What's the Beef With Beef and All the Meats?

This is probably going to be my longest post because I have a whole lot to explain.

Many people are simply unaware of the devastating effects of what modern animal agriculture is doing to our environment and our bodies. I am not going to tell you to completely give up meat (although you should consider it) because that is just not possible for some people. However, the amount of meat, and how we get the meat needs to change.

Humans have always eaten meat, but not as much as we consume now. Studies on eating habits show that meat consumption in the US has increased 3 times in just 50 years. The average US person eats 100 kilos of meat per year which is around 220 pounds.Eating patterns in China changed even more dramatically. 30 years ago people in China, who traditionally ate veggie based diets, ate on average 16 kilos (around 35 pounds) of meat. Today the average Chinese person eats about 62 kilos (136 pounds) of meat. We are totally overdoing the meat eating!!! During the study in China doctors did not find people who ate meat to be any healthier than those who did not. Yes, eating meat can provide you with protein that our bodies need, but we can get that protein from things like collard greens, nuts, mushrooms,etc. There are so many alternatives if you are willing to look into it. On PETA's website they state, " The consumption of animal products has been conclusively linked to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and osteoporosis. Cholesterol (found only in animal products) and animal fat clog arteries, leading to heart attacks and strokes. The rate of many cancers—including colon, breast, cervical, uterine, ovarian, prostate, and lung—is highest in regions where meat consumption is high and lowest where meat-eating is uncommon. A study of more than 25,000 people found that vegetarians have a much lower risk of getting diabetes than meat-eaters. A South African study found not a single case of rheumatoid arthritis in a community of 800 people who ate no meat or dairy products." We can keep telling ourselves that we NEED meat but that is not true.

So we eat more meat than we used to. What's the big deal?

Eating more meat means that there needs to be more animals to go around to meet the high demand. In order to do this places like feedlots and poultry houses became a thing. Inside, cows, chickens, turkeys, etc... are packed in as tightly as possible without any real space to move about and be comfortable. Besides terrible living conditions the animals are being pumped with hormones to make them grow larger. These hormones then go into our bodies if we eat the meat. we are seeing the health impact in terms of the consumer. There is a rise in foodborne illness and new dangerous pathogens entering the food system that we never had to deal with before. Cows should be in the fields grazing like they are naturally supposed to be doing. Instead they live miserable lives and we feed them soy and corn that they can not even properly digest. Industrial farmers do this to make their animals reach market weight faster. However, since the cows can not digest the soy and corn the cow's bodies produce methane. This methane is 1/5 of the greenhouse house gas emissions ruining our earth. This is more than the emissions from all of our modes of transportation combined. The land that is used to grow the soy and corn (that the cows do not need) could be used for growing things that we do need.

Any steps towards change matter! Try making one or two days of the week meat free. Black bean burgers are sooo yummy, and a spicy tempeh burrito makes me a happy girl as well. If you're open to trying new things I promise cutting back on meat is so easy. If you really feel like you need meat go straight to the source. Get your meat from a farmer where you know the cows were free to roam and were properly fed. Don't support the people harming our earth by neglecting animals. The meat from your supermarket is cheaper than from the farm for a reason.

eat more kale

-bridget