VEGETARIANISM: Meat is Killing you and the Planet

If I’ve somehow kept your attention, and you weren’t instantly put off by the title of this article, then just know that I’m not going to bombard you with anger or spite, because you eat meat. However, if you’re a fellow vegetarian than just sit back and relax, or become further enlightened. Now, let’s get into it.

I used to love meat. In the black community, food and meat specifically, is a part of the culture and language. So trust me when I say that there are in fact reasons to make you stop eating meat, that are greater than the taste of your mother’s famous ribs or ox tails. It all started two years ago when I watched the documentary Earthlings, which outlines different ways that the meat industry is cruel and not beneficial to anyone (humans or animals). The messages that were conveyed in the documentary were strong enough to make me stop eating red meat, but didn’t strike a nerve that made me want to give meat up entirely. In fact, after a few months, I was back to eating hot dogs and hamburgers. Unfortunately. However, three months ago, I watched the film Cowspiracy and my outlook on meat, animals, and meat agriculture was completely altered. I’m glad I watched these films, because otherwise, I wouldn’t be aware of how I’ve been poisoning my body all of these years, and contributing to an industry filled with deception and greed. However, for those of you who haven’t seen these films, and have not yet seen the oh-so-bad side of consuming meat, please read on.  

One: meat is killing humans. Much of the meat that is sold in supermarkets is filled with hormones and chemicals, which animals were forced to digest so that they would grow at a quicker pace so that it could be on your dinner table even quicker. Essentially, you are filling your body with “meat” which is not “meat” anymore because it has been stuffed with unpronounceable ingredients. In fact, many of the animals that have been filled with these harmful ingredients have been genetically modified, and if you’re lucky the manufacturer of those meats has labeled the meat with GMO. Even though it is against the law to falsify a label, many manufacturers still fail to label genetically modified meats as GMO. This is not because they’re having a long day and forget to place the label on the meat. It’s because they don’t want consumers to become aware of the harmful things that they are consuming. If consumers become aware they stop buying, and when they stop buying this results in a loss of profit for the manufacturer. What’s more important: not causing someone to lose their life or making a buck?

Two: animals are treated poorly at the hands of humans and animal agriculture. A combination of blood, urine, feces, dead animals, crowded pens, and the sound of shrieking animals is a slaughterhouse. Animals are treated with no respect and neither is the wellbeing of the consumer. Pigs are kept in small pens, that are overfilled and filled with feces and urine, and often times, dead pigs that did not make it in the chaos. Although this is only an example of the horrors that pigs are forced to endure, other animals face similar realities. Imagine this: living amongst hundreds of other animals, without so much as a small space for you to move around or navigate, living amongst dead animals and your own feces, and enduring this for around three weeks as you anticipate the day that a worker slices your throat open and skins you alive. As consumers, not only are we allowing slaughterhouses to treat animals like inanimate objects without feelings, we are also allowing slaughterhouses continue this treatment by validating it by investing in their business.

Three: the animal agriculture industry is killing the earth. This is one of the most significant points when discussing vegetarianism or discussing global problems, in general. Animal agriculture is the leading cause of pollution, water scarcity, and climate change. I know what you’re thinking: “are you telling me I just made the switch to a Brita filter, started recycling and bought a Prius for no reason?” Not quite. What I’m saying is you just made the switch to a Brita filter, started recycling and bought a Prius, when you could’ve just stopped eating meat. Animal agriculture is responsible for eight to ninety percent of US water consumption. This means sally from Chicago, who is stressing out about using too much water, is worried about something in which she only accounts for a very small portion. A farm with 2,500 dairy cows produces the same amount of waste as a city of 411,000 people. This means the Johnsons from Los Angeles, who are breaking their backs trying to make sure they’re not producing too much waste can attribute the mass amount of pollution in this country to Connor the Cow, and not themselves. Animal agriculture is responsible for eighteen percent of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the combined exhaust from all transportation. This means Kathy from New York City, who sold her car to get a bike, can blame animal agriculture and not her Mercedes. And although all of these modifications are overall beneficial, the blame is being placed on the wrong demographic. These are the facts, and the reality is that this industry is killing the planet, despite all of the other information that you’ve been told.

The harsh reality is, if you’re an animal lover, environmentalist or care about your health, then you should not be eating meat. In fact, if you value transparency of organizations or frown upon industries that are greedy and do not care about the consumer, then you should also not eat meat. But as I said in the first sentence of this article, I am not writing this to reprimand you for eating meat. I am simply supplying you with the information that many of us have been denied.