Why Be a Vegetarian

Why Be a Vegetarian

There are many reasons why you should have a more vegetarian diet, to include reducing animal cruelty, helping the environment, decreasing world hunger, protecting worker's rights, and bettering your health.

* Animals in meat factories have no legal protection. They can be beat and abused to no end (mutilated, genetic manipulation, and neglect), and there's nothing that anyone can do about it.
* The United State's meat production poisons and depletes ware, land, and air. Animal agriculture causes 130 times more waste than the human population does by polluting the land, water, and air.
* Raising animals for food is inefficient because it takes up more supplies and resources, and costs more. By growing crops, we could easily feed every human on the planet with healthy foods, causing less pollution and for cheaper.
* Working in animal agriculture is one of the most dangerous jobs, and the overall industry has refused to create safe working conditions by supplying workers with safety equipment and slowing own the slaughter lines all because it'll cut into profits.
* By removing meat from your diet, or at least strongly reducing the amount of meat that you eat, you can potentially raise your immune system and protect your body against heart disease, diabetes, obesity, stroke, and many types of cancer.

Plus, humans were never built to eat meat. We were not designed for it, we have evolved enough to be able to digest meat.



We're Conditioned to Eat Meat

As studies have proven, we're just not meant to eat meat, but humans still hunt, kill, and eat meat. We still raise livestock to kill and serve on the dinner table. We're just conditioned to do it.

For most of human history, we have lived off of a vegetarian or lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, which means a there is a lack of all beef, lamb, pork, poultry, fish, shellfish, or animal flesh in the diet, but dairy and eggs are a part of the diet.

Some believe that humans are supposed to be omnivores, but if you look at the characteristics of an omnivore, they will more closely resemble those of a carnivore than a herbivore, and humans will still have more characteristics that closely resemble a herbivore.

When people eat meat, it decays within about 4 hours, but the remnants hang around and cling to the walls of the stomach and intestines for 3 to 4 days if not longer. Because our saliva is alkaline, it does not break down the meat as it should, which is why it lingers in our digestive tract a little longer.

If you look at true meat eaters, like lions and tigers, they kill their prey and tear directly into the stomach where the blood filled organs are. They need the nutrients from the stomach, liver, and intestines. When we cook raw meat, we are cooking out a lot of the necessary nutrients that true meat eaters need to survive, so if we were meant to eat meat, we would eat it raw and bloody.

Even carnivores who run across prey that has been burned in a fire don't eat their meat cooked.

Humans have adapted their bodies and digestive systems to eat and digest meat.
Compare Characteristics of Carnivores, Herbivores, and Humans Characteristics Meat Eaters Herbivores Humans
Claws Have claws No claws No Claws
Skin Pores Have no skin pores and prespire through the tongue Prespire through skin pores Prespire through skin pores
Intestinal Tract Have an intestinal tract that is only 3 times their body length so that rapidly decaying meat can pass through faster Have an instestinal tract that is 10 to 12 times their body length Have an instestinal tract that is 10 to 12 times their body length
Intestinal Shape Have bowels that are smooth and shaped like a pipe, so that meat passes through quickly Have bowels that are bumpy and pouch-like with lots of pockets so that plant matter can pass through slowly for optimal nutrient absorption Have bowels that are bumpy and pouch-like with lots of pockets so that plant matter can pass through slowly for optimal nutrient absorption
Stomach Acid Have strong hydrochloric acid in the stomach to digest meat Have stomach acid that is 20 times weaker than that of a meat eater Have stomach acid that is 20 times weaker than that of a meat eater
Salivary Glands Have salivary glands in the mouth that aren't needed to pre-digest grains and fruits. Have well-developed salivary glands that are needed to pre-digest grains and fruits Have well-developed salivary glands that are needed to pre-digest grains and fruits
Saliva Have acidic saliva without the enzyme ptyalin to pre-digest grains Have alkaline saliva with the ptyalin ezyme to pre-digest grains Have alkaline saliva with the ptyalin ezyme to pre-digest grains
Teeth Have sharp front teeth to pull meat off the bone, and do not have flat molars for chewing; canine teeth are lower than the other teeth and used for attacking; teeth are also jagged and interlocking to hold onto prey Have flat front teeth not built for pulling meat off the bone; and have flat molars for chewing; canine teeth fairly align with the rest of the teeth so not designed for attacking prey; teeth are fitted closely together Have flat front teeth not built for pulling meat off the bone; and have flat molars for chewing; canine teeth fairly align with the rest of the teeth so not designed for attacking prey; teeth are fitted closely together
Jaws Have jaws that move only in an up and down motion; also have jaws that project forward from the face in order to best hold onto prey Have jaws that can move backward and foward, up and down, and side to side, which is ideal to grind grains; jaw is set close to the face Have jaws that can move backward and foward, up and down, and side to side, which is ideal to grind grains; jaw is set close to the face
Looking at the characteristics of the herbivore and a human, we closely resemble the herbivore. Eating Meat is Bad for Human Health

People who do not eat meat or have a highly reduced meat diet, live longer, have lower cancer rates, and have higher IQs.

