Lose the Burger, Save a Life

"I do not want to make my stomach a graveyard of dead animals."
-George Bernard Shaw.

by Rhea Boyd

    The incredible vegetarian lifestyle undoubtedly saves animals; but it can also save humans and even the Earth.

     I have been a vegetarian for a little more than three years now and it has been the best decision I have ever made. It changed me, and personally I believe it made me a better person in numerous ways. Many people ask me why I converted and always expect to hear just one clear-cut reason; but the truth is, there are countless reasons.  Vegetarianism promotes peace, is good for our bodies, is beneficial to the environment, and the foremost reason to become a vegetarian is the moral obligation to ourselves and every other species.

    The meat industry is a business surrounded by and based upon violence. Ten billion animals are butchered for their flesh every year in the United States. In the majority of the slaughterhouses, animals are put through an excruciating process before they are killed. Poultry suffer a painful procedure in which the tip of their beaks are sliced off to prevent them from hurting each other (the industry would hate to have any damaged product) in their tiny, confined cages. Pigs and cows are hung up by their hind legs and they have their throats sliced open and are slowly bled to death. This is only the surface of a deep pool of violent practices preformed on these helpless beings. “If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian,” said Paul McCartney.

    The occupation with the highest known risk of getting injured on the job is a slaughterhouse worker. Injuries such as deep, significant cuts or even severed limbs are risks to these workers. "In 1999, more than one-quarter of America’s nearly 150,000 meatpacking workers suffered a job-related injury or illness," Eric Schlosser noted in his best-seller Fast Food Nation. So not only is the industry channeling violence towards animals, but many humans are also getting hurt in the process. A vegetarian diet does not require any murder or violence, therefore it encourages peace.

    An interest in personal health influences many people to become vegetarians. A diet consisting of meat can cause an array of diseases such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, strokes, high cholesterol and obesity. Vegetarians have less of a risk than a meat eater of contracting any one of the diseases. Women who eat meat on a regular basis have about 3.8 times more of a risk of getting breast cancer than non-meat eating women. Vegetarian men are less likely to get prostate cancer than meat eating men by 3.6 times. This cleaner diet can also help reverse obesity and heart disease. “A review of the scientific literature found that 29 out of 40 studies of vegetarians showed that vegetarians weighed significantly less than non-vegetarians,” stated a report written by Reed Mangels in the Vegetarian Journal.

    If an average person eliminates meat, dairy and eggs from their diet it reduces their risk of heart attack by 90 percent. Many people, especially athletes, worry about not acquiring enough protein when following the vegetarian diet, but there are many resources packed full of protein such as tofu, beans, nuts, whole-wheat bread, soy products, and more. A six-time Ironman Triathlon winner, Dave Scott, was a vegetarian.

    Not only is being a vegetarian healthy for our bodies, but it is also beneficial to the world around us. 260 million acres in the U.S. has been cleared away in order to build giant factory farms. Cattle raised in South America need room to graze, consequently causing deforestation of the rain forests. Every quarter-pound hamburger causes about 55 square feet of rain forest to be cleared away, making room for the massive amounts of cattle being reared for consumption.

    Raising animals for food also contributes to global warming: the Earth’s most threatening environmental issue. In a 2006 report, the United Nations stated, “Raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined.” Three times more fossil fuel is used to produce a non-vegetarian diet than are used for producing a vegetarian diet. The carbon dioxide emission from this excessive use of fossil fuels leads to the greenhouse effect, and as a result causes global warming.

    The issue of pollution among the meat industry is prominent. All of those animals have one thing in common, if nothing else: they have to excrete fecal matter.  An estimated 89,000 pounds of excrement is produced by livestock in the U.S. every second. How do factory farms dispose of this massive amount of waste? They dump it in lagoons to sit and rot while minimal amounts are used to spray crop fields as a fertilizer. The toxins in this waste cause the death of fish and other wildlife.

    Perhaps my greatest reason for becoming a vegetarian is that I believe it is morally correct. I feel that every earth creature was created equally and is equally important. That makes me question why humans believe themselves to be superior to every other species on Earth, and dictate who is killed for our self gain.

    Another moral injustice is the pain and suffering we cause these animals. All animals, including humans, can feel pain. To sacrifice animals’ lives and well being for our insatiable pleasure is sickening. These animals are treated like dirt from the moment they are born until the moment they are brutally slaughtered. “The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men,” said Leonardo Da Vinci. Humans scold slavery, racism, sexism and discrimination towards other humans, but species-ism, the act of discrimination in favor of one species over another, is still accepted every single day.

    A common misconception is that just one vegetarian will not make a difference, so there is no point. Cutting meat out of your diet can save about 100 animals per year, and if people stop demanding meat it will decrease in value and the meat industry will diminish. Everyone can make a difference if they chose to follow the vegetarian way of life. 

    People always inquire as to why I am a vegetarian, but my ultimate question to all meat eaters is “why not?” Usually the response is along the lines of, “…because I can’t live without meat,” or “because it tastes good.” To me, this is no excuse for what we, as mankind, do to animals. It is time for humans to reconsider their diets and stop turning their backs on where their food comes from. Ignorance is not bliss; it is simply human’s first line of defense. Many people choose not to ask questions about the meat industry because they believe if it were really that bad, it would not exist. Unfortunately, for everyone, the reality is that it is that bad and it does exist. Animals will continue to suffer, health throughout human civilization will weaken, the environment will decay, and we will be the perpetrators of violence on a daily basis if people continue to live their lives blindly and carelessly by not changing their diet.

    There are many resources people can use to learn more about being a vegetarian. The Internet is a fantastic tool to learn about recipes, health benefits, the truth behind the meat industry. Sites such as goveg.com and vrg.org are educational and helpful to potential vegetarians. If people are willing to make a change, there is plenty of support from the vegetarian community.