Jacob Fortner
Janel Spencer
WRT101S
5 May, 2019
Anti-meat
Manifesto
People around the world are typically accustom to the
widely accepted omnivore diets. This diet consists of meat, poultry, fish,
dairy, and plant-based foods. However, a new, continuously trending diet has
been challenging the omnivore lifestyle. Many people are making the transition
into the vegetarian diet. The reasons may vary: animal compassion, health,
reducing carbon footprint, or for self-pride in saving animal lives. Whatever the
reason, the results are always the same: whoever coverts to this diet will live
and feel a healthier lifestyle. If switching is seeming impossible to you, try
it as a cleanse or perhaps cut back on meat in general. The benefits will still
follow. Before discussing the benefits, there are various types of vegetarian
diets to learn about to before you consider adopting this diet into your life.
The vegetarian diet consists of many sub-categories, most
excluding the consumption of meat. The categories include: lacto-vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian,
lacto-ovo-vegetarian, and veganism. All of these diets, with the exception of
veganism, are lenient towards animal-based diets. Ovo-vegetarians consume eggs
with no meat, lacto-vegetarians consume dairy with no meat, and some diets
allow the consumption of poultry, meat, or fish. However, this article will be
focused primarily on the vegan diet. This is the most strict of all the vegetarian
diets, as it doesn’t allow you to consume anything animal based. This includes
meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, and honey. This diet, while being the most
difficult to transition to, proves to be the most beneficial. Vegan diets are
highly beneficial for your health whether you make the switch, or simply just
want to cleanse your body.
Vegan
diets have been proven to provide health benefits. Research suggests adopting a
vegan diet reduce your chance of obtaining heart disease, cancer, hypertension,
obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and type two diabetes. (Harvard Health
Publishing/Craig) According to Harvard, the diet decreases you chance of dying
of heart diseases by 25%. Since vegans consume more vegetables and fruits, this
puts them at a lower risk of obtaining cancer. Removing read meat from your
diet also prevents colon cancer from occurring. According to the American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, cutting out red meats can reduce your chance of
obtaining cancer from 20%-60%. Vegan diets are also commonly misconstrued to
lack calcium. The diet excludes dairy, so finding a source for vitamin D can be
more challenging. However, tofu, soybeans, soy milk, and broccoli are all rich
in vitamin D and calcium, making it possible to obtain vitamins and minerals
from your previous diet. Furthermore, along with calcium and protein, bone
health is also influenced by nutrients such as vitamin D, vitamin K, potassium,
and magnesium. Vegan diets are rich with these which suggest better bone health
to those who adapt to the diet.
If you are compassionate for animals and others around
the world, the vegan diet is the one for you. By converting to this diet, you
save more animals from the farm factories that murder countless pigs, cows,
chickens, turkeys, etc. Switching from meat-based farms to plant-based farms
could provide more food to distribute to starving people around the world. According
to Global Citizen, approximately 700 million tons of food being consumed by
livestock could potentially feed humans instead. IOP Science said that world-wide
calorie intake would increase 70% if we switched from using those grains as
animal feed to using them for human consumption. If we switched to a plant base
diet, the need for livestock would be eliminated, thus, we would be able to use
consume their grains providing more food per person. According to IOP Science,
one-third of resources put into animal feed results in waste. Eliminating livestock
farming would save money on agriculture as well as cut back on resources, such
as food and water, that we could provide to others to sustain their health. While
saving lives, food and water resources, going also cuts back on your carbon
footprint. Global Citizen also suggests: it takes 100-200 times more water to
raise a pound of beef than it does to raise a pound of a plant-based food. Switching
to a plant-based diet would save hundreds of gallons of water helping to reduce
your carbon footprint. Farm Sanctuary suggests that in 2008, more than 2.5
million dairy cows were slaughtered for meat. The University of Tennessee
suggests that a cow, on average, produces 532 lbs of meat. That means by
eliminating one cow from factory farming, you will save anywhere from
53,000%-106,400% of the water you would invest into 532 lbs of plant-based
foods, such as grains.
