5 Benefits of Reducing Meat Consumption
The average American eats over 200 pounds of meat every single year. What’s more, we “process” about 15% of the world’s annual total food animals despite only having about 5% of the world’s population. This amounts to 10 billion creatures per year. If you’re a die-hard meat-eater, these kinds of statistics may sway your stance. If you’re concerned about your health and the health of the planet, you may be ready to cut down your own consumption of animal products.
There are several benefits to going vegetarian. And whether you do it for your health, the planet, or the animals, you’ll reap all of these benefits and then some. Here are just 5 beneficial aspects of going meat-free.
Read: 4 Toxins Hiding in Your Meat
- 1. Longevity – Several studies have linked meat-free living with longer life. One of those, from Harvard Medical School indicates cutting out red meat could prolong your life by up to 20%. That study concluded that each serving of red meat increased your risk of death by 13%.
- 2. Cardiovascular health – While the link between saturated fats and heart disease has been debunked, there is no doubt that red meat can increase your risk of cardiovascular problems. The Cleveland Clinic suggests the problem could be that carnitine in meat mixing with gut bacteria could produce something known as Trimethylamine-N-oxide, which could accelerate hardening of the arteries. Regardless of the method, two or more daily servings of red meat per day could increase your risk of heart disease by 30%.
- 3. Help the environment – The production of meat can have some heavy negative effects on our planet. Factory farms alone are said to produce 100 times more waste than every single person in the United States combined. The amount of waste produced by these factories is in such mass quantities that it is virtually impossible to clean up properly. Much of this waste is dumped into the water supply, drastically increasing overall water pollution as well as contributing to the pollution found in drinking water. Clearing land for production has also served to decimate the world’s rain forests.
- 4. Save some money – “High quality” meats, or those that are produced humanely and deliver the least health damage (and some health benefits) can be expensive – far more expensive than even organic and locally grown produce. If you’re on a budget and don’t want to subject yourself to conventional meat, reducing or eliminating meat consumption entirely could help you save money.
- 5. Weight maintenance – Obesity is a global problem; it’s an American problem; and it might be a personal problem. Vegetarianism can help that. One study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that the consumption of about 250 grams of red meat, processed meat, or poultry each day can lead to a five pound weight gain over the course of five years (dismal, I know). But in addition to red meat containing high amounts of fat, meat in general is harder to digest – which leads to weight gain.
There are people who are die-hard meat-eaters and there are those who are not. But regardless of where you fall on the meat spectrum, even reducing your consumption could provide significant benefits.
I am getting rather tired of the vegetarian propaganda. Our gut is not designed to live solely on plant material, especially cellulose which we cannot digest. To replace the equivalent of a modest amount of protein in the diet, one has to eat a helluva lot of lentils and whatever else passes for protein in the plant world.
The thing is, I don’t know anyone who eats meat TWICE a day and certainly not 8 to 10 ounces (250g). The simple answer to this is just move to white meat or even fish, if anyone is that bothered.
Vegetarianism is actually promoted by organisations who have a vested interest in seeing the human body become weaker. Whether the new-agers like it or not, the body needs some meat for proper functioning. I’ve seen enough weedy, sickly-looking vegetarians and vegans to put me off the idea for good.
Thanks but no thanks. I eat either chicken or fish these days, red meat not so often, maybe twice a month….that’s good enough for me with a balance of other veg and fruit. As for the environment, there are many things far worse than farming that are damaging the planet.
I used to eat meat almost everyday.. barbeques etc. Then one day I fainted and woke up in the hospital. The doctors told me I have A fib.. I didn’t care so much about their opinion so I continued to indulge on red meat (grass fed too).. and had a stroke. A friend of mine who is a vegan told me to cut out red meat.. and reluctantly.. I did. The majority of my diet was fruit.. veggies.. grains.. nuts / seeds and very little chicken / fish. In as short as 2 months.. I lost 25 pounds.. my blood pressure dropped.. and got off the prescription meds. I try to incorporate more raw vegan into my life.. but so far.. this quasi vegetarianism is working just fine. As far as strength is concerned.. i’m stronger now that ever before.
