The Beef with Eating Meat

Unfortunately, we’ve got beef. And it has everything to do with fighting for our lives and saving our planet. 

“Why should we have a problem with meat now when it’s been a part of our diet for over 2 and a half million years?” Well, here’s why.

Why Beef Is Wrong For Your Body

In a survey conducted by Ipsos in 2018, it was revealed that 73% of the world’s population was omnivorous, regularly consuming both animal and plant products.

While much of this population would argue that meat is a rich source of protein and a vital part of many world economies, it is crucial that we also know the world of harm that eating meat equally causes to our health:  

Maintaining a diet that is high in red and processed meat substantially increases your risk of diabetes, cancers (especially gastrointestinal cancers), heart disease, and kidney failure. 

The high sodium content in red meats is a leading cause of high blood pressure. High blood pressure is a subsequent leading cause of heart disease and an increased risk of stroke and heart failure. 

THE NUMBERS DONT LIE

80-90% of pandemics have been caused by zoonotic diseases—diseases transferred from animals to humans. The major way these diseases are initially transmitted is through meat consumption. 

-CDC

Ever heard the saying, “You are what you eat”? With a crippling 75% of all the world’s antibiotics now being fed to livestock—the same animals which we later on ingest—antibiotic resistance in humans has been on a raging incline.

 

Resut to Personal Health

According to Jim O’Neill in the UK Government 2016 Peer Reviewed Findings, by 2050, more people will die from antibiotic resistance than from cancer. 

Decreased lifespan by 10 yrs

Studies show that people who mostly ate red meats over a 10-year period were likely to take 10 years off their regular life as span opposed to those who consumed more plant-based diets. 

US diabetes deaths topped over 100,000

for the second year

in a row!

A WHOLE FOOD PLANT BASED DIET

REVERSES TYPE 2 DIABETES & PREVENTS IT

SOURCE: PLANT NUTRITION GUIDE BY Julieanna Hever

Why Beef Is Wrong For The Environment

Did you know that beef production and meat consumption are major causes of the climate crisis that our planet is facing today?

Now, reading that, you might be tempted to think, She’s just trying to sound like Yoda, because what on God’s green earth do cows have to do with climate change? Well, I promise you, it’s all interconnected. You just have to gain an understanding of the science of our planet.

Lucky you, I’m going to help you with that. First off, let’s take a look at the 5 main ways beef production and meat consumption create massive negative impacts on our environment.

1. Deforestation.

Meat production is both directly and indirectly related to the loss of forests in South America, specifically in the Amazon rainforest. In response to the high human demand for beef, acres of forests are being cleared for soya plants produced and fed to all livestock & cattle ranching as well as the production of soybean for animal feed.

Another negative impact on the environment that emanates from this deforestation is how these forests are cleared. Most times, deforested areas are cleared using fire. This releases dangerous amounts of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere.

2. Loss of biodiversity.

As land continuously gets repurposed to raise animals, the species that originally inhabited these areas are either destroyed or displaced. As a result, many species face extinction due to the destruction of their natural habitats. Estimates reveal that around 50% of our planet’s habitable land is used for agriculture, with roughly 77% of this being used for grazing livestock.

3. Greenhouse gas emissions.

Beef production is particularly harmful to the planet; it requires 160x more land and produces 11x more greenhouse gases than staple plant-based foods. Source: plnt.news/beefland)

Cows emit large amounts of methane gas and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere from simply belching and farting. In terms of global warming, methane gas is 25 times more potent per molecule than CO₂, while nitrous oxide is 300 times more potent than CO₂!

Now picture this. In the US alone, about 8 billion cows are raised and killed EVERY YEAR to meet our high meat demand. That’s more than the entire global population! Imagine how much methane and nitrous oxide get emitted from this annually. It’s no wonder we’re living in a seemingly unending climate crisis.

4. Global Water Scarcity.

It takes a lot of water to produce meat. The USDA Water Dept reports that 90% of all US water consumption goes to raising and feeding livestock for some of us to consume meat and dairy.

