Contents
According to the results of studies conducted by an independent company from the United States, the refusal of meat will be beneficial to the health of many people. Nevertheless, for millions of people on the planet, this situation will only bring harm.
Positive aspects
There are many reasons to go vegetarian. The main ones are a healthy lifestyle and pity for animals. But an important factor for many people is the preservation of natural resources. It turns out that animal husbandry has a significant effect on the formation of greenhouse gases.
Meat-eaters tend to criticize vegetarians, but they cannot refute the positive changes in the human body. Many experts argue that the more people give up meat, the greater the global effect we will be able to observe on the planet. Among the evidence of a dual influence, the arguments of E. Jarvis, who is an expert at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, are put forward. He assures that in more developed countries such a transition to vegetarianism will lead to positive changes, while in developing countries there will be an aggravation of poverty.
Together with his team, Jarvis decides to build a model of the future of humanity if all people abruptly stop eating meat.
Today, about a third of all greenhouse gas emissions come from animal husbandry. At the same time, many people underestimate the negative impact of the food industry on the environment and the emergence of climate change in general. Therefore, when it comes to emissions of gases into the atmosphere that affect its condition, most experts pay attention to cars, and not to fried meat.
A similar study was decided to conduct by another researcher, independently of his colleague from Columbia, working at the University of Oxford M. Springman. His goal is to build a model that will report changes in the event of the transition of humanity to vegetarianism. According to his calculations, by 2050 there will be a decrease in mortality by 7 people. At the same time, gas emissions into the atmosphere will decrease by up to 000%.
Similar results are based on the fact that vast areas of agricultural land are needed for the preparation of red meat. With a constant change in the composition of the soil, which appear as a result of artificial land cultivation, the bioflora dies, reducing the greenhouse effect. At the moment, approximately 5 hectares of land in the world are given over to agriculture. Approximately 000% falls on pastures. If the entire population suddenly becomes vegetarian, then 000% of them will again become forests and meadows. And this is an invaluable help in stopping negative climate change on the entire planet.
When the land is returned to nature, the biodiversity of species will be restored. After all, it is precisely because of the formation of pastures for the needs of livestock that buffaloes and wolves are balancing on the verge of extinction. The last animals are often shot because of attacks, including on people.
The remaining 15-20% of the land can be used for growing vegetables, fruits and berries. They are quite enough to restore the body’s strength with a lack of meat.
Unfortunately, due to the cultivation of plants that are not used for food, but are used for technical needs, many lands have already fallen into an unusable state.
Negative aspect: employment
If you stop producing meat or reduce its quantity to a minimum, then a lot of people working in the food industry will be left without work. The researchers argue that there is a place for them in the restoration of lost resources:
- Growing new forests.
- Recycling waste into energy.
- Agriculture.
Private farms will be able to profit from raising livestock for the needs of environmental activities.
Otherwise, if the governments of the countries cannot give enough places and subsidies to those citizens who have lost their jobs due to the transition to vegetarianism, then there will be global unemployment. Nevertheless, the researchers argue that even a well-defined action plan will not be able to predict new income niches that will open up.
But the problem remains the loss of valuable resources – land. For example, in Africa, north of the equator, it was decided to convert some pastures into fields. The result was only the desertification of the selected area for the experiment.
A similar situation will affect many countries, for example, Mongolia and almost all of Central Asia. Many indigenous people who preserve the traditions of their people will be forced to move to cities where there will be at least some chance to feed their families. As a result, they will lose their ethnicity.
Based on this situation, it can be said with confidence that those peoples in whose traditions meat is used not only as food will also suffer. Many people give livestock for weddings. Others consume daily turkey or roast beef for dinner. In some regions of the planet, everything is the same as many years ago, meat is part of the cultural identity.
Negative aspect: health
It would seem that the calculations carried out by scientists Springman and Jarvis indicate that the death rate on the planet will decrease by 7 people a year by 000. But one of the most important factors is silent: a person is a predator. Many studies in archeology, biology, history and ethnography point to signs that are characteristic exclusively of meat-eaters. And they are present in people.
Giving up meat will entail changes in DNA, lifestyle, behavior and health. Many experts in medicine argue that it is impossible to bear a fully healthy child without the mother eating red meat during pregnancy. This fact is also confirmed by the most famous stars of the planet. Many Hollywood actresses are already promoting vegetarianism. But when they have children, they begin to eat meat, refusing plant foods.
Indeed, it is almost impossible to replace such a nutritious and dissimilar product with another food. Meat contains special amino acids that play an important role in maintaining the normal functioning of the brain. Medical reports indicate that some people who abruptly refused to eat meat began to suffer from mental disabilities, up to schizophrenia.
The only way out of the situation is to gradually get rid of meat in the diet. Doctors around the world do not recommend taking and giving up food of animal origin in one day. It takes a long time to become a vegetarian or vegan.
India is a prime example of this phenomenon. Here, the cow is considered a sacred animal, and meat, according to the traditions that have developed over the centuries, is not consumed at all. It is replaced by milk and plant foods. At the same time, this trend has been formed over many hundreds of years. The inhabitants of the country are still reluctant to share recipes with other nations, thus keeping their secrets. And it is the population of this country that can be safely considered real vegetarians.
Everything needs a measure
Based on the facts obtained as a result of scientific research, historical information and medicine, it can be said with confidence that the transition to plant foods is possible. You just need to know the measure and be able to make the right choice in favor of vegetarianism.
Independent studies also show that to save the world from global climate change, it is enough just to limit the amount of meat eaten. A prime example is the UK, where WHO has developed a special diet. This is a list of foods that should be eaten in a certain amount daily. If every resident of Britain adheres to such a menu, the amount of gas emissions will decrease by 17%.
Springman’s research has paid some attention to this factor. You can not become a vegetarian at all, but only reduce portions of meat. And the food industry will be able to choose those activities that cause minimal harm to the environment.
Based on the above facts, vegetarianism is an individual desire of each person. It should not become a cause of contention in families that develop into global anti-meat-eaters movements. You should also be careful about such a diet, because changes in health can bring not only benefits, but also harm even to our descendants.