Environmental Implications of the Meat Industry

Sure, being a vegan/vegetarian has loads of personal health benefits. Vegetarians and vegans are generally at a lower risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. I've even read studies swearing that people who avoid animal products have slimmer waistlines and an overall lower BMI than meat eaters. I could go on about the other health and beauty plusses of eliminating meat and such, but I'm thinking on a more global level. 

Have you ever thought about how environmentally taxing your dinner is? Global climate change, deforestation, pollution and water waste can all be attributed to the meat industry. More than a quarter of Earth's land is used for raising livestock. To keep up with demand, countless acres of land have been deforested worldwide to make room for animals headed for slaughter. Even more land has been cleared to grow feed for the animals. Oh the pesticides and fertilizers! These chemicals end up in places you don't even want to think about, like your drinking water. 

In addition to all the land cleared, think of all the water needed to raise the animals that end up on your plate. Half of the water used in the U.S. supplies the livestock and the feed crops. Half! That 16 oz. steak you're gorging on? It took hundreds of gallons of water to end up in your stomach. That's 15 times more water than required for an equal amount of plant protein. Consider where all that water ends up. I'm reminded of a documentary I saw years ago on the poultry industry. Poultry on the Potomac alleged that the Potomac River was on the list of the 10 most endangered rivers in North America due to pollution from the poultry industry. It claimed runoff from the numerous poultry farms into the river was responsible for outbreaks of toxic microbes that make the river intolerable for some aquatic life.   

Plenty of people eliminate animal products to avoid antibiotics and hormones that are administered to the animals from entering their bodies, but even with a plant based diet they may still be exposed. Antibiotics have been found in crops such as potatoes, lettuce, spinach and corn that have been grown in manure. Ninety percent of drugs given to livestock end up in their manure, polluting not only the crops that may grow in it, but also the surrounding environment when absorbed by the soil or washed into surrounding aquatic ecosystems. 

Raising livestock contributes more greenhouse gasses than even transportation. Transportation is a necessary part of most lives, but eating meat? It doesn't have to be. By making the switch to a vegetarian or vegan diet, you help yourself, the environment, and countless animals. I know this is easier said than done, but any reduction in animal product will have significance. There's a plethora of animal friendly recipes on the internet, like Resolution Kitchen (yes, that's a shameless plug), to help you get started, or to continue your veggie lifestyle. To those of you who think it can't be done, I challenge you to start by eliminating animal product from your meals just once a week. Now imagine doing that for every meal. Not so hard, is it?

Elyssa

A Fishy Practice

In this blog we have had some interesting debates about whether it is necessary to go completely vegan if one is really concerned about issues of animal cruelty. While acknowledging that veganism is the ideal diet for all those concerned about the welfare of animals, the well-being of the planet, and their own physical health, I argued that a vegan diet is far too difficult for most people to follow, and that a more viable option for most people would be to follow a low-fat vegetarian diet such as the one recommended by Dr. Dean Ornish that includes limited amounts of low- or non-fat dairy products (milk, egg whites, yogurt, and cheese), ideally from animals that have been raised humanely. I agree, however, that the goal of anyone even remotely concerned with issues of animal ethics would be to eat as much of their food as possible from plant-based sources and to dramatically reduce their consumption of all animals and animal products.

There are some confused individuals, however, who believe that they are following a vegetarian diet, even though they still eat fish regularly (they are technically referred to as pesco-vegetarians). It’s almost as though these people have convinced themselves that salmon, tuna, and Chilean sea bass are not really animals, and that the rules they follow with regard to the humane treatment of other species don’t really need to be applied to marine life. Let’s get this straight: (1) fish are sentient life-forms like all other animals and they feel as much pain as other animals when they are slaughtered, and, (2) if you are concerned about issues of animal cruelty, you will eat fish as regularly as you would a slab of cow flesh…which means not at all.

When one considers the health risks involved in eating fish loaded with mercury (e.g., tuna, swordfish, shark, etc) and other dangerous containments such as lead, industrial chemicals (e.g., PCBs) and pesticides, it becomes evident that—despite all of the propaganda issued by the USDA and their pimps in the corporate fish lobby—the risks involved in eating seafood very well may outweigh the benefits. And when one realizes that our current fishing practices are driving many of the world’s marine populations to extinction, there is even a greater moral argument for eliminating fish from one’s diet.

I would like to hear how our pesco-vegetarian friends justify the consumption of seafood while clearly having moral qualms about eating land-based animals. I may be a bit naïve, but I don’t really understand how it is any more ethical to chow-down on salmon steak than it would be to consume a hunk of cow, pig, or chicken. Could someone explain the logic of this to me?

The Vegetarian Alternative

Two weeks ago I asked a few students, faculty and administrators at Molloy to participate in a little video project called, "The Vegetarian Alternative: Why Our Food Choices Matter." The idea was to see if we could put together a "documentary" on an important social topic using only inexpensive technology (we chose the $139 Flip video recorder) and free video editing software (Microsoft's Moviemaker). The result was not quite a masterpiece, but it does give campus carnivors and vegetarians the opportunity to talk about the significance of their daily food choices.

Many thanks to those students, faculty, and administrators who were generous enough to participate in this project.

Coming Soon to a Blog Near You!

There is little dispute any more that low-fat vegetarian or vegan diets are the healthiest eating programs on the planet. Scientific studies, like the extensive China Study, demonstrate fairly conclusively that, to the extent we remove animal products from our diet, will we also be reducing our risks for heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity. All of these problems currently plague Americans—right now we are one of the fattest nations on the planet—and yet we continue to consume animal products at an alarming rate.

This past week, Molloy College students and faculty began shooting and editing a simple documentary illuminating the eating habits of carnivores and vegetarians on campus. The final product will be called, “The Vegetarian Alternative,” and will also showcase the faculty and students who have made the transition from a meat-based to a plant-based diet and the health benefits that they received from this change in eating habits.

I look forward to sharing this documentary with all of you who contribute to this blog, and to starting a discussion about the benefits—and perhaps liabilities—of the vegetarian lifestyle.

Why the Networks Won't Let You See This One

Sure I eat meat. Maybe not as much as the guy down the street, but a heck of a lot more than my friends at PETA. That wacky, wild organization put out a commercial starring Casey Affleck that has been banned by TV Networks nationwide. PETA tried to buy time on the air, but Madison Avenue apparently does not want people like you to know what goes into making your tasty Big Macs.

Don't watch this banned commercial if you are squeemish!

"When people ask me why I don’t eat meat or any other animal products, I say, ‘Because they’re unhealthy, and they’re the product of a violent and inhumane industry...Chickens, cows, and pigs in factory farms spend their whole lives in filthy, cramped conditions—only to die a prolonged and painful death. Their bodies are then turned into food products proven to contribute to heart disease and cancer. To eat that is to eat poison."


Mike Russo