I want to begin this article with its conclusion.
- We do not need to consume animal products to survive nor do we need to consume them to be healthy.
- The animal products we eat literally make us sick.
- The meat and dairy industry are responsible for the majority of global warming, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.
- The resources used to feed farm animals could stop world hunger if we fed humans instead of pigs.
- The animals we consume are tortured and mutilated.
Now, here are some facts.
1. You do not need to consume meat and dairy for a healthy diet.
2. Milk is not good for you.
The dairy industry, a multi-billion dollar industry, has conditioned our society with intense advertising to believe milk “builds strong bones” and is “part of a healthy diet,” yet we have the highest rate of osteoporosis (bone disease) in the world.
(If you want to know more, it’s because the dairy and meat create an acidic environment in our bodies. Our bodies aren’t equipped to handle that. How have they managed to handle it? Phosphorus is taken from your bones, therefore, bone depletion.)
3. We are the only species that continues to drink milk after breast feeding from our mothers.
4. Cows only produce milk when they are pregnant. Therefore, in mass production, they are constantly kept pregnant for 5-7 years without once getting to spend time with their babies.
They aren’t magical milk fairies that constantly are filled with milk. Like your mother, they only provide milk when pregnant.
5. Cows milk is meant to grow their calf into a 2,000 lb+ cow.
When you drink cow’s milk, you are drinking a magic elixir that fattens up and grows this calf into the 2,000 lb cow it will be in months time. Can you imagine what it is doing to your body?
6. To quickly and “efficiently” get rid of the baby male chicks, they are put into a grinder and ground up alive.
7. Baby pigs that are “too small” are immediately disposed of as well.
8. A dairy cow can only last being constantly pregnant and milked for about 5-7 years before they get sick or exhausted; otherwise they can live up until 25 years of age.
So once this sick cow cannot provide you any more milk, it is slaughtered to provide you with a hamburger.
9. As soon as a baby calf is born, it is torn away from it’s frantic mother and often beaten.
Why? Because many of the workers who handle them are twisted, angry, ignorant human beings and duh, if the baby sticks around, it will drink the milk that you want in your refrigerator.
10. The FDA released a statement that meat is as carcinogenic as cigarettes.
That means, by consuming meat, you are as likely to get cancer as when you smoke cigarettes.
11. Humans aren’t biologically carnivores OR omnivores. We are biologically herbivores.
How many humans do you see in the wild catching, killing, and eating a gazelle whole? Our biology set us up to be able to efficiently grind and digest plants, nuts, and seeds. Not meat.
12. In 2006, the United Nations said raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined.
13. Farmed animals, including fish, are fed a wide variety of drugs to grow them faster and to keep them alive in conditions that would normally kill them.
Even more relevant to you: these drugs enter the human food chain through direct consumption or through pollution of our waterways.
14. Antibiotics contain significant amounts of the most carcinogenic form of arsenic. USDA researchers have found that “…eating two ounces of chicken per day—the equivalent of a third to a half of a boneless breast—exposes a consumer to 3 to 5 micrograms of inorganic arsenic, the element’s most toxic form.”
Daily exposure to low doses of arsenic can cause cancer, dementia, neurological problems, and other ailments in humans.
15. Farmers give hormones to animals to increase growth and productivity.
Widely used in the United States, these hormones are known to cause several types of cancer and reproductive dysfunction in humans. While U.S. farmers claim that using hormones to promote growth is safe, the European Union has prohibited this practice since 1995.
This article’s purpose is NOT to slam meat or dairy eaters. It is also NOT to convert you to vegetarianism or veganism. I only want to share information, what you do with that information is your business.
The average consumer has no clue where their food comes from, what happens to it, or even what a healthy diet is. The beauty of the internet is we can educate ourselves faster than ever before. Information is delivered to our fingertips in seconds via Google. And fortunately, there are plenty of studies, journals, articles, and websites about veganism and our food industry.
Fun fact, several famous vegans include: Beyonce, Jay-Z, Albert Einstein, Gandhi, Mike Tyson, Betty White, Bill Clinton, Usher, Russell Brand, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, Natalie Portman, Lea Michele, Ariana Grande, Carrie Underwood, Demi Lovato, Alicia Silverstone, and many more.
Most importantly, what I hope you can take away from this article is that you have to use your head to look out for your health and well-being because the food industry is only concerned with your money in their pockets. Whether you continue to consume animal products, go vegetarian, or go vegan, know that there are alternative meat and dairy products everywhere, even at most of your favorite restaurants. Literally, even The Cheesecake Factory has vegan options for you. Every bite of meat and dairy you don't take, you are bettering your body, those who love you, the environment, and the animals who suffer at the hands of the meat and dairy industries.
If you are interested in learning more there are endless resources available. To start visit:
A testimony from a 98 year old Doctor who is a vegan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX58PyQwrcI&feature=youtu.be
And a great (but long) speech that you can watch in increments about veganism:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es6U00LMmC4&feature=youtu.be
