The Inevitable Truth Behind Meat
Up until a few months ago, I was an avid meat eater. When confronted with a plate of meat all I remember feeling would be a small twinge of guilt on the far side of my brain for the poor animal that would soon be wiped away by the delectability of digging into a plate of chicken wings, a steak or hamburger.
The thing was… I was choosing to be ignorant and not think about the impact of all the plates of meat that I had consumed in my lifetime.
But I couldn’t run away forever. I hosted a German exchange student last fall and my family’s biggest concern was that she (along with many of her classmates) was a vegetarian.
My mom was completely aghast at the thought of coming up with meals not centralized around me.
I was more interested in why.
I stopped running and decided to face the facts of meat consumption.
1. More than 50 billion animals are born and slaughtered every year to feed us.
I don’t like to think about mere truth behind animal cruelty involved in the meat industry but it is inevitable — and terrible.
Female cows are forced to perpetually breed for milk only to have their calves ripped away from them as soon as they are born. Male chicks are shredded to pieces as soon as they hatch. Pens are overstuffed and the animals, miserable.
The average chicken is given roughly the size of a piece of paper to stand on and never get the chance to experience even the light of day.
It’s important to remember these are sentient creatures who have the capacity to feel great pain — which they often do under these inhumane circumstances…
2. 18% of human greenhouse gas emissions are caused by the livestock industry.
The meat industry’s emission rate goes beyond the obvious climate change (though it is incredibly awful and emissions total up to being higher than all of human transportation combined). I’m also talking about the loss of biodiversity, deforestation, acid rain, land and water degeneration; I could go on and on.
3. 1800 gallons of water is required for a singular pound of beef!
Our food industry accounts for huge drains on some of our planet’s most precious resources. A whopping 30% of earth’s land is being used to farm these livestock. Not to mention the industry requires an immense amount of crops and agricultural produce (which are either lost as grain and animal feed) This is 10 times the number of crops required than what it would take to simply feed people directly.
In fact, if we fed all of the the grains that we are feeding to people currently, an extra 3.5 billion people would no longer go hungry. Our planet simply is unable to sustain such a large and inefficient use of it’s crops, water, and land.
And that is only a small portion of the negative effects of the meat industry.
Seriously, go look up their use of antibiotics or the poor health that comes with a meat-filled diet. Nonetheless, I want to address something even more important — what you can do to help.
The truth is that humans were never built to be avid meat-eaters. We are omnivores first and in actuality, excessive meat consumption is actually very, very, very bad for us.
The United Nations recommends only 80–90 grams of meat consumption per day while that average number in the United States is double that, at 140–180 grams per day. The biggest thing that we can do together is reduce how much meat we are eating collectively.
Let me break it down for you.
As long ago as when Frankenstein was published, back in 1818, meat was a delicacy. A special occasion, would rarely include meat with every meal. Let’s rewind the clock just a tad bit and go back to this way of thinking.
Instead of a different type of meat every night for dinner, we should stick to having meat 3 nights out of 7. We must implement “Meatless Monday’s” and inject fruits, vegetables, and grain back into our diet to a greater degree.
Rice is cheaper than beef. A lb of spinach a better deal than a lb of pork. If everyone makes the conscious choice to cut back on their meat consumption, we can all make a real difference. We have the power to.
But don’t stop there — use your voice! Email politicians, companies, Congress and ask that they strengthen policies on animal welfare and increase regulations surrounding not only care for animals but on their use of land and their environmental impact. Elect officials who will make lasting change.
The meat industry may be corrupt, but we must be better. We should educate ourselves, change our actions, and use our voices. Making a lasting impact begins with us.
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