Vegetarians feed the world

For more reasons than one, I've adhered to a vegetarian lifestyle for eight years. I choose the word "lifestyle" here rather than "diet" because for me being a vegetarian expands beyond eliminating meat in my daily nutrition. Here are some of my top reasons:

1. A vegetarian diet is more sustainable and has much less of a carbon footprint compared to the typical omnivore's diet. As future professor of environmental science, I genuinely work hard practice what I preach. Believe it or not meat based diets have been proven to directly contribute to global warming and other environmental problems of our day. Though it is not the latest research, a 2006 U.N. report detailed the findings from an intensive investigation of the impact of livestock of the environment and concluded that the production of animals for human consumption is “one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems.” According to this study emissions from livestock operations account for 9 percent of CO2 derived from human-related activities and 65 percent of anthropogenic sources of nitrous oxide, which is nearly 300 times worse as a green house gas than CO2. Where does all this gas come from; well my friend let's just say cow's could probably benefit from some Gas-Ex as well.

2. I just can't deny that animals have the right to live and breathe in clean, natural conditions; however factory farm production of meat, eggs, milk, and other animal products often deny these rights. Though I rarely eat eggs, I make sure that the eggs I do buy came from hens who were allowed to roam free and were feed grain free from antibiotics, probiotics, and the suite of other chemicals that are so often forced upon these animals. Though I believe that PETA does have a good mission in mind, I believe they often scare off potential supporters such as myself by their animal-rights campaigns littered with photos and descriptions of the inhumane conditions of farms raising animals for meat. For this reason I will spare you these details because I cannot handle them myself.

3. Imagine you're starving and have just ordered your meal at a new restaurant with friends. Who do you think will get their order first; the omnivore who ordered steak, chicken or some other meat which has to cook to a specific heat, or the vegetarian who rarely has such cooking restrictions on their food? The convenience and speed are sometimes great perks of being a vegetarian.

4. More food for more people. 70% of the grain we produce in this country goes to feeding our livestock. Imagine how many more people we could feed that grain to.

5. Healthier diet for my heart, body and mind. Some of the most prevalent disease plaguing people today are obesity, heart disease, cancer, and strokes. Research has shown that vegetarian are 50 less likely to develop heart disease and have a 40% lower cancer rate than their meat-eating counterparts. Additionally, vegans are 9 times less likely to be obese.

6. And finally, I just can't imagine anymore eating something that once lived and breathed. I'd much rather stick to my soy-based meat products, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables, and let the fish and animals go about living their lives to the fullest. I just wish more of these animals had the opportunity to do so and were not living in concentrated animal factory operations (CAFOs) (i.e. factory farms)

But for those of you who are still holding strong to your omnivorous diets, I have no beef with you whatsoever. My viewpoint on vegetarianism is completely nonjudgmental. In fact I will be the first to admit that though my lifestyle may not be ideal for everyone, vegetarians are appreciated in one way or another as so bluntly put by one of the Marx brothers

"I'm not a vegetarian, but I eat animals who are."

— Groucho Marx (Julius Henry Marx) (1890-1977) Jewish-American
comedian