Men who eat red meat (even leave red meat) 4 to 5 times a week will have 4 times the risk of developing colon cancer than men who only eat meat as a main meal once a month, or less. It's thought that when red meat is cooked, carcinogens are created which may cause the increased risk of colon cancer.

But, even chicken, lamb, pork, turkey, quail, fish, eggs, sausages, mince, and beef are all highly acidic when digested. Diets that are rich in acidic forming foods has been proven to increase risks of illnesses and disease because the high acidity causes an accumulation of debris and mucous in the colon, which reduced the immune system's ability to eliminate toxins from the body.

Because the human digestive tract is not built to properly digest food, it takes the body longer to digest the meat than it will fruits, vegetables, and fiber, which means the food sits in the body longer, creating fats. You'll find that people that have big bellies, other than pregnant women, generally have a swollen bowel. If they tense up their abdomen, there's usually going to be about 1 to 2 inches of fat, and the rest intestines.

And because the structure of meat protein is more complex than other sources of protein, such as from fiber and plants, it puts more strain on the liver, which causes half digested protein molecules to enter the bloodstream and wreak havoc on the body.

Vegetable proteins are much easier for the human body to digest so they do not toxify the body the same way. Humans can survive on a vegetarian diet because the proteins that one can absorb from vegetable proteins are much more concentrated, so you don't have to eat as much of it in order to get the same amount of protein that you would from meat, and it's easier for the body to digest.
High Protein Foods Food Food Protein by Concentration (percent measured by weight)
Corn 8.6%
Soy beans, kidney beans, chick peas, lentils, etc. 10% to 35%
Rice 13%
Almonds, walnuts, cashews, hazel nuts, pine nuts, etc. 14% to 30%
Tofu (from soya) 16%
Pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, etc. 18% to 24%
Gluten (from flour) 70%
Spirulina 70%
Healthy Vegetarian Diet

If you're thinking about becoming a vegetarian for any reason, you'll want to make sure that you can keep a healthy diet.

It's important that you keep a well balanced diet, that includes dark leafy greens, varied vegetables, plenty of fruits, and of course vitamins and minerals. You want to eat products that have proteins in them to help supplement your diet; eat tofu, soy, nuts, and texturized vegetable proteins (soy meat). These will have less fats and fewer calories, which is healthier for you.

Depending on what type of vegetarian you want to be, you may be cutting out eggs and dairy. You may want to find a substitute, which can include the following.

* Milk- Fortified soymilk, rice milk, or almond mill
* Butter- Olive oil, water, vegetable broth, wine or fat-free cooking spray for sauteing, but canola oil when baking
* Cheese- Soy cheese or nutritional yeast flakes
* Eggs- Commercial egg replacers are good for baked goods, or to replace one egg, you can mix 1/4 cup whipped tofu or 1 tablespoon of milled flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water

When it comes to your vitamins and minerals, you'll want to make sure that you get plenty of calcium for strong bones and muscles; vitamin B12 to produce red blood cells and prevent anemia; iron for red blood cells; and zinc which is an essential component of many enzymes and to aid cell division and in the formation of proteins.

You can get the vitamins you need by the following alternatives:

* Calcium- Low-fat dairy foods and dark green vegetables (spinach, turnip and collard greens, kale, and broccoli); tofu enriched with calcium; fortified soy milk; fruit juices
* Vitamin B12- Almost exclusive to animal products like milk, eggs and cheese; but you can use enriched cereals, fortified soy products, and/or a supplement as an alternative
* Iron- Dried beans and peas, lentils, enriched cereals, whole-grain products, dark leafy green vegetables, and dried fruit; eat foods rich in Vitamin C (strawberries, citrus fruits, tomatoes, cabbage, and broccoli) in order to help absorb the iron from non-animal products
* Zinc- Whole grains, soy products, nuts, and wheat germ.



God bless you all.