Recently, a former superstar made the news by suggesting that people could help the environment if they adopted a vegetarian diet meal plan for as little as one day a week. Some media treated his suggestion with due respect. Other media outlets derided him, suggesting that the former rock star was living in his hippy past.

What the media almost universally overlooked was the truth behind his words. If everyone understood the facts about vegetarianism, they would understand why so many people have given up meat eating and felt better for it. Let’s take a cold, hard look at meat eating from a vegetarian’s point of view.

You might wonder what giving up meat has to do with the environment. There are whole books devoted to facts about the meat processing industry. One of the points made is that raising beef is a terribly inefficient use of arable land. The same amount of land that it takes to satisfy America’s voracious appetite for meat could be put to far better use producing soy products, for instance.

There are direct health risks involved with the processing of beef. Workers in these industries suffer from a variety of illnesses directly related to their industry and the risks spread to the nearby communities, as well. You can look up the medical data on this or you can quickly find out for yourself by visiting one of these places. If you have never smelled a meat processing plant before, be forewarned. You’re likely to get sick to your stomach before you even pass through the gates.

Once inside a slaughterhouse, anyone who hasn’t been numbed by years of killing cattle will be horrified by how inhumane the process is. While it is not directly an environmental issue, it is likely that after seeing the inside of a slaughterhouse, you will think twice before buying your next neatly packaged slab of beef. You will definitely look at a vegetarian diet in a new light after a horrific experience like that!

Bear in mind that the cattle industry wants you to buy their product and will tell you anything to get you to buy it. They will tell you that you need the protein. Yes, you do need a certain amount of protein in your diet, but not that much protein and not that kind of protein. While a strong argument can be made for an occasional serving of meat, so many consume far too much and it is a proven contributor to innumerable diseases.

Ask anyone who has given a low fat vegetarian diet a chance and most of them will tell you that they are happier for it. Many never eat meat again. Almost no one who has been a vegetarian ever goes back to eating large amounts of meat. No matter what the meat industry tries to tell us to the contrary, a vegetarian diet is a healthy diet.

Something that a lot of people overlook is the fact that all of the major religions advocate abstaining from meat, at least periodically. This includes the Catholic Church, Judaism and the Muslim faith. While these religions do not advocate total abstinence, both Hinduism and Buddhism do advocate a strictly vegetarian diet. The only “religion” that advocates meat eating is the cattle industry!

A low carb vegetarian diet is no laughing matter. Give this a little credit for trying to open people’s eyes to the vegetarian diet.

Tags: Nutrition

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