My main reason for becoming a vegetarian is environmental. The production of meat produces a higher larger amount of greenhouse gases than the production of vegeables, in fact getting your protein from lamb, beef, pork and farmed salmon produces 13 times as much greenhouse gases as sourcing your protein from plants. In fact, Worldwatch Institute has calculated that around 15 ot 20% of all methane emissions (a particularly bad greenhouse gas, far worse that carbon dioxide when it comes to heating up the planet) comes from livestock. Partly due to the fact that many of the animals we eat are ruminents. You also have to take into account the carbon dioxide produced from transporting feed to our domestic animals, heating the shelters some livestock are kept in, and transportation of livestock from farm to slaughter house and then from slaughter house to store. There's also the small factor that all animal products have to be stored in a fridge (or freezer) where as most plant based products can just be kept in a cool place. A lot more energy efficient.
Deforestation is also another environmental issue connected to the production of meats, which, of course, means we have less trees to absorb carbon dioxide and help prevent issues like flash floods etc. Obviously deforestation isn't quite a hugh issue in Britain seeing as we've already chopped down most of our trees for agriculture already (doh!), but in other countries forests are still being lost to make way for livestock. In fact, 70% of the Amazon rainforest loss is attributed to livestock production, and when you think about how important that forest is to the survival of the planet and in the fight against climate change it is a bit of a worry.
And now we come to water. We tend to forget, living in a very wet, very rainy country, how important water actually is. But, we're already having issues with droughts in Britain and the hose bans in the south are just a start of what could be happening our way if things carry on. If you want to help save water than reducing meat consumption is definitely a way forward, especially as its been calculated that 70% of all the freshwater removed from our lakes and waterways are for farming. When looking at how much water is consumed for each product agriculture produces we can see that it takes around 15,000 l of water to produce just 1 kg of beef, but only 1,300 l of water to produce the same amout of wheat. That's 10 times as much water, and the values are pretty much the same for most plant based products. This water could be put to much better use, especially when we look at the loss of some of our most important ecosystems, such as bogs and wetlands, which are hugh greenhouse gas sinks. There's also the problem with water pollution. Agriculture as a whole can be seriously damaging for our water ways, but by removing meat from your diet you are removing the need to grow feed crop and are, therefore, reducing the amount of tanneries, pesticides and fertilizers leeching into the water. Other compounds that enter the water ways from the livestock themselves are manure, antibiotics, and hormones which are regularly given to many of the animals being cared for. Algae blooms, which suck the rivers dry of all oxygen, are just only of the many problems that these run offs produce, and, as recent events have shown, a constant 'wash' of antibiotics leads to resistance...something we should never take lightly.
My final environmental issue is that amount of land used to livestock farming, and I'm not just talking about the land in which the livestock live on, I'm talking about the land used to grow their feed. A report published by United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization showed that 30% of earth's entire surface is used to produce livestock, with 33% of arable land being used to produce the feed. Just think of what that land could be used for instead, the number of important habitats (to us as well as wildlife) that could be allowed to return to that area of land. And, just think about what that extra food could be used for instead... 925 million hungry people anyone (worldhunger.org)?!?
Animal welfare is also something that's very important to me. I don't like killing anything! hen it comes to things in my home I'm more of a capture and release type of person, or I just let them stay....after all, more spiders less flies, and if I do kill something I feel unbelieveabl guilty. I really don't feel we have the right to just use other living things the whatever way we want. Nor do I believe that we are, somehow, 'better' than them. We all had to come on the say evolutionary path and, with so many extinctions along the way, its amazing that any of the species around today are here. The only difference is that our evolutionary path led to us having bigger brains and to their's to them being able to get a large amount of nutrience out of plants we'd find difficult to digest, let alone live on completely. And, while there are a number of farmers who take very good care of their livestock, the treatment of many animals destined for our plate is just not acceptable. The crammed, in-door living conditions that all animals in intensive farming are kept can not only have serious consequence to the mental health of the animals, but also increase the chance of the animals suffering from disease and injury. The reduction in the number of slaughter houses in the UK means that many of the animals now have to travel larger distances in containers not designed to allow them to lye down and rest. And then you have the slaughter itself. Britain has some of the most strigent regulations in the world when it comes to how we kill our animals, but we can't guarentee that the smell of blood and raw flesh doesn't put fear into the animals being led into the abattoir (if we can smell it they definitely can) nor can we guarentee that it is completely painless. for me, its just not worth it.
My final reason for becoming a vegetarian is my health. Personally, I suffer from PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) which, unfortunately, increases my changes of having issues with cholestrol and type 2 diabetes, and all the research shows that vegetarians are less likely to suffer from these issues than meat eaters. Obviously, vegetarians find it very easy to get their 5 a day and the variety of different foods you are more likely to consume as a vegetarian (don't get me wrong, you can be a very unhealthy vegetarian if you wanted to be) is exactly what is recommended by the medical profession. In fact, here's a list of just some of the things you are less likely to suffer from as a veggie:
- obesity
- coronary heart disease
- high blood pressure
- some diet related disease (due to the high fibre)
- diverticular disease (where 'pouches' occur along the colon and become inflamed)
- appendicitis
- gallstones
So, that's why I'm a vegetarian (I actually wasn't expecting this to be quite so long), and I found it a very easy choice to make and a lifestyle to move into. I really haven't missed meat at all and I was never a fan of bacon. Its not a choice I would expect everyone to make, but even slight changes in the amount of meat you eat, the types of meat you eat, and where the meat has come from can have a positive impact on the environment, animal welfare and your own health......and it really isn't that difficult.
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