At this time in the history of our planet and in our place as citizens of the earth it is more and more apparent that a mostly plant-based diet, or greatly reduced consumption of animal products, is an idea whose time has come. In this blog I would like to share some of the many reasons why this is true.
As we have grown in population as well as evolved socially and intellectually, we are learning that it is beneficial in terms of environmental practices and ethical principles to follow a diet that leans more toward natural, organically grown plant foods. That diet would show greater compassion toward the other sentient beings with whom we share our planet, and would replace animal based foods with the tremendous variety of fresh, healthful and delicious plant based foods that are now available to us from virtually anywhere in the world.
As we have grown in population as well as evolved socially and intellectually, we are learning that it is beneficial in terms of environmental practices and ethical principles to follow a diet that leans more toward natural, organically grown plant foods. That diet would show greater compassion toward the other sentient beings with whom we share our planet, and would replace animal based foods with the tremendous variety of fresh, healthful and delicious plant based foods that are now available to us from virtually anywhere in the world.
Of course when looking for the optimal diet we should include a broad variety of whole plant foods and eat them as nearly as possible to their natural state, minimizing the amount of highly processed foods and foods cooked at higher temperatures, such as deep fried foods.
10 GREAT REASONS TO EAT MORE GREENS AND GRAINS:
1. The growing health consciousness of the population is probably the major reason for the surge in interest in higher consumption of organically grown plant based foods. Concern over the additives in meat, such as hormones and antibiotics, has led some professionals to question meat's safety. The widespread use of antibiotics in livestock has made many infectious agents more resistant to them, making some diseases harder to treat.
2. The incidence of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other diseases has increased along with a dramatic increase in meat consumption during the past century. In alternative and holistic medicine, plant foods are a cornerstone dietary therapy for a variety of conditions, including heart disease (e.g., the Ornish diet), high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, and stroke. For cancer, studies of populations around the world have implied that plant-based diets have lower associated risks for many types of cancer.
3. Plants produce phytonutrients, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents that are vital for human health. Eating animal products gives us certain vitamins and minerals, but also produces many unhealthy effects through saturated fats, as well as toxins that are contained in the meat. Chemicals and toxic substances from the environment tend to accumulate in the tissue of animals that are higher in the food chain, a process called bioaccumulation.
4. According to the WorldWatch Institute, "Massive reductions in meat consumption in industrial nations will ease their health care burden while improving public health; declining livestock herds will take pressure off rangelands and grainlands, allowing the agricultural resource base to rejuvenate. As populations grow, lowering meat consumption worldwide will allow more efficient use of declining per capita land and water resources, while at the same time making grain more affordable to the world's chronically hungry.”
5. It has been estimated that 1.3 billion people could be fed with the grain that the U.S.
6. According to the USDA, growing the crops necessary to feed farmed animals requires nearly half of the United States U.S.
7. According to the theory of “trophic dynamics”, it requires 10 times as many crops to feed animals being bred for meat production as it would to feed the same number of people on a vegetarian diet.
8. According to a 2006 United Nations initiative, the livestock industry is one of the largest contributors to environmental degradation worldwide, and raising animals for food contributes on a "massive scale" to air and water pollution, land degradation, and loss of biodiversity.
9. The production of meat has been estimated as causing up to 85% of the loss of topsoil of America
10. Animal agriculture is a large source of greenhouse gases, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has estimated that direct emissions from meat production account for about 18% of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalents. By comparison, all of the world's transportation (including all cars, trucks, buses, trains, ships, and planes) emits 13.5 percent of the CO2.
