While there are some good reasons to eat meat – protein, iron, and, well, it tastes good – there are several significant arguments to be made for decreasing or eliminating red meat from your diet. Whether you’re concerned for the larger implications of the meat industry or you’re looking out for your own health and well being, eating less meat is definitely a goal we all should strive towards.
Environmental reasons:
The meat industry adds more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than cars from industrial processing/production and the methane from the actual livestock. Meat production also takes up scarce resources:
- One pound of red meat requires 2,500 gallons of water to produce
- Land and trees are cleared to make room for the livestock
- The crops raised to feed the livestock could actually end world hunger if they were redistributed
Meat production has some serious implications for the environment, and it is a key contributor to climate change.
Health reasons:
Red meat increases your risk for heart disease because processed meats are high in saturated fats, which raise cholesterol. Recent studies have also demonstrated a connection between consuming red and processed meat and breast, colon, prostate, pancreatic and gastric cancer. Red meat consumption increases your risk for diabetes. Eating a more plant and grain based diet will also do wonders for your skin, hair and energy levels.
This isn’t to say eating meat is bad; rather, it would do you and our earth some good to cut back on how often you choose to eat it. Of course, if you do choose to reduce or eliminate meat from your diet, it is important to find substitutes for the iron and protein. Beans, grains, nuts, and soy are great alternatives.