Tuesday, April 27, 2010
My paper
Just Say No to Meat
It is always hard to change the way a person eats. However, if a person were to want to be healthy, having a meat free diet is a very wise choice. Today’s meat has lots of additives and hormones that are detrimental to our bodies; by maintaining a vegetarian diet, the threat of certain types of cancers and health risks greatly improve. There are many resources available to help make the daunting transition to a meat-free diet.
Meat, especially beef, is packed full of hormones. Hormones are a natural part of animals as well as human beings; they control important body functions such as growth, development and reproduction. Protein hormones can be easily broken down in the stomach. However steroid hormones, like the ones that animals receive, are absorbed into the body when eaten. Using hormones is illegal in Europe but still remains tolerated in some countries such as the United States, Mexico and South Africa where- “growth hormones like testosterone are routinely administered to about 80 percent of the nation's feedlot cattle, accelerating their weight gain and making them more profitable to slaughter at a younger age.” (Schlosser. 2006). The health risk is great when eating hormone filled meat. By cutting meat, especially red meat, out of a person’s diet they are 30% less at risk for breast cancer. Breast cancer is not the only risk of being a meat eater. A study that was performed in Nebraska found that when female minnows were exposed to trenbolone, a synthetic hormone widely administered to cattle, they developed male sex organs. The males are not off the hook for this experiment, the study also revealed that male minnows exposed to these same hormones had abnormally small testes. Testes are one of the essential organs for reproduction in the male species. Smaller testes often produce less sperm which has been linked to problems in reproducing.
Meat is also packed full of food-borne illnesses. Not only is meat filled with nasty hormones it also contains an abundance of disease and bacteria; “25 percent of all chicken sold in the United States carries salmonella” (Dworkin. 2010). Salmonella causes diarrhea, stomach cramps and vomiting; if the body is unable to fight off this bacterium with its own immune system than Salmonella turns into Typhoid fever which causes inflammation of the stomach and intestines. The Center of Disease Control also estimates, “70 percent to 90 percent of chickens contain the bacteria campy-lobacter (some strains of which are antibiotic-resistant), approximately 5 percent of cows carry the lethal strain of E. coli O157:H7 (which causes virulent diseases and death), and 30 percent of pigs slaughtered each year for food are infected with toxoplasmosis (caused by parasites).” (Dworkin. 2010). Animals are kept in small unsanitary living quarters where disease can easily run ramped; in order to keep the life stock from falling ill the animals are feed and injected with mass amounts of antibiotics. This may sound like a good idea but it is not. When humans consume meat they are also consuming all the added hormones and antibiotics that the animal has been exposed to. Making diseases more and more antibiotic resistant; diseases are smart they change, mutate, and adapt to their surroundings. This is why “Including animal products in your diet is like playing Russian roulette with your life." (Klaper.1998)
Health is a very important factor to leading a long and happy life. Healthy life style choices can be achieved in many ways; one of these ways is maintaining a vegetarian diet. Recent studies have shown that meat eaters are far more likely to develop diseases such as coronary heart disease and cancer. A British study by Tuffs University
found that vegetarians are 75% less likely to develop myeloma (A cancer of the bone marrow) as well as 50% less at risk for cancers of the blood and lymphatic system such as leukemia. In a world full of pollutants it is important to be able to give the body a fighting chance and lower probability of disease. In fact “vegetarians immune systems are more effective in killing off tumor cells than meat eaters” (Dworkin. 2010). Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in America; this is due to the high amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in an average Americans diet. When meat is cut out of a person’s diet the risk for cardiovascular disease is reduced by 15%. Obesity is on the rise all over the world which leads to other health problems such as coronary obstructive pulmonary disease and type II diabetes. People that are overweight have less energy and are at a greater risk of disease in general. Vegetarians are found to weigh less overall than there meat eating neighbors. Vegetables are low in calories and fat so eating a vegetarian meal even once a week can lower you calorie intake by 371 calories and 28 grams of fat, according to Shape magazine. This means If a person were to become a vegetarian they would lower there calorie intake by an average of 2597 calories a week which is equal to a smaller waist line.
It may seem daunting to make the transition from meat eater to leaf eater but never fear there is lots of information out there to make this smart choice. It is first important to know the different types of vegetarians there are. Pesco vegetarians eat fish, Ovo vegetarians eat eggs, and lacto vegetarian eat milk; if a person were not to eat fish, milk or eggs than that person would be referred to as a vegan. It is wise to take out one meat product at a time in order to make a smooth transition. The first step a person would take would be to remove pork and pork products from their diet. After two weeks take all
beef and beef products away. After the next two weeks remove all chicken and chicken products. Next a person would take out fish; unless that person were to decide to become a pesco (fish eater) vegetarian. In a little over a month a person could be well on their way to healthy eating habits. The resources on how to become a healthy and happy vegetarian are vast. PETA.com provides healthy recipes to help expand your options from rice and beans. Another fantastic place to look is a magazine called the Vegetarian Times it contains common questions and answers about being a vegetarian, delicious recipes, as well as well written articles about vegetarian life. Sometimes a vegetarian may need to take vitamin supplements if the combinations of foods that are eaten do not contain the nine essential amino acids. If a person were to be looking for vitamin supplements than look no further GNC is a store that contains several varieties of vitamins geared especially toward vegetarians needs.
