HERE IS WHY WE SHOULD NOT
EAT MEAT!
Meat. I do not know anybody that does not love meat. I mean, look at the world.
Meat is indispensable and we would all be weirded out if all of a sudden
restaurants and supermarkets would stop offering it. Meat is so incorporated into
our society, that most of us do not realize that it entails more bad than good. For
example, meat is one of the biggest threats to the environment. And I bet you
were told that meat is needed for your growth and development. This is a myth.
You actually do not need meat at all. And when you stop eating meat, a lot of
animals will be thankful.
Did you know that 111 miles driving with your car equals 2.20 pounds of beef?
Worldwide, food is responsible for 25% of the emission of greenhouse gasses.
More than half of that 25% pollution is caused by animal products. To produce
one kilo of beef, 20 kilograms food for the cow is needed. For the 20 kilograms
food, water and energy is necessary, which is bad for the environment. but that is
not all. When the cow is done eating its food, it produces methane. This is a
strong greenhouse gas. But wait, we are still not done! The beef needs to be
packaged and transported, sometimes even overseas! And as you probably
realized by now, that is bad for the environment and contributes to the emission
of greenhouse gasses (NOS, 2018).
Meat contains useful nutrients, like protein and iron. But eating too much meat
can be bad for your health. Eating processed meat, like hamburgers, and red
meat (beef, pork, lamb) brings huge risks. There is a higher risk at getting
strokes, cancer and diabetes type 2 (Voedingscentrum, z.d.). Burnt meat can also
contain carcinogens, which increases the risk of cancer (Voedingscentrum,
2019).
The meat industry is responsible for most animal deaths. They torture the
animals with no mercy, which suffer every minute of their short lives. Female
animals are repeatedly violently artificially fertilized. Not only that, but their
babies are taken away from them, only to grow up in poor circumstances. The
babies are given a mix of medicines, which causes their body to grow bigger than
normal. This gives them a lot of health problems. And finally, when they are only
a couple of months old, they make a traumatizing journey to the slaughterhouse,
where most of the babies are killed while still conscious (PETA, 2016).
So, now we know why meat is bad for the environment, the animals and you. You
could say that meat only brings disadvantages with it. It destroys our planet, by
being one of the biggest contributors to the greenhouse effect. The meat causes
a lot of animal suffering, which I know goes against our morality. Even eating
meat is risky! A simple solution is to just stop eating meat. But if you are not
ready to give meat up yet, how about becoming a flexitarian? You can still eat
meat, just not as much as before. And when you do not eat meat, you can have
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