to raising animals for food. (“The Food Revolution” by John Robbins)
6. To produce a day’s food for one meat-eater takes over 4,000 gallons of water; for a lacto-ovo vegetarian, only 1200 gallons; for a vegan, only 300 gallons (The Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook)
7. In the U.S., 70% of the grain grown is fed to animals on feedlots (“Plants, Genes, and Agriculture” by  Jones and Bartlet)
8. It takes up to 16 pounds of grain to produce just 1 pound of meat. (The Global Benefits of Eating Less Meat by Mark Gold and Jonathon Porritt). Fish on fish farms must be fed 5 pounds of wild-caught fish to produce one pound of farmed fish flesh (“The Food Revolution” by John Robbins)
9. The world’s cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people—more than the entire human population on Earth (“The Global Benefits of Eating Less Meat” by Mark Gold and Jonathon Porritt)

 

Land

1. To produce a day’s food for one meat-eater takes over 4,000 gallons; for a lacto-ovo vegetarian, only 1200 gallons; for a vegan, only 300 gallons (The Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook)
2. Raising animals for food (including land used for grazing and land used to grow feed crops) now uses a staggering 30% of the Earth’s land mass. (Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options, a 2006 report published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization)
3. Seven football fields’ worth of land is bulldozed every minute to create more room for farmed animals and the crops that feed them. (The Smithsonian Institution)
4. Of all the agricultural land in the U.S., 80% is used to raise animals for food and grow grain to feed them—that’s almost half the total land mass of the lower 48 states (“Major Uses of Land in the United States” by Marlow Vesterby and Kenneth S. Krupa)
5. Animal agriculture is the number one cause of deforestation due to feed crops, accounting for 91% of Amazon rainforest deforestation – that’s 6 football field sized-regions per minute. Deforestations contributes 18% of global greenhouse emissions directly. Considering feed-caused deforestation and animal agriculture emissions, the meat industry causes more global warming than all forms of transport emissions combined. (skepticalscience.com)
6.  Land use to feed a person per year based on diet: vegan = 1/6 acre, vegetarian = 1/2 acre, meat-eater = 3 acres. (veganstats)
7. 45% of the entire globe’s land is covered by livestock. (veganstats)

 

Society

1.  Air pollutants generated by animal farms can cause respiratory illness, lung inflammation, and increase vulnerability to respiratory diseases, such as asthma. Emissions of reactive organics and ammonia from animal farming can play a role in the formation of ozone (smog) and air pollution (The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
2.  70% of diseases that have emerged in modern society are sourced from animal agriculture. (veganstats)
3. Because over 10 times the resources go into feeding a meat-eater than a vegan, eating meat is the largest contributor to world hunger. (mercyforanimals.com)

 

Health

1. Firstly, I highly recommend watching, ‘Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead’, ‘Veducated’, or any other number of documentaries on the health benefits of vegetarianism/veganism on Netflix and online.
2. Veganism and vegetarianism decreases obesity, alleviates bronchial asthma, prevents cancers, improves cardiovascular health, increases longevity and antiaging, controls diabetes, maintains stronger bones and prevents osteoporosis, prevents Parkinson’s diseases, manages Rheumatoid arthritis, and lowers homocysteine levels (contributes to heart and vascular disease). (vegansociety)
3. A vegan diet tends to give higher amounts of vital nutrients and vitamins, aids weight loss, improves kidney function and lowers blood sugar levels, prevents heart disease and high cholesterol, and reduces pain from arthritis and other joint inflammations. (organifacts.com)

This was a lot longer of a post than I intended, but its pretty easy to forget about all of the shocking reasons to go vegan or vegetarian. Here’s a mythbuster: Yes, as a vegan or vegetarian you have to think about what you eat to maintain the right macro and vitamin levels, but that is true for all diets! It has been proven that vegans tend to have less nutrient deficiencies than meat-eaters. Be accountable for what you eat no matter what your diet is.

You don’t have to go vegan tomorrow, just don’t be an ignorant eater: be aware of what you are consuming and putting in your body, and the footprint and ethical considerations of your dietary choices. Yes, its easier to just do what everyone else does. Its hard to be different. Its hard when your grandparents look at you appalled when you won’t eat their meatloaf. Its hard to be aware and try to make a difference with your choice. But as a generation taking over a world that’s been destroyed and a society plagued by diseases caused by overconsumption of low-quality foods, largely animal products, it is our responisbility to be aware and to be accountable of our choices and do something about it. All you have to do is be aware: limit your animal products and stay aware.

Thank you for reading this one. Vegetarianism means a lot to me and all I wish is that I could impact on more person. Since I first went vegan, I have turned two of my friends vegan and three vegetarian by just talking about what I have learned and my passion for nutrition, environmentalism, and animal advocacy (the world throws a fit when someone kicks a dog but literally does not care while 3 BILLION ANIMALS ARE MURDERED PER DAY for food). I hope this taught you something and you may consider decreasing your animal product consumption.

Davina

 

Sources

https://skepticalscience.com/how-much-meat-contribute-to-gw.html

https://www.plantbasednews.org/news/5-surprising-facts-about-veganism-and-the-planet-on-world-environment-day

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/factsonanimalfarmingandtheenvironment

https://veganstats.com

https://www.vegansociety.com/resources/environment/water-requirements

https://mercyforanimals.org/11-facts-that-will-remind-you-why-you-went

https://www.organicfacts.net/being-vegan.html

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