There are many negative health implications related to a diet that is mainly made up of red meat.  In the last century, there have been huge increases in obesity due to poor diet and nutrition.  People are more keen to visit a fast-food restaurants rather than preparing their own food.  Fast-food corporations, with their endless marketing budgets, entice people with processed foods that are cheap and unhealthy and reaping the benefits of their unwillingness to take a more proactive approach to their health and well-being. 

What are the benefits to a diet high in meat consumption? (They are not really benefits):

• High cholesterol and heart disease due to high fat and cholesterol content.
• Conventionally raised beef contains hormones and antibiotics.
• Processed meats (bacon, ham and sausage) are unhealthy due to their high fat, preservative and salt content.
• The mistreatment and murder of animals. 
• Obesity.
• Linked to diseases such as diabetes, heart attack and cancer.

What many people are not aware of are the implications a diet high in meat has on our environment.  Factory farming is not only promoting cruel and the unethical treatment of many animals, it has a devastating effect on the environment, especially when we are seeing water shortages across the globe.  Here are some of the environmental implications:

• Animal agriculture is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the combined exhaust from all transportation.
• Livestock and their byproducts account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (Co2) per year, or 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.
• Methane is 25 – 100 times more destructive than CO2.
• Methane has a global warming power 86 times that of CO2.
• Livestock is responsible for 65% of all emissions of nitrous oxide – a greenhouse gas 296 times more destructive than carbon dioxide and which stays in the atmosphere for 150 years.
• Emissions for agriculture projected to increase 80% by 2050.
• US methane emissions from livestock and natural gas are nearly equal.
• Fracking (hydraulic fracturing) water use ranges from 70 – 140 million gallons annually in comparison, animal agriculture water consumption ranges from 34 – 76 trillion gallons annually.
• Agriculture is responsible for 80 – 90% of US water consumption.

All above facts are available via the following link:  http://www.cowspiracy.com/facts/

Our population is growing at an alarming rate.  Due to this population growth, the demand for meat grows and with the demand for more meat, there will be more deforestation (trees provide oxygen) and more demand for water.  Ask yourself, why is there such a huge increase in pulminary (asthma/bronchitis) disease, heart disease, diabetes, cancers and obesity?  The introduction of processed foods and factory farming are definitely contributing factors.  People are dying because of what they eat.  Does this seem right to you?  Our elected officials are not doing enough to contribute to a more sustainable future for the people those who have elected them.  They pander to big corporations who only care about their profits. 

We must take a more proactive approach to our health and our environment.  There are many people out there who have viable solutions to make our world more sustainable.  Isn’t it time to allow them to bring their initiative and ideas to the table?  Isn’t it time for REAL change and not the false identity of change our current leaders keep talking about?  Isn’t it time our governments stop spending money on war in favour of creating real positive change across the globe? 

The earth can’t sustain the population growth and our demand for more meat.  People must assess what is more important, the need to eat meat or saving our planet from destruction.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!