Humans have been eating meat since the Ice Age. It was then, according to anthropologists, that man moved away from a plant-based diet and began to eat meat. This “custom” has survived to this day – due to necessity (for example, among the Eskimos), habit or living conditions. But most often, the reason is simply a misunderstanding. Over the past fifty years, well-known health professionals, nutritionists, and biochemists have unearthed compelling evidence that you don’t have to eat meat to stay healthy, in fact, a diet that is acceptable to predators can harm humans.
Alas, vegetarianism, based only on philosophical positions, rarely becomes a way of life. In addition, it is important not only to follow a vegetarian diet, but also to understand the great benefits of vegetarianism for all mankind. Therefore, let’s leave aside the spiritual aspect of vegetarianism for the time being – multi-volume works can be created about this. Let us dwell here on purely practical, so to speak, “secular” arguments in favor of vegetarianism.
Let us first discuss the so-called “the protein myth”. Here’s what it’s about. One of the main reasons why most people eschew vegetarianism is the fear of causing a protein deficiency in the body. “How can you get all the quality proteins you need from a plant-based, dairy-free diet?” such people ask.
Before answering this question, it is useful to recall what a protein actually is. In 1838, the Dutch chemist Jan Müldscher obtained a substance containing nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and, in smaller quantities, other chemical elements. This compound, which underlies all life on Earth, the scientist called “paramount”. Subsequently, the real indispensability of protein was proved: for the survival of any organism, a certain amount of it must be consumed. As it turned out, the reason for this is amino acids, the “original sources of life”, from which proteins are formed.
In total, 22 amino acids are known, 8 of which are considered essential (they are not produced by the body and must be consumed with food). These 8 amino acids are: lecine, isolecine, valine, lysine, trypophane, threonine, methionine, phenylalanine. All of them should be included in appropriate proportions in a balanced nutritious diet. Until the mid-1950s, meat was regarded as the best source of protein, because it contains all 8 essential amino acids, and just in the right proportions. Today, however, nutritionists have come to the conclusion that plant foods as a source of protein are not only as good as meat, but even superior to it. Plants also contain all 8 amino acids. Plants have the ability to synthesize amino acids from air, soil, and water, but animals can only obtain proteins through plants: either by eating them, or by eating animals that have eaten plants and absorbed all their nutrients. Therefore, a person has a choice: to get them directly through plants or in a roundabout way, at the cost of high economic and resource costs – from animal meat. Thus, meat does not contain any amino acids other than those that animals get from plants – and humans themselves can get them from plants.
Moreover, plant foods have another important advantage: along with amino acids, you get the substances necessary for the most complete absorption of proteins: carbohydrates, vitamins, trace elements, hormones, chlorophyll, etc. In 1954, a group of scientists at Harvard University conducted research and found that if a person simultaneously consumes vegetables, cereals, and dairy products, he more than covers the daily protein intake. They concluded that it was very difficult to keep a varied vegetarian diet without exceeding this figure. Somewhat later, in 1972, Dr. F. Stear conducted his own studies of protein intake by vegetarians. The results were amazing: most of the subjects received more than two norms of protein! So the “myth about proteins” was debunked.
And now let us turn to the next aspect of the problem we are discussing, which can be described as follows: meat eating and world hunger. Consider the following figure: 1 acres of soybeans yield 1124 pounds of valuable protein; 1 acres of rice yield 938 pounds. For corn this figure is 1009. For wheat it is 1043. Now think about this: 1 acres of beans: corn, rice or wheat used to fatten a steer will provide only 125 pounds of protein! This leads us to a disappointing conclusion: paradoxically, hunger on our planet is associated with meat-eating. Experts in the field of nutrition, environmental studies, and politicians have repeatedly noted that if the United States transferred the stock of grains and soybeans used to fatten livestock to the poor and starving of other countries, the problem of hunger would be solved. Harvard nutritionist Gene Mayer estimates that a 10% cut in meat production would free up enough grain to feed 60 million people.
In terms of water, land and other resources, meat is the most expensive product imaginable. Only about 10% of proteins and calories are contained in feed, which subsequently returns to us in the form of meat. In addition, hundreds of thousands of acres of arable land are planted each year for fodder. With an acre of feed that feeds a bull, we meanwhile get only about 1 pound of protein. If the same area is planted with soybeans, the output will be 7 pounds of protein. In short, raising livestock for slaughter is nothing but a waste of our planet’s resources.
