Meat wars

I'm not a crazy vegan lady that goes around dissing my carniverous friends but (as mentioned in previous blogs) my passion for nutrition sends me on serious rants at times.  Lets see...where to begin?  I am no meat eater but I do not like to label myself with the term "vegetarian".  I eat a vegetarian diet and do not enjoy the taste of meat but will often eat seafood, mainly salmon for its omega 3 fatty acids and for protein when I need a brain and body boost.  I eat lots of soy products, do not eat dairy/drink milk but will have cheese on occassions.  I'm not strict about what I eat, I just like being healthy.  So why eat like this you may ask.  Although there are many ethical reasons behind having such a diet I am not really in it for that so much.  Yes I hate the idea of slaughtering animals but its more the health and environmental aspects of eating meat that I dislike - not to mention the taste of steak.  Meat eaters - go a month without a steak and then have one and see how horrible it really tastes...otherwise could just be me.  It is fair to say though that vegetarian diets need a lot of structure otherwise the health benefits are not met.  Eating pasta all day will get you nowhere but soy products (particularly femented soy such as tofu and soy sauce), vegetables, grains, fruits and legumes etc will definitely benefit your health.  Dairy has not been designed for our bodies.  Who thought of drinking a cow's milk anyway?  Weirdos.  Humans are all slightly intolerant to the proteins in milk and also the sugar lactose, yet most people are able to successfully digest dairy.  I sadly, am not.  Anyhoo - the ranting begins...


So here are just some facts about why eating meat is not on my daily agenda:

- The American Dietetic Association states that vegetarians have “lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; … lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer” and that vegetarians are less likely than meat-eaters to be obese.

- Studies also show that cows play significant roles in deforestation, soil erosion, water scarcity, global warming, depletion of fossil fuels, and loss of biodiversity (odd as it may sound, the environmental impact of the cow is perhaps even more calamitous than the automobile).

- Vegetarians and vegans live, on average, six to 10 years longer than meat-eaters.

- While the suffering of all animals on factory farms is similar, each type of farmed animal faces different types of cruelty.  Many are given hormones to produce milk or to grow at a faster rate than their organs can handle, they are kept in crowded conditions and are bread to lead poor quality lives.

- All other meat eaters eat RAW meat.  The human body can not handle raw red meat.

- The human body is not designed to eat meat like we do!!  We have longer digestive tracts (because we are not meant to expel our food as fast as meat eaters), no claws, large molars for grinding but reduced incisors and canines.  Meat rots in our digestive tract because our stomach acid is not acidic enough to digest it properly before it gets to our intestines.

So many more reasons but look at:

http://www.meatjunkie.com/ and watch "eat to save your life" by Jamie Oliver.  There are millions of other sources out there but these were memorable to me :)