Dear Steve, I hope by posing my thoughts on the matter and sharing from my recent source of inspiration, you do not find the contrary information to be a direct challenge to your beliefs. Choosing not to eat meat for personal, spiritual, religious, ethical, or environmental reasons are completely valid and respectable. I am not sure I agree with Sri Yukteswars comment that we are not designed to eat meat. I think evolution and science has shown otherwise. Life consumes life. There are even meat-eaters out there who find their reasoning for doing so personal and spiritual. I am not here to condemn someone for being vegetarian and I am not going to condemn someone who respects life and eats meat, because it is possible to do both.
This planet teaches us about killing for survival. Unfortunately, it is true, we have reached absurd levels of cruelty thanks to contributing themes of greed and convenience. If I remember reading your opinion on killing another human being for the sake of war, there was a certain readiness for battle. To be okay with killing humans because we think its serving a "righteous cause" but to call it wrong to kill for survival to me is a bit contradictory. I'm no fan of killing. I don't kill the cockroaches either. I don't want to kill anything. There's nothing fun about it. But it would seem science and nature tells us we need protein, and that meat is a better source of protein with easier to process bioavailable nutrients compared to sticking to a strictly plant based diet.
It's true you are here as a vegetarian, proof that it is possible. Also true, this planet host life for omnivore, herbivore and carnivore alike. I don't think being vegetarian means it's for everyone. I also don't think being a meat eater will exclude you from communion with God. This being my opinion. And of course, the way things are currently- industrialization and mass production is neither natural or healthy. For example, I had no clue that factory farms feed cattle skittles just to fatten them up. It's obscenely cruel.
As for the focus on meat eaters in your first post. Well of course frying food is not good for you... But- I want to quote more from the book now,
Generally speaking, people who eat a lot of meat also have unhealthy habits overall: They weigh more, drink more, smoke more, eat less produce and fiber, and are more sedentary than those who consume less meat, according to a study involving more than 600,000 subjects. So maybe it isn't the meat that's damaging carnivores' health- maybe it's everything else they are doing to damage their health
In recent decades, the anti-meat advocates and scientists have tried to scare Americans by linking meat to everything from cancer to heart disease, disease, and even obesity. But time and time again the research has shown that the opposite is true. As our ancestors knew, meat is a nutrient-dense food that can help prevent disease and nutritional deficiencies when consumed in combination with plenty of plants and vegetables. Of course, that's not to say that there isn't a dark side to meat consumption. Most of the meat consumed in America and other developed countries, sadly, comes from factory farms, where animals are subjected to cruel, unsanitary, and often unimaginable conditions. These industrial behemoths contribute to climate change, pollute the environment, and in some cases, abuse their workers.
Meat is not just a good source of protein (easier to extract and requires less amounts than from plants).
Animal foods are our only source of vitamin B12, which is essential for life itself. Meat also provides vitamin E, vitamin D, and the other B vitamins. It contains enzymes that we need to access nutrients, essential amino acids, and cancer-fighting antioxidants like beta-carotene (which our bodies convert into vitamin A), lutein, and zeaxanthin. Meat contains minerals such as zinc, selenium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium. And it also contains iron, which is particularly important for women, a great many of whom are anemic due to menstruation. It's true, as vegans point out, that all these minerals (and even protein) are available in vegetables and legumes and other foods. But our bodies internal systems have to work to convert them into a form we can use, whereas nutrients in meat are much more bioavailable.
...Protein is required to maintain and build muscle. With the loss of muscle (sarcopenia) comes age-related hormonal changes including pre-diabetes (which causes heart disease, cancer, and dementia), higher levels of stress hormones like cortisol, and lower levels of anti-aging hormones like growth hormone and testosterone. That's why studies show that as you age you need more protein to prevent disease and death. It's no wonder we evolved to eat meat.
Well. I don't plan on adding more about the benefits of eating meat in a thread dedicated to being a vegetarian. But I will provide what Dr. Mark Hyman has to say about combatting the global warming issue as a meat-eater.
Can we do anything about all this? Early research has shown that regenerative farming may be the future of meat that is healthy for us as well as the environment, and humane for the animals, too. Well-managed grazing operations can actually offset or even completely compensate for methane and other greenhouse gases linked to beef production by trapping carbon in the soil. The grass soaks up and stores, or sequesters, carbon, preventing carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere. Soil farming will save us. Watch the movie or read the book Kiss the Ground to learn how we can reduce carbon dioxide to preindustrial levels through regenerative farming.
These operations also involve regularly moving the animals to fresh pasture and keeping them away from streambeds, which can help prevent water pollution. For the most part, pasture-raised cattle do not rely on irrigated crops for feeding, which lessens the amount of water required to produce meat. By choosing grass-fed meat from small, sustainable farms, we also support the fair treatment of workers and live-stock. If you want to learn more about this, check out the Savory Institute ( www.savory.global ) and our grass-fed meat resources page at www.foodthebook.com/resources Namaste ~
