This could be one of the most controversial posts I have written. However before going into this post I want you to know that though I am a meat eater I am not anti-vegetarian/vegan. I believe that you have the right to eat whatever you like and who am I to tell you otherwise.
The purpose of this post is simply to share a few insights from the other side of the coin – That is why meat isn’t murder and why not slaughtering might just be murder
As a meat eater, do I think we should all be eating meat? Nope. I have seen many people thrive on a vegetarian based diet. I do however question – is it the vegetarian diet that helped you lose the weight and give you a kick of energy or is it the fact that you became more mindful as to what you were eating and you rid of all the junk and processed crap. Same goes for the Paleo diet. Many people get great results but is it the diet or is it simply that you’re more mindful and got rid of all the crap.
In this post I am going to share the big three. That is the moral, political and nutritional argument – ‘’We should not kill’’ ‘’we can only feed the world, if we all go vegetarian’’ and ‘’it’s healthier to be a veggie’’
Clearly this is going to be written with a bias towards meat eating. But here is the thing, at the moment everywhere I turn there seems to be someone going veggie or vegan. The veggie/vegan movement is growing and growing because of the media coverage it’s getting. A quick scroll through Netflix and you can find documentaries such as
Forks Over Knives
Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead 1 and 2
The Engine Diet
Cowspiracy
Live and Let Live
Sustainable (I haven’t seen this but I believe it to be a pro veggie)
And maybe a few others. That’s a lot of pro veggie documentaries. A quick search for pro meat and I found none, zero, zilch.
I am a big believer in looking at both sides of the augment before making a decision – to meat or not. Hence I have watched most of the documentaries on pro veggie and I am some what well versed in the veggie bible ‘The China Study’
A lot of what I write today comes from the great book called ‘The Vegetarian Myth’ by Lierre Keith – For the pro veggies reading this or anyone that takes an interest I encourage you to buy the book.
So without further ado…
The Moral Argument – We should not kill.
1 – Every time you eat something, something has died for you to be eating it.
Everyday rabbits and mice are killed in cultivated fields by industrial size farming equipment
Everyday fish die, because rivers are diverted to irrigate vegan grains
In 1491 there were approximately 60-100 million Bison in the United States, today there are 350,000 of which 12-15,000 are pure Bison. They have all died off because their homeland has been destroyed off for grains, soy and corn based farmland
425,000 wolves, now only 10,000 remain. Their homes are being destroyed for your corn burger.
The North American prairie has been reduced to a tiny 2% of it’s original size and the topsoil that was twelve feet deep is now just a few inches
2 – Man is not the top of the food chain
We are part of the system, we are not above it.
It is not possible to have life without death. The soil we depend upon that gives us needed nutrients requires death in order to return nutrients to the land
In order to grow and garden you don’t feed the plant you feed the soil and the soil needs Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium. All three of these minerals are exactly what is given back to the land when animals die. Blood and bone.
We can get Nitrogen from fossil fuels but what would you rather? Rely on fossil fuels or give the land the death it needs.
Understanding this gives insight into the ultimate role for us as humans on the universe, simply continuing to be part of the universe by giving back to it when we die. We are worm food, which will be eaten by the birds who will be eaten by a cat who will be prey for another predictor. And so the cycle continues
A little off topic but to highlight my point – when we think we are better than the system we do things like introduce possums for the fur trade. Being that they’re not part of the NZ eco system the possum is nothing more than a major threat to the NZ environment.
3 – Just because it doesn’t have eyes
Just because a plant doesn’t have eyes it still has a mother and even though you can’t hear it scream when you snap its arms and legs off, it does.
The Political Argument – We can only feed the world if everyone is a vegetarian
1 – Agriculture is destroying the planet.
Turning the arable land that we have into grain and soy fields is killing our topsoil. It is an unsustainable model which will ultimately lead to the life and health of the land being destroyed. BUT I guess we will be okay because the food manufactures can create more GM fake foods that will exist when the land doesn’t (tongue/cheek).
2 – There is only a finite amount of fossil fuels
Manure and animals living and dying on the land is a natural way to fertilise and replenish the topsoil which is essential to life. By replacing animals with soy, corn and grain we will destroy the circle of life. There is a finite amount of fossil fuels in the world to use as fertiliser. There could be a sufficient amount of manure from the right number of animals occupying the right land space.
It’s Saturday as I write this. Tomorrow I will be watching Hyundai Country Calendar as they feature our friends Greg and Rachel Hart who run The Family Farm. The Harts utilise a Polyface farming practise famed by Joel Salatin a role model for the local sustainable model. Joel has a 10 acre farm, where he produces 3,000 eggs, 1,000 chicken, 80 hens, 2000 lbs of beef, 2500 lbs of pork, 100 turkeys and 50 rabbits. No fossil fuels are used. The animals are naturally rotated. For more info http://www.polyfacefarms.com/principles/
3 – We are destroying local
Encouraging the world to eat grains, soy and corn (The USDA dietary guidelines) makes the world dependent on America for its food. Western countries support the giant food producers with subsidies totalling over $360 billion dollars. This significantly reduces world prices. Therefore exports can offer US surplus for less than half the price of local production, ultimately destroying local agriculture.
The reality is that neither the meat eaters or vegetarians can win. There is no sustainable way to feed our current population – Let alone the one forecasted in the next 50 years. Grain, soy and corn have destroyed the planet without replenishing it. On the flipside meat isn’t sustainable as there isn’t enough grazing land for the animals. Maybe because it’s all been destroyed for agriculture
Not one international aid agency suggests Vegetarianism as a solution to world hunger
The Nutritional Argument – It’s healthier to be a veggie
Are we designed to eat meat?
Do we have canines like other carnivores?
Do we have eyes in the front of our heads not the sides like most herbivores?
Do we have hydrochloric acid which just happens to be great for the breakdown of protein?
Do we have intermittent eating habits unlike the continuous feeding of a sheep?
Do we just have the one stomach unlike a cow?
Will cholesterol kill us?
One of the main functions of the liver is to make cholesterol, not because your liver wants you dead, but because life isn’t possible without cholesterol.”
Is the problem fat in meat or is it sugar?
Grains – you can call them complex carbs but ultimately it’s just sugar.
Insulin based disease causes the majority of deaths and disability. Heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes are all linked to sugar
These is an essential amino acid, an essential fatty acid but no such thing as an essential carbohydrate.
If we look back at as we have decreased fats we have become fatter and sicker than ever before.
Does meat cause cancer?
If you have read the China Study then you might be under the belief that meat causes cancer. This statement is a big one so I am going to direct you to a great post from Denise Minger who has gone over the China Study with a fine tooth comb and pulled up quite a number of flaws
https://deniseminger.com/2010/07/07/the-china-study-fact-or-fallac/
Where do you get retinol, B12, D, K2, Iron and zinc? – to name just the most obvious nutrients provided by animal foods (some of those, exclusively so).
Note
Many vegetarian/vegan arguments are based on that of factory farming. Let’s make this clear we all want to abolish factory farming, it’s horrible and wrong in every way shape and form. From a moral, political and nutritional standpoint real foodies and vegetarians would happily agree there is no place for it.
Conclusion
As I said in the beginning. I am not anti veggie/vegan in any way shape or form. If it works for you then great. The goal of this post is simply to provide you with an insight into the why I choose meat from a moral, political and nutritional level. With so much media on pro veggie I thought it would be good to look at the other side of the coin.
Have a great week
Paul ‘’steak and eggs’’ & Krystie ‘’I’m saying nothing’’ Miller
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