A thousand thumbs up
I am disappointed about this article as it fails to distinguish between grass fed animals and grain fed animals. Grain, especially not soaked or sprouted creates inflammation in animals as well as people. Therefor meat from grain fed animals can create inflammation in people’s bodies. Carbohydrates are going to make you fat, not protein or healthy fat!! Feed lots should be banned, but there are other sources for healthy meat; get to know and support your local farmer! Vegetarianism is not going to save you money in the long run as it very easily depletes your general and dental health. See Weston A. Price foundation for more info on traditional diets and health.
And, the grain feed is most likely GM corn from Monsanto.
Two questions:
1. Where in our Human history; as far back as we can go to the very first ancient civilizations, is the race of vegetarians?
2. If we are not to eat meat then who taught us to do so?
There is no question that today we are consuming far too much meat, and the so-called meat we eat is awful in terms of it’s nutritional value and naturalness. Talk about sludge in your engine. But, we are designed to eat it nonetheless. I believe the military is behind the whole vegetarian movement.
No animal should ever be cruelly treated yet society continues to ignore the abhorrent treatment of livestock by factory farms. Until we as Humans step up and live impeccable lives, are grateful to animals whose lives are sacrificed for our sustenance, and work to ensure that they all are treated with kindness and compassion then we will continue to be manipulated and controlled by corporations with hidden agendas.
We were never a race of vegetarians – we are opportunistic feeders. However, early humans, who were by nature hunter / gatherers were rather poor hunters so there wasn’t a lot of meat in their diets. During the last ice age, we learned how to hunt when the arable land was concentrated around the equator and so too were the animals, which made hunting a lot easier as the population density of animals became much greater… or so the theory goes. But a look at our closest genetic ancestors, chimpanzees, reveals their diet is ~90 percent vegetation and they grow to be very strong and healthy. IMO it is a fallacy to presume we need to eat a lot of animal protein. Our teeth provide evidence of this as only 4 of 32 teeth are designed for eating meat. And there is the design of our digestive tract – it is neither as short as a carnivore nor is it as long as a ruminant (grazer) which would also indicate we are not intended to eat grains as you need a long digestive tract and multiple stomachs to fully digest and assimilate plant matter. IMHO these factors would seem to indicate that biologically, humans are genetically predisposed to be mostly vegetarian. Then again I could be totally off base here…
Yep, this article is based on biased out of balance research and is total crap! Grains, transfats, sugars, GMo’s and artificial foods are the biggest health disaster perpetrated upon mankind.
I agree.
Natural Society is losing its critical thinking skills – research more, please.
How about gluten-free info?
Cows are a blight on the planet. It is far too costly to produce beef both in terms of the land and other resources required to raise them.
If you are going to mention eating meat and meat production and its effect on the environment. Investigate, rather than believe the rubbish that has been push regarding that topic. Holistically grazed animals will regenerate landscapes and draw down carbon.(Google Allan Savory Ted talk) Grain-fed beef, pork and chicken are all unsustainable. Monoculture grain production has cause some of the greatest land degradation, going back thousands of years. Just look at what the Romans did to the Middle East and Northern Africa, growing grain for its empire. (Dirt written by Montgomery)
Fact is 70% of arable land on the Earth is only suitable for grazing and not suitable for grain production let alone vegetable production. Eating graze fed meat that have been grazed properly will be the saviour of this planet.
