Why should you NOT eat meat?

* You're in good company. Vegetarian actors include Brad Pitt, David Duchovny, Dustin Hoffman, Alec Baldwin, Brooke Shields, Jerry Seinfeld, Michael J. Fox, Anthony Perkins, Rosanna Arquette, Ted Danson, Richard Gere, Candace Bergen, Kim Bassinger, Woody Harelson, Mary Tyler Moore, Eric Stolz, Drerw Barrymore, and Alicia Silverstone.

Vegetarian musicians include Sarah McLachlan, Shania Twain, Bryan Adams, Seal, Michael Bolton, Lenny Kravitz, Leonard Cohen, Joe Jackson, Indigo Girls, Billy Idol and Bob Dylan.

* You'll eat fewer chemicals lower on the food chain. The more chemicals an animal eats, the more you will eat. In every bite, a typical beef. Pork hotdog contains seven cancer-causing pesticides, and a quarter pound burger contains three cancer-causing substances. The primary source of nuclear radiation contamination in humans is from beef and dairy products. (Living Healthy in a Toxin World - David Steinman)

* Pesticides, industrial pollutants and sex hormones are known to cause breast cancer and to have estrogen-like effects, are stored in animal fat. These contaminants tend to accumulate in human breast fat, reaching levels thousands of times greater than in food. Obesity from fatty diets has also been known to cause breast cancer. (Dr. Samuel Epstein -The Breast Cancer Prevention Program)

* Non-vegetarians had 54 percent more prostate cancer than vegetarians in results from Adventist Morality and Health studies. Non-vegetarians had 88 percent more colon cancer than vegetarians. Non-smoking vegetarians have about half the rate of lung cancer as non-smoking non-vegetarians.

People eating meat three or more times per weeks had more than a two-fold increase in bladder cancer compared with vegetarians, and those consuming meat four or more times a week had a 66 percent higher mortality rate from ovarian cancer than vegetarians in the same study.(Brenda Davis - Becoming Vegan)

* You can get enough protein as a vegetarian. According to many nutritionists, you can consume a healthy percentage of complete protein by combining organic lentils, beans, tofu, organic whole grains, free range eggs, spinach and other plant sources. (Becoming Vegetarian -Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina)

* Minerals: Adequate amounts of iron can be found in organic broccoli, bok choy, figs, whole grain, enriched cereals, and other plants. You can get required calcium from sesame seeds, beans, tofu, wax beans, hummus, and broccoli. There is more calcium in sesame seeds and broccoli than there is in milk. And calcium in cow's milk isn't easily absorbed by people who have difficulty digesting it.

* You might lose weight by avoiding saturated fat in meat, butter and the animal fat used in baked goods, desserts and fried foods.

* You won't miss red meat. The veggie-meat substitutes and chicken clones made into patties, nuggets, ground round and steak available in health food store delis, frozen food and produce sections have a great meat-like texture and taste. They have far fewer calories than the "real thing" too.

* You save money at restaurants. Most menus offer vegetarian selections or chefs will oblige to prepare a vegetarian meal, and they're usually less expensive than their meatier counterparts. And many restaurants now feature innovative, organic ingredients in salads now at reasonable prices.

* Nutritional value. Flesh foods are essentially protein and saturated fat. Plant foods are protein, unsaturated (essential) fat, nutrient-rich carbohydrates and life-saving enzymes.

* Flesh foods are acid forming in the body, have no fiber, contain cholesterol, have naturally occurring toxic waste and cause unhealthy putrefaction bacteria in our intestines (which may contribute to indigestion, illness and disease)

* Plant foods are alkali-forming in the body, contain abundant fiber, have no naturally occurring toxic waste, little or no cholesterol and they don't putrefy as readily because they are much easier to digest. (Living Vegetarian website: www.jtcwd.com/vegie)

* Our instincts are carnivorous. Most humans would not be able to kill an animal. They have to cook and disguise it so that it bears no resemblance to its original state. Unlike carnivorous animals, we do not naturally salivate at the sight of raw meat (though we do for raw fruit).

* Human physiology. Meat eaters have claws, no pores on the skin so they perspire through the tongue, and pointed front teeth to tear raw flesh. Plant eaters perspire through pores on the skin (since they are searching for food during hot hours, not hunting at sunrise/sunset or under cover of darkness as meat eaters do) and flat back molars to grind food.

Meat eaters have very strong hydrochloric acid in the stomach to digest animal muscle whereas plant eaters have well developed salivary glands needed to digest plants and grains and stomach acid 20 times weaker than meat eaters. Meat eaters have an intestinal tract only three times their body length so rapidly decaying meat in the stomach can pass out of the body quickly. Plant eaters' intestinal tract is several times their body length since plant foods don't decay as quickly. (Living Vegetarian - jtcwd.com/vegie)

* Carnivores have an almost unlimited capacity to handle saturated fat and cholesterol, according to Dr. William Collins, NY Maim Onedes Medical Center. However, when plant-eating test animals were given a small daily dose of animal fat, they developed clogged arteries and disease. (Mad Cow? - ED)

* historically, it's intelligent to be vegetarian. Vegetarians throughout history include Plato, Socrates, Pythagoras, Sir Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison, Mark Twain, Albert Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci, Charles Darwin, Albert Schweitzer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Ford, William Wordsworth, George Bernard Shaw, and Martin Luther.

