VEGANISM AND VEGETARIANISM: WHAT THEY

MEAN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY

Eating Sustainably

http://www.ma.nrcs.usda.gov/news/news_Grass-

based_Dairy_Tour.htmlhttp://www.sodahead.com/fun/most-foods-taste-better/question-

1326065/?link=ibaf&q=fresh+veggies+food&imgurl=http://lifemixx.com/wp

-content/uploads/2010/04/Fresh-Vegetables.jpg

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“We will find that the mass consumption of animals is a primary reason

why humans are hungry, fat, or sick and is a leading cause of the

depletion and pollution of waterways, the degradation and deforestation

of the land, the extinction of species, and the warming of the planet.”-

Brian G. Henning, author of Standing in Livestock’s ‘Long Shadow’: The

Ethics of Eating Meat on a Small Planet

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"I have no doubt that it is part of the destiny of the human race, in its

gradual improvement, to leave off eating animals"

-Henry David Thoreau

Ethics, Health, and the Environment

CURRENT HEALTHY EATING GUIDELINES:

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http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/n

utritionsource/what-should-

you-eat/pyramid-full-

story/index.html#Dietary-

Guidelines-in-the-21st-Century

COMPARE AND CONTRAST:

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USDA Guidelines Harvard School of Public Health Guidelines

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY:

5http://ncronline.org/news/justice/subsidizing-poor-eating-habits & The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

CORN: FRIEND OR FOE?

According to the National

Catholic Reporter, “In addition to

encouraging unhealthy fast food

consumption, cheap corn also

contributes to overuse of

chemical fertilizer and antibiotics,

as well as food poisoning.

Environmentalists have branded

corn as an icon of unsustainable

agriculture. It requires large

amounts of fertilizer and

pesticides, both of which require

large amounts of fossil fuel to

manufacture.”

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CORN: IT’S WHAT SHOULDN’T BE FOR DINNER

Also according to NRC, “…corn is fed to livestock who didn’t evolve to

subsist entirely on such a diet. In cattle, eating corn increases flatulence

and emissions of methane -- a potent greenhouse gas -- and creates an

intestinal environment rich in E. coli, an intestinal bacterium that is a

common cause of food poisoning. That necessitates mixing cow feed

with antibiotics, in turn producing antibiotic-resistant disease strains.”

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VITAL STATISTICS:

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Human Pop. Of the U.S.: 243,000,000

Number of human beings who could be fed by the grain and soybeans eaten by U.S. livestock:

1,300,000,000

Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by human beings: 20%

Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 80%

Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90%

Percentage of U.S. agricultural land used to produce beef: 56%

Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce 1 lb. of feedlot beef: 16

Number of pure vegetarians who can be fed on the amount of land needed to feed one person

eating a meat-based diet: 20 people

Number of people who will starve to death this year: 60,000,000

Number of people who could be adequately fed by the grains saved if Americans decreased

their intake of meat by 10%: 60,000,000.

WHY NOT EAT MEAT?

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.“ -M. Gandhi

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http://www.green-blog.org/2010/07/22/the-cruel-life-inside-a-factory-farm/

THIS IS WHY.

Prior to being hung up by their back legs and bled to death, cattle are supposed

to be rendered unconscious, as stipulated by the federal Humane Slaughter Act.

This 'stunning' is usually done by a mechanical blow to the head. However, the

procedure is terribly imprecise, and inadequate stunning is inevitable.

This is detailed in an April 2001 Washington Post article, which describes typical

slaughter plant conditions:

“The cattle were supposed to be dead before they got to Moreno. But too often they

weren't.

They blink. They make noises, he said softly. The head moves, the eyes are wide

and looking around. Still Moreno would cut. On bad days, he says, dozens of

animals reached his station clearly alive and conscious. Some would survive as far

as the tail cutter, the belly ripper, the hide puller. They die, said Moreno, piece by

piece...”

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http://www.farmsanctuary.org/issues/factoryfarming/beef/

“HUMAN DISENGAGEMENT”

Here is an excerpt from “The Humanity of What We Eat: Conceptions of human uniqueness among vegetarians and omnivores.” By: Bilewicz, Michal; et. al.…

In the present research, it was hypothesized that the conception of human uniqueness (denying animals certain psychological characteristics) might be a strategy of meat-eaters' moral disengagement. Three studies compared the extent to which vegetarians and omnivores attribute psychological characteristics to humans versus animals. In Study 1, vegetarian participants ascribed more secondary (uniquely human) emotions to animals than did the omnivores; however, there were no differences in primary (animalistic) emotions. Study 2 showed that omnivores distinguish human characteristics from animalistic ones more sharply than vegetarians do, while both groups do not differ in distinguishing human characteristics from mechanistic ones. Study 3 confirmed the results by showing that omnivores ascribed less secondary emotions to traditionally edible animals than to the non-edible species, while vegetarians did not differentiate these animals. These results support the claim that the lay conceptions of 'human uniqueness' are strategies of moral disengagement.

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WHAT’S THE ALTERNATIVE?

According to the Physicians

Committee for Responsible

Medicine, “These four food

groups provide the good

nutrition you need. There is

no need for animal-derived

products in the diet, and

you're better off without

them. Be sure to include a

reliable source of vitamin

B12, such as any common

multiple vitamin or fortified

foods.”

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http://www.pcrm.org/health//d

iets/pplate/power-platehttp://www.pcrm.org/images/health/pplate/EveryMe

alPowerPlate.pdf

THE VEGAN DIET: Stock your pantry with

these basics:

FruitsBananasApplesBerries (fresh or frozen)Raisins

VegetablesBroccoli (fresh or frozen)Spinach (fresh or frozen)LettuceCarrotsCucumbersCanned tomatoesMarinara sauce

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Grains

Rolled oats

Loaf of bread (high-fiber or pumpernickel)

Brown rice

Quinoa

Whole wheat pasta

Legumes

Soy, rice, almond, or plant-milk of choice

Black beans (canned or dried)

Garbanzo beans (canned or dried)

Dried red lentils

Frozen edamame

Condiments

Apple butter

Balsamic vinegar

Cinnamon

Mustard

Soy sauce

http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/pplate

/resources

SOME RESOURCES FOR MAKING THE SWITCH:

http://www.nutritionmd.org/makeover/index.html

http://www.pcrm.org/images/health/pplate/EveryMealPowerPlate.pdf

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http://action.petaasiapacific.com/ea-

campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=110&ea

.campaign.id=2604

http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/pplate/power-

plate-meals-across-the-globe

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Occupy-

Your-Diet-A-Discussion-xfoftp-

2323402398.html

On Ethics:

On Nutrition

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/

Recipes