Healthy Living
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Reasons: Vegitarianism
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- by Em!, on Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:23pm PDT
For all of you out there that ask "Why?" whenever someone says that they are vegan/vegitarian, I provide a list of reasons "why":
- Digestive Reasons
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- It takes 24-27 hours for red meat to digest in our stomach. It takes vegitables, legumes, nuts, and fruits less than 12. Do you think that our stomach uses less or more energy for the vegitables? Less. It takes a lot of energy to digest meat, regardless of species of animal. Why do you think that carnivores such as lions, mountain lions, and bob cats sleep so much? Because digesting their food takes so much energy.
- Take a look at our natural hunting tools. Compare our weak, brittle nails to the claws of a Puma. Do you think that we could tear apart another creature with our bare hands? Now look at our dull, rounded teeth next to the razor-sharp ones of a cougre. Our teeth are that of herbivores; our front incisors were made to tear the skin off of fruit, not off of cows. Our canines were made to shred nuts and legumes to pieces, not swine and poultry. Our intestines are about 10 to 11 times our body length; regular herbivores are about 10 to 12 times the body length. Regular carnivores are 3 to 6 times the body length to pass the meat through their body before it has time to rot. Think about that. Our intestine track is so long that meat is rotting and fermenting inside of it. How freaking sick is that?
- Now you may say to yourself, "We've been eating meat since the dawn of time!" or "We invented tools so that we can catch animals and kill them", but think about it. Back when we ate meat as cavemen, our foreheads were friggen' huge and we had reduced facial muscles so that we could open our jaw wider to eat all that meat. We have obviously evolved since then. As for the tools, nature gave us everything that we need to survive. Nothing more, nothing less. If nature wanted us to eat other living, moving animals then she would have given us natural tools to do so. You don't see people walking around with spears for arms, do you
- Health Reasons
- Not only is meat and dairy chuck full of saturated fats and cholesterol, but our society has also decided to fill it with pesticides, hormones, and pleanty of other chemicals all for the sake of production. Farmers fill their dairy cows with hormones to make them produce more milk. We drink the milk. Do the math. Girls, who should naturally start their period around 14 to 16, are now starting it around 9 to 13. Does that sound healthy to you? The cow produces it's milk for her calf, who is going to grow about 10 times it's weight in the next year. Instead, the milk is consumed by humans. Since the humans are not going to grow 10 times their size in the next year, all that milkfat goes streight to their hips, thighs, and waist. (By the way, excess fat on humans is NOT healthy)
- "But meat is full of protein!" "But milk is full of calcium!" "But they both have essencial nutrients!" Bull. People will say whatever comes to their mind when it comes to defending their carnivorous diet. Yes, meat is full of protein, but protein isn't limited to meat. Protein IS essencial to the human diet, but is also found in dark greens and many other herbivor foods. Believe it or not, humans only need about 20 to 40 grams of protein a day, opposed to the 60 to 80 grams that protein-shake sellers and the beef industry tell you. As for the calcium paranoia, milk actually has so much calcium and protein that it STRIPS your bones of calcium! How screwed up is that? Your proof: researchers studied an African community that didn't consume milk and found that none of their elderly suffered from osteoperosis! One of the neighboring communities that did consume milk had elderly people that did.
- Moral Reassons
- I know that you may say to yourself that animals were made for us to consume. You may say that they don't have a soul, or that they don't have feelings. You may also say that they don't think. I'm just telling you that those are all lame excuses that you tell yourself just because you like the taste of their dead, rotting flesh. That is essencially all that "meat" is. Dead, rotting, decomposing flesh that you stick in your mouth. I don't care what religion you are, it is possible for us to co-exist with animals. They were not made for us to consume. They were made to graze the earth, and to live.
- Do you think that the millions of cows, pigs, and poultry slaughtered every year go into the slaughterhouse willingly? Do you think that they don't hear the last cries of the other animals inside there? That their hair doesn't stand on end, that they don't do everything in their power to escape the hellhole that people call "humane"? If you do, then you are terribly wrong.
- So you think that animals are just dumb, lame, and stupid things that are only made for our consumption? Well here are some interesting things to think about: Adult pigs' intelligence have been compared to that of a three-year-old humans'. The can play video games, solve problems, and their loyalty is equal to that of a dog's. Pigs form complex social groups that are compared to the complexity of primates'. They enjoy massages, basking in the sun, recognize their names, and dream.
- Cows are gentle, intelligent creatures that form social groups compared to packs. They have very different and complex personalities. They remember things for long periods of time, and enjoy intellectual challanges. They also scream and fear death.
- Think about all this. Whenever any of these animals are being slaughtered, they feel pain. Forget humane methods. They can hear the screams and distress of all the animals on the production line before them, and are therefore terrified. All of this pain and distress, all for a little flavor! Think about it. You are eating all of that distress, pain, and grief.
I didn't write this post to convince you to become vegitarian or vegan, I wrote it to explain just a few of the reasons behind it. If you are still going to eat meat, at least you won't be ignorant about it now.