* If everyone in North America reduced their animal food consumption by just 10 percent, the grain we would save from animal feed could be used to feed all of the hungry throughout the world (Earth Save)

* Poultry operations alone use 96.5 billion gallons of water annually in the US, enough to meet all water needs of 4.5 million North Americans.

* A rancher doesn't eat meat. EarthSave International president Howard Lyman was formerly a fourth generation cattle rancher who is now a vegetarian activist and author of the book, "Mad Cowboy: plain truth from the cattle rancher who won't eat meat".

* Since Tina Poitras, six-time Canadian champion and two-time Olympic champion, became vegetarian after the 1996 Olympic Games, she has shaved a minute off of her racing time. (National Living Today). Vegetarian Dave Scott, considered on of the world's top triathlelets, has a degree in exercise physiology and says athletes in rigorous training don't require animal protein. Canadian Ironman triathlete and vegan Brendan Brazier agrees.

* Lethal microscopic organisms feed on animal waste. One such microorganism called Pfiesteria pesticide is a powerful nerve poison causing lesions, fatigue and asthma. At a Chesapeake Bay estuary in summer 2001, Pfiesteria killed tens of thousands of fish and sickened dozens of people. Scientists believe the 658, 000 tons of manure from 600 million chickens raised around the Bay is the culprit (EarthSave)

* Eastern cultures live longer and they eat meat substitutes. Unprocessed soy beans are a good source of protein, essential fat, and may decrease bone degeneration and stimulate bone health. The New England Journal of Medicine reported that soy effectively lowers high cholesterol levels. A University of Toronto research study concluded that eating soy daily could reduce the risk of heart disease. The isoflavones it contains have been reported to neutralize cancer-causing properties of estrogen in women.

* In Milford, Utah, population 1, 164, Circle Four Farms raises 600, 000 hogs. The operation generates as much waste as a city of 1.8 million people. There are two million residents in all of Utah. In 1996 this farm waited six weeks to notify the State of a spill in the area of 80, 000 gallons of hog waste and chemicals. (EarthSave)

* A Pulitzer Prize winning expose states Imagine a city as big as New York on North Carolina's Coastal plain. Double it. Imagine the city has no sewage treatment plant and all of the waste is flushed into open pits and sprayed onto fields. Turn the humans into hogs and it has already happened." (Raleigh's News and Observer)

* The Gulf of Mexico's infamous Dead Zone is a lifeless expanse of coastal water the size of Connecticut caused by fertilizers and livestock waste pouring into the Mississippi River and the resulting algae blooms. (EarthSave)

* Animals are considered units genetically manipulated to accelerate maximum yield. Factory farm turkeys are now so top heavy that they can hardly stand, and pigs are too long to support their own weight. Dairy cows are continuously impregnated to keep milk flowing. They spend most of their lives chained to milk stalls, reduced to milking machines. (Canadian Federation of Humane Societies)

* Inhumanity of man. Factory farms put thousands of animals in one building with no fresh air and sunshine. During heat waves, severe trauma and death are widespread when barn temperatures soar. In Canada, on average, four laying hens are confined to a cage 16 by 18 inches, unable to walk, forage or nest. Resulting stress leads to aggression so beaks are amputated, causing long term pain. Overcrowding on trucks causes thousands of crippled animals that are often dragged from the truck by rope. "The final hours for too many animals are unspeakably painful." (Toronto Vegetarian Association)

* approximately 30 percent of slaughtered chicken and fish is contaminated with salmonella. It sickens between 6.5 and 8 million people each year in the US (EarthSave). E.coli, salmonella and campylobacter bacteria causing food poisoning in restaurants are usually from animal products that are not cooked properly, have been sitting too long before being served, or are not fresh (such as raw egg used in some desserts and sauces)

* Live longer than past generations of farmers. Calgary veterinarian Society president Valerie Fitch states, "When both of my parents got cancer when I was young, I became very interested in the adverse effects of farm animal chemicals, particularly after hearing lectures by environmentalist John Robins." Those working with chemicals have hundreds of times higher exposure and greater risks.

*Moral Reasons Nobody would argue that animals don't feel pain, fear or enjoyment. This gives them the basic right to be treated in ways that respect their own personal value, just as humans are. This includes the right to live, not to be slaughtered or treated unjustly.

*Political Reasons Another argument is that there is so much famine in the world, and rearing cattle to be slaughtered is a waste of resources - including their feed, and the land for them to graze upon. It would be a far more economical use of resources for humans to eat the grain and use the land to grow more. If the west reduced their meat consumption by just ten percent, it would free up enough grazing land to grow food for up to 40 million people.

