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The Facts:
Americans eat upward of about 8 ounces of meat a day; twice the world average.
The FDA recommends that we eat about 75 grams of protein a day which is considered high by many nutritionalist. 30 grams may be about all we need. The average American is eating about 110 grams of protein, most of which comes from meat sources. Where the notice that we need so much protein in our diets came from is beyond me?
Heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are all directly increased by eating meat especially, beef and pork.
It takes up to five times the amount of grain to produce the same about of calories through livestock as it does through direct grain consumption.
In order to meet the large demand for animal protein livestock is being raised in horrendous conditions, mostly in over crowded warehouses were the animals can barely move and never see the light of day. Watch the movie Food Inc. The producers of this movie had to sneak into livestock farms and film how the animals lived because the farmers know that if people were aware of how cruelly the animals are treated, they may not buy their meat.
In these warehouses the animals are regularly injected with hormones for growth and antibiotics to reduce the spread of infection caused by overcrowding and unsanitary conditions. This over use of antibiotics is contributing to the development of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria that can be deadly to both humans and animals.
There is a tremendous strain on the environment in the production of meat in the form of water polluting, land erosion, along with the enormous amounts of methane gas that is produced by the animals. Methane is like carbon dioxide in it’s ability to trap heat in our atmosphere thereby increasing global warming.
So, for the sake of the planet and your own health consider taking one small step toward reducing your consumption of meat. Go to: http://www.meatlessmonday.com/join-the-movement/ and take the pledge to eat one meatless dinner a week.
“The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health suggests we go meatless on Mondays. Just one day a week without meat can reduce your consumption of saturated fat by 15% and reduce your chances of heart disease. Scientists estimate that if every American lowered meat consumption by just 20%, it would lower greenhouse gases as much as if everyone in the country switched to driving a Toyota Priuses (and think how much cheaper and easier eating less meat is!).”
"Consuming less meat boosts your bottom line. The average cost of a pound of sirloin is $6.20, compared with 90 cents for a 15-ounce can of beans, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If a family of four replaces a steak dinner ($9.30 for 1½ pounds) with a fresh bean and vegetable salad ($1.80 for two cans of beans) once a week, they will save $7.50. After a year, that’s an extra $390."
"Consuming less meat boosts your bottom line. The average cost of a pound of sirloin is $6.20, compared with 90 cents for a 15-ounce can of beans, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If a family of four replaces a steak dinner ($9.30 for 1½ pounds) with a fresh bean and vegetable salad ($1.80 for two cans of beans) once a week, they will save $7.50. After a year, that’s an extra $390."
Source:
http://green.yahoo.com/blog/greenpicks/240/go-meatless-just-one-day-a-week.html
http://www.realsimple.com/health/nutrition-diet/healthy-eating/reasons-to-cut-down-on-meat-00000000019664/index.html
http://www.realsimple.com/health/nutrition-diet/healthy-eating/reasons-to-cut-down-on-meat-00000000019664/index.html
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