It’s
not uncommon for omnivores to be thrown off by the sound of a vegan diet. Trust
me, I was one of those people. Sincerely, it’s not as hard to switch as one
might imagine. With the gaining notoriety of this diet, more and more
businesses have been accepting and appealing to the vegan diets. There are many
restaurants and food companies that are producing and distributing meat-like
foods and the list will only continue to grow. The most common excuse for not
switching is the “I just love meat too much.” To that saying, I say, “Don’t
knock it before you try it.” Many, like myself before, imagine a plant-based
diet as very mundane and bland. However, some of the best foods I have eaten
are plant-based foods. Just like the omnivore diet, you must find foods you
enjoy that fit that diet. Another concern for the switch is the common
misconception of vitamin deficiency. According to NCBI, vegan diets are
occasionally susceptible to lack B-12, protein, and calcium. Just like the
omnivore diet, a vegan diet can be healthy or unhealthy, depending on what you
consume. To prevent deficiencies, eat various foods and know what you are
putting in your body. Keeping track of calories, proteins, carbs, and vitamins
is essential for a healthy lifestyle, regardless of your diet restrictions. If
you are still unable meet the requirements of vitamins and minerals, they are
available to purchase from grocery stores and pharmacies; in the case you are
unable to properly fit all vitamins into your diet.
Veganism
is a highly debatable topic. It’s still a growing epidemic in which we have a
lot to learn about. From my experience, I can tell you it’s one of the better
health decisions I made. I feel more energized and less lethargic after eating
meals. My overall mood has improved, and I feel “lighter.” I continue to work
out at high intensities and have gain leaner, cut muscle. Overall, it’s a
change I would recommend everyone try. Switching to a vegan diet can be
challenging, but it is also informative and beneficial. If you need some
influence, one of your favorite actors and/or athletes might be vegan.
The
question you might have now is: what does this have to do with Tucson? Well, a
lot of downtown Tucson is comprised of various vegan restaurants. By making the
switch, you will be providing support for local small business. Purchasing
vegan options would encourage vegan business to stay open and provide more
vegan options as the continue to thrive. If you aren’t big on small business,
consider that buying vegan will also stimulate Tucson’s economy, whether small
or big businesses. Sprout’s and Walmart are both affordable options with
numerous products to choose from. Also, by switching to the vegan diet, you
reduce your carbon footprint by saving tremendous amounts of water that could
be potentially used on livestock. Tucson, being the dry desert it is, could use
all the water we could save. Being that we are in the dessert with limited
amounts of water, conservation would be ideal for our situation. Water be saved
from livestock can be conserved and conveyed into a more serviceable way.
A
diet transition can be difficult for many to overcome, especially when it’s
considered normal by society. However, using one of the many benefits as
inspiration, you can make the switch that much easier. All it takes is practice
and dedication. The vegan lifestyle will improve your health and provide you
with moral pride. This dietary lifestyle is popular and continues to gain
positive publicity every day. If society could provide more healthier food options, leave a smaller
carbon footprint, and avoid killing animals all at the same time, then why
don’t we?
Works
Cited:
Cassidy, Emily S, et
al. “Redefining Agricultural Yields: from Tonnes to People Nourished per
Hectare.” IOP Science, IOP Publishing, 1 Aug. 2013. Accessed May 6,
2019.
Craig, Winston J.
“Health Effects of Vegan Diets.” Health Effects of Vegan Diets,
Oxford University Press, 11 Mar. 2009. Accessed May 6, 2019.
“Factory Farming.” Farm
Sanctuary, Farm Sanctuary,. Accessed May 12, 2019
Harvard Health
Publishing. “Becoming a Vegetarian.” Becoming a Vegan, Harvard
Health Publishing, Oct. 2019. Accessed May 6, 2019.
Holland, Rob. “How
Much Meat To Expect From a Meat Carcass.” Farm Sanctuary,
University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture. Accessed May 6, 2019.
Le, Lap Tai, and Joan
Sabaté. “Beyond Meatless, the Health Effects of Vegan Diets: Findings From the
Adventist Cohorts.” Nutrients, MDPI, 27 May 2014. Accessed May 6,
2019
McCarthy, Joe, and
Erica Sanchez. “9 Ways Veganism Is Helping the Planet.” Global Citizen,
Global Povert Project, 15 Aug. 2016. Accessed May 6, 2019.