Related: vegitarianism, vegitarian, veganism, vegan, slaughterhouse, reasons, health, animal
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Posted by Vicks Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:42pm PDT
Gal, you don't have to tell ME anything, because I'm already a person who eschews animal flesh. But--it's "vegetables." And "vegetarianism."
Your mores are good--you just need a little spelling help :-)
P.S.: One of my favorite books on the subject is the time-honored, famous Frances Moore-Lappe book, "Diet For A Small Planet." Ummm, I just love good 70s hippies!
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Posted by Jezabel Wed Aug 13, 2008 12:14pm PDT
Where are the sources to back up your claims?
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Posted by Aurora Wed Aug 13, 2008 2:20pm PDT
calcium doesn't strip your bones of calcium, that makes no sense! its phosphorous that strips your bones of calcium, not calcium. people, especially women should avoid soda or drinking or eating anything with phosphoric acid to help prevent osteoporosis. Our teeth are that of omnivores, not herbivores or carnivores. we are "meant" to eat both in order to "survive." our wisdom teeth were especially meant to help tear meat off the bones and help chew it. Lastly, plant protein is different than animal protein. We need both sources of protein. we can not digest plants alone and receive their full nutritional benefits. ruminants are able to digest and metabolize plants in a way that we can not. in order to get the full benefit of plant nutrition we have to eat the meat of the animals b/c they are able to break it down for us so we can fully extract the nutrients from the plants. unfortunately for us humans, we haven't evolved yet into being able to be solely vegetarians otherwise we would be able to extract all of the nutrients from the plants ourselves without having to get it from the animals.
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Posted by Anonymous Wed Aug 13, 2008 10:37pm PDT
It's so cute that omnivores have their own propaganda. They must be afraid someone will take away their right to eat meat.
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Posted by bob b Wed Aug 13, 2008 10:38pm PDT
Bicuspids are the meat-eating teeth; wisdom teeth grind and crush really tough food, like seeds and nuts. Omnivorous is correct, but practically, whatever nationality of race you are, you should consume your family's traditional diet. This is why some can eat fat and raw fish, and why some become anemic and develop low resistance on certain diets, and why some can tolerate extremely spicy foods, while others cannot. Read up on nutrition, and while you're at it, learn about organic food and its available sources. Wild and deep-sea fish are better than farmed fish, free-range and grazed animals are far healthier (themselves, and for their consumers) than those origination in agribusiness.
Anyone who claims to be a vegetarian for health reasons should eat organic vegetables, unless the person is either ignorant or a hypocrite. Also, vegetarians must read up on essential amino acids and also essential fats. It's possible to substitute for animal fats and whole protein, but one must be rather well-informed, or risk lowered resistance and malnutrition. Omega-3 fats play an especially important role in cancer resistance. I recommend wild salmon and bison meat, but flax seed and other seed oils are good substitutes, and go great with salads. Remember, just because we're omnivorous doesn't mean we can eat food full of drugs, antibiotics, and pesticides. Learn a little chemistry, whatever your diet. Essential glyco-nutrients are only found in vegetable food, which is why we're lucky we're omnivorous. We really need both kinds of food. Bon Appetit!
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Posted by Grandma Wed Aug 13, 2008 10:43pm PDT
Having been a vegetarian for almost 40 years, I recently found myself being diagnosed with pernicious anemia. It is a deficiency of vitamin B12, treatable with B12 injections,then supplements. I am not qualified to give medical advice, I just wanted to share this as a possible result of not eating animals or animal products. It is easy to check with your doctor about supplements.
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Posted by Anthony Wed Aug 13, 2008 10:54pm PDT
Good post! I was never much a meat eater and recently I give up dairy and meat all together. I read THE CHINA STUDY and It completely changed my life. Read it! Veganism is the way to go for health reason considering the protein in meat and dairy create the perfect environment for cancer to develop.
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Posted by Anthony Wed Aug 13, 2008 10:56pm PDT
We DO NOT NEED animal protein. Read THE CHINA STUDY. Animal protein is actually killing us.
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Posted by BreannaM Wed Aug 13, 2008 11:05pm PDT
I don't think anyone has the right to ask me why I'm vegetarian. I don't ask them why they blindly follow the habits of their peers. I don't care. The bottom line has nothing to do with nature's intent or biological necessity. Who determined that intelligence was the deciding factor in an animals worth? Why does an animal have to display human like behavior in order to be considered worthy of humane treatment? The manufacturing of animal products is inhumane simply because it is cheap and people are greedy and selfish. Regardless of your personal religious beliefs, human beings have been given great power and with it, great responsibility and that responsibility is not only to the welfare of the planet, but to its other inhabitants which deserve our respect. Human beings can rise above a self serving attitude, even if that only means becoming slightly less dependent upon animal flesh for out nourishment.
I despise how people think its ok to have an opinion about vegetarian eating habits. You don't need to explain to anyone why you don't eat something. No one has to explain why they don't eat more vegetables.
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Posted by melissa Wed Aug 13, 2008 11:22pm PDT
I am a vegetarian and agree with some of your points, however a lot of what you consider facts are only partially true. Also I believe that tone of the article, being rather angry and accusatory is not the best way to get people to truly listen and consider the benefits of being a vegetarian.
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