It is important that before making the awesome choice to become a vegetarian that a person is aware of the vitamins and minerals they need in their everyday meal choices. Protein is just one of these essential needs. Protein is very important to the body because every cell in the human body contains protein. It helps the body to builds strong structures such as bone, muscle, tendons, and ligaments. It makes compounds known as enzymes that the body uses in order to make biochemical reactions occur. Protein is also found in various parts of the red blood cells and they are called transport proteins. It is also part of the immune system which makes antibodies that helps to protect the body from foreign invaders such as bacteria, viruses, and toxic substances. Without protein a person could become very ill. The average person needs 0.8 g of protein per kg of body weight per day. However if a person were to be involved in exercise most days of the week than that person would require 1 to 1.2 g per kg of body weight per day. For example, the average women weighing 63kg would only need 53g of protein per day; this is easy enough to achieve. For pesco vegetarians a protein filled option could be cod fish, it contains 20g of protein per 100g consumed. For those vegetarians that are steering clear of fish protein can be found in other foods such as beans and peanut butter. A healthy option is Soy beans which contains 29 grams of protein per cup or kidney beans that contain 16grams of protein per cup. Another tasty treat is peanut butter, it contains 7g of protein per 32g (2Tbsp). This means that even by having a single serving of beans at every meal a person can get more than enough protein for their body. Mindful meal options are important so that all vitamins and minerals are include, items such as potato chips or French fries are not a wise choice because they contain a ridicules amount of sodium and are high in calories. An alternate option would be hummus on pita bread or even celery and peanut butter. Remember, protein is absolutely vital for the body to run properly.
Not only can a person’s body be healthier from a vegetarian diet their conscience can be guilt free. Many of the animals that are slaughtered for food are treated inhumanely. In the Unites States alone 8.9 billion birds such as chickens, duck, turkey etc. are slaughter for food; "Slaughter is different from processing in that the raw material is alive, has a central nervous system, can express emotional states, and has biological components like humans." (Swanson 2002). Poultry for example, is hung up by their feet from machines and sprayed with ice cold salt water in order to conduct electricity. The birds are than subjected to volts of electricity in order to keep them from thrashing around as well as to paralyze the muscles of the feather follicles so that the feathers can be taken out easily. After being doused with salt water and stunned with electricity the still conscious birds are moved to have their necks cut. In order to make sure that the poultry receives a quick death both carotid arteries must be must be severed, this is because these arteries carry oxygenated blood that is responsible for consciousness to the brain. A machine with a rotating blade is what is used to do the job. More often than not the arteries are missed and some of them slowly bleed to death because those arteries are so deeply embedded in the bird's neck. Some of these unfortunate birds move on to the last stage to meet there painful end. The birds that do not drown in their own blood are then dipped into a pot of scolding water in order to remove the feathers. Inmates in jails who have committed reprehensible crimes receive a more humane end to life than these animals
Today’s meat has lots of additives and hormones that are detrimental to our bodies; by maintaining a vegetarian diet, the threat of certain types of cancers and health
risks greatly improve. There are many resources available to help make the daunting transition to a meat-free diet. The best benefit of all, not only can a person have a clear conscious because no animals are being slaughtered for their food their body is not using extra energy to digest meat so increased energy can be found for people who steer clear of meat. So put down the burger, grab a stalk of hormone free celery and go for a walk.
References
Dworkin N. (April 8. 2010) "22 Reasons to Go Vegetarian Right Now - benefits of vegetarian diet". Vegetarian Times. FindArticles.com. Retrieved April 5, 2010. From http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0820/is_1999_April/ai_54232138/
Schlosser, E. (2006). cheap food nation. Sierra, 91(6), 36-39. Retrieved from Health Source - Consumer Edition database
(2008). go veggie once a week. Shape, 27(11), 216. Retrieved from Health Source - Consumer Edition database.
(2009). Some Cancers Less Likely to Strike Vegetarians. Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, 27(8), 7. Retrieved from Health Source - Consumer Edition database.
Russell, R and Sceppa, C. (2010) How Much Protein Do You Need? Retrieved
April 20, 2010. From: http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/content/nutrition/art2059.html
Thompson, S. (2006, March 28). Women warned of low-fat fertility danger. Irish Times, Retrieved from Newspaper Source database
Swanson, J. (2002) American Meat Institute Foundation's Annual Animal Handling and Stunning Conference.
Parascandola, L. (2003) Poultry Slaughter: The Need for Legislation. Retreived April 20, 2010 from: http://www.upc-online.org/slaughter/slaughter3web.pdf