The Scriptures, in the epistle of Timothy maybe, states that in the “last days” there would be those who would advise to “abstain from meats”. Nowhere else that I know of where it tells you to cut out meat. The Israelites ate sheep, goat and cattle, plus fish(don’t know if they had chickens). Prior to the flood they may have eaten just vegetables, but, after the flood meat became part of the diet. I enjoy vegetables, but, like one of the other writers the body isn’t designed just for vegetables. Within an hour or two of eating a meal with no meat in it, I feel kinda’ weak. Like the rest here I have cut back on red meat, but, will never become a vegan.
the book of Enoch mentions where they began to devour the animals of the earth and how it was wrong. It is a curse, your eating the dead. you eat it because you LOVE to eat it and you don’t give a crap about animals. if you LOVED animals you wouldn’t pay someone to rape, murder, steal their babies. Maybe you should hear the sound of the mother cow cry till she’s hoarse for her newborn because some stupid humans wanted ALL her milk for themselves. She cries all night all day all night as her baby is dragged away and discarded or chained to a freaking box till it’s slaughtered. Your dogs and cats are the same as these farm animals, you eat them you get cursed. Just start saying it proudly, WE EAT IT COS WE LOVE IT AND WE DONT GIVE A F ABOUT THE ANIMALS or THE POOR PEOPLE IT EFFECT.
Since we went biblical on a health and nutritional site,
What gift did God accept from Able and not Cain? Fat portions from some of the first-born of his flock.
do not eat the corpse of oxen ….
Yes, I solely believe we were designed to be plant eaters, my husband and I went vegan two years ago, and we have never been healthier, we don’t need to take any medicine or go to the doctors like so many folks our age seem to constantly go to the doctors, and take big pharma meds… just keep oxidizing your cells, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and soon as the garbage from all the processed meats and meat and dairy is out of your system, you will never want it again.. we are thriving… and enjoying health…. my husband always says if we were suppose to eat meat, then lets see you jump on a cow and tear off a hunk and eat it, you should be able too….LOL…. I wish I could have been vegan from the time I was born…. and we can eat as much as we want too…
Natural Society and Natural News both promote vegetarianisms and they should know better. Dr. Nicolas Gonzales has been successfuly treating Cancer patiense using metabalic typing. ONE DIET DOES NOT FIT ALL. Watch the Gonzalez video, available on his site called WHAT SHOULD I EAT? Some people need meat or they will die. Yes some people do well on a vegetarian diet but that does not make it good for everyone. Food diet gurus have found the right diet for their metabolic type. Unfortunately they want to impose it on everyone else. Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw Vegan, Paleo, Atkins, Macrobiotic all work for a segment of the population but not all. Find what works for you but don’t impose it on others.
Actually beef, liver and eggs are the most nutritious food period. More vegetarian propaganda.
I totally disagree with the Harvard Medical School study that claims that meat-free living will give you a longer life. What meat-free living will give you is a smaller brain especially if you eat a lot of grains. It will also give you less cholesterol (an essential nutrient), which has also been proven to give you a shorter life. Fact: People with higher cholesterol and longer telomeres have a longer life.
I have seen these studies before over the last 55 years in my research, and I have to say they are bunk, stupid, ridiculous, etc… <pick one!
The only argument that this article has is comparing co-op bred animals as opposed to natural free range grown animals. How much land does it take to grow crops?
It is a well proven fact that animal fats will make and keep you thin, and have less hunger desires during the day.
If you want to clean up your body some by fasting with veggys for a short term, then fine, but if you want it all the time then figure on a life span of short term.
Every society in the world today that lives longest, eats meat, or fish, including the Japanese. The Japanese only eat soy products as a side dish and never as the main meal as the 100,000 very poor Chinese who died in 2013 who only could afford soy and no fish or meat.
To all: after the word etc, I did not write what was written. So I apologize for Natural Society’s ignorance in this matter. It seems that Natural Society has sabotaged my writing because they feel I showed valid issue in favor of meat in the diet.
And prehistoric man said about grass eaters, “Lousy hunters”.
The brown fat like what you’ll find in your Thanksgiving turkey could be keeping you from becoming another diabetes pin cushion.