Liu Yi 201632707

Why more and more people turn vegetarian?

Many people are told that they have to eat meat to get protein
and drink cows milk to get strong bones. Then why do more and
more people turn vegetarian? Of course, since nobody likes to
choose something that will do harm to themselves. Certainly,
vegetarian food benefits people a lot. There are a variety of different
reasons for turning vegetarian.
One important reason is that vegetarian diet is often healthier
than meat diet. Nowadays, people eat much more meat than the old
generation did in the 50s. While its impossible to get fiber through
meat or dairy products, vegetarians usually eat lots more fiber than
their meat-eating counterparts. A recent review of 14 prospective
trials confirmed that those who restrict themselves to plant-based
foods have significantly better lipid profiles and lower risk of
ischemic heart disease than those who partake of animal
products. Most importantly, in the realm of digestive health, meat
intake has been identified as one of the sole dietary risk factors for
colon cancer, and vegetarian diets generally include a good deal of
fiber, which one assumes can only help push patients into the
comfortable middle range of the much-beloved Bristol Stool Scale.
(Weiss 636) Furthermore, vegetarian diet is nutritionally adequate
too. According to current data related to key nutrients for
vegetarians including protein, n-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, iodine,
calcium, and vitamins D and B-12, a vegetarian diet can meet
current recommendations for all of these nutrients. An evidencebased review showed that vegetarian diets can be nutritionally
adequate in pregnancy and result in positive maternal and infant
health outcomes. (Craig and Mangels, 2009)
Another key reason is that more and more people are aware of
animal welfare. They know that animals raised for food are forced to
live in overcrowded and inhumane condition before the slaughtering
process. In addition, most land animals for meat spend their entire
lives in crates or stalls so small that they cannot even turn around.
Farm animals are not protected from cruelty under the law. In fact,
the majority of state anti-cruelty laws specifically exempt farm
animals from basic humane protection. Cruelly, in the United States
alone, 10 billion animals are slaughtered for food every year.
Globally, the number of deaths exceeds 65 billion (more than 6
million every hour). The number of fish and other aquatic animals

killed each year is much greater. (Wu 162) Therefore, people who
believe this is wrong and don't want to support these abhorrent
practices choose a vegetarian lifestyle.
Finally, a vegetarian lifestyle helps address some key
environmental concerns in great degree. Firstly, vegetarian diet
reduces greenhouse gases. By far the most important non-CO2
greenhouse gas is methane, and the number one source of methane
worldwide is animal agriculture. Methane is responsible for nearly as
much global warning as all other non-CO2 greenhouse gases put
together. Methane is 23 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than
CO2. Animal agriculture produces more than 100 million tons of
methane a year. And this source is on the rise: global meat
consumption has increased fivefold in the past fifty years, and
shows little sign of abating. In addition to having the advantage of
immediately reducing global warming, a shift away from methaneemitting food sources is much easier than cutting carbon dioxide. At
the same time, vegetarian food is really available, and cuts in
agricultural methane emissions are achievable at every meal.
(Mohr 2006)
Secondly, vegetarian diet will conserve soil and save our forests.
3.4 billion hectares are used to produce animal, which causes wide
range of production intensities and marginal land frontier is
exhausted. In addition, 20% of range land are estimated to be
degraded UNEP and 470 million hectares of arable land dedicated
to animal feed production. (Gerber 2007) Last but not least,
vegetarian food production saves more water. It takes up to 15
times as much as water to produce animal protein as it does plant
protein. 25 gallons of water is needed to produce a pound of wheat;
5000 gallons is needed for a pound of beef. (Wu 162) So turning
vegetarian helps to decrease the main greenhouse gas, methane,
save more soil and forest, and waste less water, which is a really
good way to achieve three goals at the same time.
To summarize, there are a number of reasons for more and
more people turn vegetarian. By becoming vegetarians people will
not only personally feel energized to live longer, but also, they will
end animal suffering and help to solve the current environmental
problems, all over the world.

References:
Weiss, Edward S. Stop the beef eaters, save the world. Canada
Medical Association Journal 182.6 (2010): 636. Print.
Craig, Winston J and Mangels, Ann R. Position of the American
Dietetic Association: vegetarian diets. Journal of the
American Dietetic Association 109.7 (2009): 12661282.
Print.
Wu, John Y. Everyone Vegetarian, World Enriching.Open Journal of
Philosophy (2014) 160-165. Print.
Mohr,

Noam.
A
New
Global
Warming
Strategy:
How
Environmentalists are Overlooking Vegetarianism as The
Most Effective Tool Against Global Change in Our Lifetime.
http://www.earthsave.org/news/earthsave_global_warming_r
eport.pdf EarthSave International. Aug. 2005. Report.
Accessed 24 Nov. 2016.

Gerber Pierre. Livestocks Long Shadow Environmental Issues and

Options.
http://www.globalmethane.org/expodocs/china07/postexpo/ag_gerber.pdf LEAD. 30 Oct. 2007.
Report. Accessed 24 Nov. 2016.