GO VEGETARIAN

By Mathew Grubb

Becoming a vegetarian can not only benefit your health and the health of animals, but the environment as well. We all suffer from the negative effects of Livestock farming. The vegetarian lifestyle is growing rapidly and here are some great reasons why people are making the change.  


 Health Benefits
- Lower risk of Diabetes and Cancer 
- Increased life span
- Lower blood pressure
- Healthier skin
- More energy
- More affordable
- Toxin-free
- Lower Cholesterol levels
- Stronger digestive system

More importantly than the positive effects on your body, lets take a look at some of the consequences we face in today's society for producing and killing animals.

Livestock Farming's Negative Effects

Global Warming - One of the most serious threats we face as humans is Global Warming. Carbon and CO2 emissions are huge negative consequences we leave on earth. In a report in 2006, the United Nations claimed that raising livestock animals creates more emissions and greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined.

“The major greenhouse gases that cause global warming are water

vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and chlorofluorocarbons.

Livestock production is a major contributor to two of these greenhouse gases,

methane and nitrous oxide. Farm animals are responsible for 18% of methane

emissions according to the Vegetarian Society. The major human directed cause of

nitrous oxide emissions, 65%, is the keeping of livestock.” - Source 

Natural Resources - Livestock farming depletes our earth's natural resources. There are three times more livestock animals than humans. Enormous amounts of water are needed to raise them.

“It takes 2,464 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef in California.

This is the same amount of water you would use if you took a seven-minute

shower every day for six entire months. In contrast, only 25 gallons of water are

needed to produce one pound of wheat.” - Source

Those numbers are astounding. Imagine how much more organic natural food we could produce with that water. This could help feed many starving people, while maintaining a healthy balanced diet.

Drugs and Chemicals - Livestock farmers pump their animals full of antibiotics, growth hormones and many different types of chemicals. They do this to fatten the fish/animals when they would normally die. They speed up their growth to produce more them faster. The antibiotics they pump them with are used to reduce the bacteria in their digestive system, but using these antibiotics in the animals over and over leads to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This causes food poisoning and many other diseases that make you sick or can kill you in some cases. 

In all reality, nothing but good can come from making this lifestyle choice. The vegetarian lifestyle is gaining more support and will continue to do so in generations to come. 

  
Sources

http://www.downtoearth.org/environment/top-10-reasons

http://voices.yahoo.com/17-benefits-being-vegetarian-589913.html?cat=5

http://www.downtoearth.org/environment/top-10-reasons

http://www.eathumane.org/pages/3114_negative_impacts_of_factory_farming.cfm

http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/our-failing-food-system/industrial-agriculture/they-eat-what-the-reality-of.html

http://www.livestrong.com/article/18474-benefits-vegetarian-diets/