The Animal Agriculture is the single largest user of fresh water globally with over 70 trillion gallons a year. Meanwhile, 1.8 billion people are living in water scarcity across the globe &

Livestock production also contributes to water pollution & ocean dead zones around the world due to pesticides & run off from sprayed fertilizer of crops for the livestock & their own waste.

All of the factors outlined above are major contributors to the climate crisis and global warming. This is the interconnectivity I mentioned.

So what can we do to save ourselves and our planet?

How More Plant-Based Diets Can Save Our Lives and Our Planet.

To save ourselves from the killer cows, we must begin by changing our daily choices of what we put on our plates and in our kitchen cupboards. Diets rich in fiber, fruit, and vegetables have been associated with a reduced risk of all the diseases caused by eating excessive meat.

On the other hand, in attempting to save our planet, research has shown that even if we ended the use of fossil fuels today, we wouldn’t be able to stop climate, ocean, and biodiversity catastrophes without shifting to a plant-based food system.

Having more and more people switching to plant-based diets and lifestyles is what will truly make a big difference.

CHOOSING AWARNESS OVER FALSE COMFORT

I urge you to please keep in mind that just because the severe effects of our climate crisis haven’t touched you yet or these things don’t pop up on your timeline on your phone does not mean that this crisis is not as dire and urgent as it is.

Regardless of our race, gender, or religion, we have now or never to save our planet.

I and so many other vegan activists are spreading this message internationally in our own unique ways and we implore you to join hands with us if you love our planet too.

TIPS TO HELP YOU BE THE CHANGE

It’s time to be the change that will not only boost the quality of your life but also save our planet from its impending doom (at this point, I won’t mind you calling me Yoda haha). According to Joseph Poore, an Environmental Researcher at the University of Oxford, “A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth.”

To this very same point, it has never been easier to go vegan! Plant-based foods are the largest growing sector in the food industry. Transitioning no longer has to feel like you are “giving up” anything because you have so many choices and options to pick from as a Vegan today.

I think it is also important to remember that we are all in this together. And by “we”, I mean every single country in every continent of our world. We have to take a stand against these big businesses that profit off our lack of awareness and choose to do what is right for both our bodies and our environment.

TIPS TO HELP YOU BE THE CHANGE

Yes, your decision might gain you some scrutiny from family and friends, and even from strangers on social media if you choose, through courage and vulnerability, to publicly share your Vegan journey. But if you ever need a push to help you keep going on, remember that there is a $1 trillion meat and dairy industry that has grown so large as a result of a global lack of awareness and still takes no direct responsibility for the pandemics, diseases, and climate crisis caused by its operations.

Another gem I’d like to offer is that you should approach any decisions that you make in this respect with the same critical eye you would use when making a significant life decision. Gather all your facts, embrace learning—as this has to do with something new, and always consider the end goals in order to make the best decision(s).

Remember that your Vegan journey is your own and you can represent it in any way you please. You and I deserve that right and freedom to that.

For example, you may not hear me speak often about the animal suffering aspect of the livestock farming industry. This is not to say that I do not care about that. It is only to say that it was not one of the main reasons I commenced my Vegan journey.

My journey was spurred by research and my intrinsic care for our human race, our environment, and the devastating climate crisis.

My journey is uniquely tailored to me as an individual, and because I will always be a facts-driven lady, it means I will also represent things about myself with full honesty.

Finally, we don’t need climate change. We need a diet change. So it’s time to settle our beef. And by settle, I mean dropping it from our diets entirely.

The only question left to answer is, Are you going to remain a part of the problem or become a part of the solution?

How To Go Vegan E-Course.

If your answer is yes to becoming a part of the solution, but you don’t know where to begin, I’ve totally got you!

In the How to Go Vegan e-course, I take you through all the motions of transitioning to a plant-based life, providing you with vital Vegan knowledge and guiding you step-by-step until you can let go of the beef and set your soul free!

So click here if you are ready to BE the change that you want to see.