*Religious Reasons Vegetarianism was probably first practiced in connection with religious purification rituals. The idea of a fleshless diet for normal use arose in India and eastern Mediterranean lands around 1000 BC. Hindu and Buddhist sects consider all animal life sacred and teach that human beings should avoid harming animals. Some Jewish and Christian groups followed the principles of vegetarianism and considered eating flesh gluttonous, cruel, and wasteful. In the Roman Catholic church, Trappist monks have practiced vegetarianism since 1666. Among Protestants, the Seventh-day Adventists observe strict vegetarian guidelines

1) I eat meat because it tastes good and is very versatile as a food. If you think this is ridiculous, try to find someone who willingly eats food that they think tastes bad 2) Meats, like fish and lean beef are good for my health in moderation. And if you argue that all essential nutrients in meat can be found in vegetables, then you just validated the point that meat are as nutritious as vegetables and fruits. So I choose to eat all three to maximize my choices and options. 3) I don't think it's cruel because for one living thing to live, another one must die. I did not make the rules of biology but I have to live with it. No I would not like another animal to eat me and anything who tries will have a fight on their hands( or claws). Animals understand this more than some humans do that's why animals do not have moral arguments about eating And I show respect for the dead animal by preparing his body the best way I know and by not wasting the food his death provided me 4) We did not "come up"with the idea of eating meat. It was in out system all along biologically speaking. Remember that we once closer to wild animals than the species we recognize today Our earliest ancestors saw other animals killing for food and during a time of crisis/hunger, tried the leftover kill of a predator and found that it as good and safe and beneficial. Never looked back since.

For the best answers, search on this site https://smarturl.im/aDBbI

Eating meat is bad for you - period. If you MUST eat it the Uk Government recommends eating it NO more that 3 times a week.It can cause , obesity, higher risk of heart disease, stoke and high blood pressure.It is really carcinogenic. chickens are given growth hormone so that they will grow faster and can be on your plates sooner. Tumours are cut out from them and some meat when it is about to expire is dipped in disinfectant to prolong the shelf life. If you think that abatoirs are surgically white clean clinical areas Think again Read 'Fast food Nation' By Eric Schlosser. Visit a local slaughterhouse or even better get the video 'Meet your meat' from You tube or the PETA website. It is hideously cruel to bread animals to eat them. You wouldn't do it to people like in 'Soylent Green' !!!

For one if they dont like killing animals. They don't see a need of killing animals when they can survive just fine on plant life. also if their religion tells them its wrong (like buddism and hinduism). Also for health reasons as meat can cause high blood pressure. Also it should be known that it takes more water and plants to take care of animals used in making meat than if only eating plants, it saves water! Also this was my grandfathers reason, that when he was young one day he ate a piece of meat and got food poisoning and felt terrible and never ate meat again. Also if they don't like the taste of meat, some people just don't. I kinda feel that way, i enjoy a variety of delicious vegetables that i find more tasty and nutritious than meat.

Because we was not put on earth to eat meat. If you can read your bible it states the things we can eat . Your body is like a temple you don't do anything to destroy the temple in which the lord had built around your heart.

I hope

that helps

Randi

To understand why you should not eat meat, all you have to do is agree with two simple statements.

1 - Eating meat is unnecessary (for proof I give you the tens of millions of vegetarians in the world).

2 - Killing and causing pain and suffering for no reason is wrong.

I can't imagine anyone would disagree with that second statement, so all you have to do is connect the dots. If eating meat is unnecessary, then eating meat involves killing an animal for no reason, and killing for no reason is wrong, therefore you should not eat meat.

Now if you don't mind, I'd like the turn the question back on you. Give me one good reason why you SHOULD eat meat.

Despite what meat eaters will tell you, the human body does not need meat. If we were designed to eat meat, we would be equiped with the strength, power, and tools necessary to hunt down and kill our prey, crush its bones, and eat it in its natural state. People will tell you that we have "evolved" and that we are intelligent enough to kill it with a weapon. The fact is, humans have NEVER been capale of killing animals using their own resources. We were designed with imposable thumbs to gather fruits and vegetables. That theory aside, the deplorable and unsanitary conditions of animals in slaughterhouses, makes it imposible for an informed person to think the meat is not contaminated and unsanitary. Chickens cages are stacked one on top of the other, allowing the feces of the upper birds to fall into the feed of the lower birds. These lower birds are often so sickly that they cannot be sold as a whole chicken, and are diced up and added to soups, canned meats, and cat food. The meat is so toxic with fecal matter at slaughter, that antimicrobial chemicals are injected into the meat to sanitize it. All of these things influence the quality of the meat. You can find some useful information by googling "how commercial meat is processed. Its a real eye opener. Also, go to meetyourmeat.com for more info.

This is an individual choice we make.Some say that processing can add stuff we don't need and can hurt the body.Others say it is not humane to kill an animal for food.

Yahoo Answers is full of opinions. If you want facts, I really suggest you seek them out yourself instead of asking others to do it for you.

A few things I can think of is:

1. Fat

2. Anitibiotics and growth hormones

3. Cruelty

http://www.flex.com/~jai/articles/101.html

http://www.exploreveg.org/issues/slaughterhouse/

http://www.foodrevolution.org/market/products1.htm

http://www.tribeofheart.org/pk.htm

http://www.goveg.com/

it has everything you want to know...and more. You could even order your own vegetarian starter kit there.