Reducing Meat Consumption

Photo courtesy Dose Juice / Unsplash

IS YOUR HAMBURGER WORTH IT?

THE ETHICS OF MEAT

By Madeline arMstrong

Photo courtesy of szabo victor

There has long been a stigma around vegetarian and vegan diets. While it can be inconthem down to make room to raise cattle for hamburgers, according to a recent Greenpeace report. The venient and sometimes expensive to refrain from eating meat and other animal products like dairy, there are many health, environmental and ethical benefits to cutting out meat or even just limiting meat intake.

Vegetarian and vegan diets have been linked to a reduced risk of heart disease. This stems from a higher intake of antioxidants, fiber and micronutrients. Additionally, plant-based diets are often rich in sources of unsaturated fat such as nuts, seeds, avocado and olive oil. Cutting out meat can also improve a person’s gut health since a diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes is high in dietary fiber.

Reducing meat also helps the environment. Livestock production accounts for 30% of current biodiversity loss, according to Susanne Stoll-Kleeman, chair of sustainability science at the University of Greifswald in Germany. Additionally, meat production requires a significant amount of water. A study by the UNESCO Institute of Water Education found that it takes 5,200 gallons of water to produce 2.2 pounds of beef.

Meat production also leads to deforestation. Walmart, McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Burger King are among the companies that are responsible for the loss of rainforests because of ranchers who cut companies indirectly source their cattle from protected areas in the Amazon rainforest. Finally, reducing meat consumption helps mitigate the climate crisis. According to a study by bioethicist Jan Deckers, the farm animal sector is responsible for 65% of all human-made emissions of nitrous oxide and 37% of all human-made methane emissions. At the same time,the conditions that animals are kept in are often inhumane. According to The Humane League, 200 million land animals are killed around the world daily, including 25 million in the United States alone. It's not necessary to become a vegan who only eats cashew cheese and Impossible burgers to reap the rewards of reducing your meat intake. One way to increase health and reduce the risk of heart disease would be to swap red meat for leaner chicken or fish. Another simple step would be to stop buying fast foods. Meatless Monday is a global campaign that companies like Starbucks have promoted to urge people to eat meat-free one day of the week. It’s not necessary to make a major lifestyle change to increase your health, be more environmentally conscious and reduce the number of animals being slaughtered every day.

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