Vegetarianism: Not Right or Wrong - But What Serves Humanity

By Rebecca Bennett - 2007-08-23 - Viewed 786 times. Find more articles like this in our Nutrition and Healthy Eating category.

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I once read this statement somewhere: 'There is no right or wrong - There is only what serves you and what does not.'

So how can one explain such a statement within the vegetarian context of life?

Let me put it to you this way, if there is no right or wrong but only that which serves you or does not serve you would I be correct in saying that eating, wearing and unhumanely torturing animals does NOT serve human living on almost all levels as a whole on this planet?

Let me explain further ....

I do not feel that consuming animals serves humanity on any level and I can state this for quite a few reasons however I will keep my response much shorter to just two of the main key points why.

1) Did you Know that living a Vegetarian Lifestyle Could Help Impact MASSIVE Changes in Global Warming?

Well here are just a few reasons why . . .

It takes 22 times the acres of land to meet the food energy needs of one person eating meat than it does for one person eating potatoes.

It takes more than 13 times the water to produce one day's food supply for an omnivore than it does for a vegan.

It takes 27 times the petroleum to produce a hamburger than it does a soy burger.

The land animals confined and killed every year excrete 130 times the faeces and urine produced by humans.

Livestock production also utilizes more than eight percent of global water use, primarily for feed-crop irrigation.

The annual greenhouse gas output from burger consumption is the equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas output from between four and 13 million SUVs.

In the Amazon, approximately 60-70 percent of deforestation results from cattle ranches and soybean cultivation.

And according to a UN FAO report, "in all, livestock production amounts to 70 percent of all agricultural land and 30 percent of the land surface of this planet." The USDA says growing crops for animals takes up 80 percent of the agricultural land in the US and animals raised for food in the US consume 90 percent of the soy crop, 80 percent of the corn and 70 percent of its grain.

(Ref: VegNews)

2) Do You Remember being told to Eat your Fruit and Vegetables as a Child (or you might not grow up big and strong)?

Well by replacing animal foods with plant foods this helps reduce saturated fat and cholesterol and increases healthy fiber, vitamin C, folate and carotenoids.

Research has shown that a diet rich in fruit and vegetables can decrease the risk of having a heart attack or stroke, protect against a variety of cancers, lower blood pressure plus has many other health benefits to help you prevent disease.

According to Dr T. Colin Campbell, nutritional researcher at Cornell University and director of the largest epidemiological study in history, "The vast majority of all cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and other forms of degenerative illness can be prevented simply by adopting a plant-based diet." (i.e. a pure vegetarian diet with no animal by-products).

Plus just think about this for a moment: some of the world's largest and strongest animals are pure vegetarians e.g. The Elephant, Hippo, Giraffe, Rhino, Cattle, Horses, Gorilla etc. And they seem to be thriving very well living off vegetation and have done so for many hundreds of years. . . . So does this not at least show you that to grow up big and strong we as humans too can gain all of the nutrients and dietary requirements solely from plant sources alone? Of course it does - common sense confirms this statement plus there have been countless studies with much evidence to show that a pure vegetarian diet is one of the healthiest choices you can make for you, the animals and the planet.

After reading the above 2 key points can you see more awareness that just maybe animal consumerism on all levels does not serve humanity and only adds to the suffering, disease and unhealthy environment for every species that lives on this planet we call EARTH.

The moral to my ranting is this, the 'right or wrong' argument actually might just be an illusion in my humble opinion, who's right or wrong does not even exist. The real truth to life should be about what serves or what does not serve.

I personally believe that pure vegetarian living does serve humanity in so many positive ways it would take me a book to explain them all, but to sum it up in four simple words I would have to say it means 'positive evolution for all.'

So are you educated enough to figure out the answer that might just serve you and your loved ones for the positive? If you look into it without falling prey to the illusionary conditions of society you may just figure out that what serves you as a living being on this planet might just serve every other being (no matter if they are human or animal).

Just maybe you already know the Truth - you just have to allow it.

Rebecca has worked in the vegetarian and vegan industry in Australia for more than 5 years. She is the founder of www.VeganSecrets.com a portal with many interesting vegan and vegetarian books, articles, veg living tips and tricks plus also of her blog at: www.VeganSecrets.com/blog which has online information on everything vegan, vegetarian and cruelty-free that can help you with any questions you may have on the subject.

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