In addition to vast areas of arable land, cattle breeding requires 8 times more water for its needs than vegetable growing, growing soybeans or grains: animals need to drink, and feed needs watering. In general, millions of people are still doomed to starvation, while a handful of privileged people gorge themselves on meat proteins, mercilessly exploiting land and water resources. But, ironically, it is the meat that becomes the enemy of their organisms.
Modern medicine confirms: Meat-eating is fraught with many dangers. Cancer and cardiovascular diseases are becoming epidemic in countries where per capita meat consumption is high, while where this is low, such diseases are extremely rare. Rollo Russell in his book “On the Causes of Cancer” writes: “I found that out of 25 countries whose inhabitants eat a predominantly meat diet, 19 have a very high percentage of cancer, and only one country has a relatively low rate, at the same time Of the 35 countries with limited or no meat consumption, none have a high cancer rate.”
The 1961 Journal of the American Physicians Association said, “Changing to a vegetarian diet prevents the development of cardiovascular disease in 90-97% of cases.” When an animal is slaughtered, its waste products cease to be excreted by its circulatory system and remain “canned” in the dead body. Meat-eaters thus absorb the poisonous substances that, in a living animal, leave the body with urine. Dr. Owen S. Parret, in his book Why I Don’t Eat Meat, noted that when meat is boiled, harmful substances appear in the composition of the broth, as a result of which it is almost identical in chemical composition to urine. In industrialized countries with an intensive type of agricultural development, meat is “enriched” with many harmful substances: DDT, arsenic /used as a growth stimulant/, sodium sulfate /used to give meat a “fresh”, blood-red hue/, DES, synthetic hormone /known carcinogen/. In general, meat products contain many carcinogens and even metastasogens. For example, just 2 pounds of fried meat contains as much benzopyrene as 600 cigarettes! By reducing cholesterol intake, we simultaneously reduce the chances of accumulating fat, and therefore the risk of death from a heart attack or apoplexy.
Such a phenomenon as atherosclerosis is a completely abstract concept for a vegetarian. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, “Proteins derived from nuts, grains, and even dairy products are considered relatively pure in contrast to those found in beef—they contain about 68% of the contaminated liquid component.” These “impurities” have a detrimental effect not only on the heart, but also on the body as a whole.
The human body is the most complex machine. And, as with any car, one fuel suits it better than another. Studies show that meat is a highly inefficient fuel for this machine, and comes at a high cost. For example, the Eskimos, who mainly eat fish and meat, age very quickly. Their average life expectancy barely exceeds 30 years. The Kirghiz at one time also ate mainly meat and also rarely lived longer than 40 years. On the other hand, there are tribes such as the Hunza who live in the Himalayas, or religious groups such as the Seventh Day Adventists, whose average life expectancy ranges between 80 and 100 years! Scientists are convinced that vegetarianism is the reason for their excellent health. The Maya Indians of Yutacan and the Yemeni tribes of the Semitic group are also famous for their excellent health – again thanks to a vegetarian diet.
And in conclusion, I want to emphasize one more thing. When eating meat, a person, as a rule, hides it under ketchups, sauces and gravies. He processes and modifies it in many different ways: fries, boils, stews, etc. What is all this for? Why not, like predators, eat meat raw? Many nutritionists, biologists and physiologists have convincingly demonstrated that people are not carnivorous by nature. That is why they so diligently modify food that is uncharacteristic for themselves.
Physiologically, humans are much closer to herbivores like monkeys, elephants, and cows than to carnivores like dogs, tigers, and leopards. Let’s say predators never sweat; in them, heat exchange occurs through regulators of respiratory rate and protruding tongue. Vegetarian animals, on the other hand, have sweat glands for this purpose, through which various harmful substances leave the body. Predators have long and sharp teeth in order to hold and kill prey; Herbivores have short teeth and no claws. The saliva of predators does not contain amylase and is therefore incapable of preliminary breakdown of starches. The glands of carnivores produce large amounts of hydrochloric acid to digest bones. The jaws of predators have a limited degree of mobility only up and down, while in herbivores they move in a horizontal plane to chew food. Predators lap up liquid, as, for example, a cat, herbivores draw it in through their teeth. There are many such illustrations, and each of them shows the human body corresponds to the vegetarian model. Purely physiologically, people are not adapted to a meat diet.
Here are perhaps the most compelling arguments in favor of vegetarianism. Of course, everyone is free to decide for himself which nutrition model to follow. But the choice made in favor of vegetarianism will undoubtedly be a very worthy choice!
Source: http://www.veggy.ru/