“The purely pragmatic reasons to eat less meat (and animal products in general) are abundant. And while I’ve addressed them before, I’ll continue until the floods come to Manhattan.” ~ Mark Bittman (an Opinion columnist and the Times magazine’s food columnist) 15th May 2012
I’m a Vegetarian. I was for awhile a Vegan, but I’ve been a tad busy of late and it’s caused me to take short cuts with my diet. There are many arguments for and against the effects of a vegetable based diet on ones health. Some of the stuff I’ve heard quoted for and against has been quite eye brow raising…. All I can say is, personally, I have found it to be a 99 percent positive experience. And the majority of scientific literature will tell you how beneficial for the human body the vegetarian diet is.
Veganism however, can ge a bit more complicated. But I am convinced its ethical pros GREATLY outweigh the health cons… I’ll take a deficiency in B12 (which there are supplements for) than the death and suffering of a thousand odd animals a year, any day. If you’ve ever considered Vegetarianism/Veganism, maybe this video might tip the scales. It’s a presentation and speech by American Animal Rights Activist Gary Yourofsky.
Now, sustainability. There is much evidence suggesting that a vegetarian/vegan diet could massively reduce the rate at which our climate is changing. A quick snip from wiki:
Livestock and livestock-related activities such as deforestation and increasingly fuel-intensive farming practices are responsible for over 18% of human-made greenhouse gas emissions. Livestock activities also contribute disproportionately to land-use effects, since crops such as corn and alfalfa are cultivated in order to feed the animals. Worldwide, livestock production occupies 70% of all land used for agriculture, or 30% of the land surface of the Earth.[57]
But might I add that some organisations (World Watch) have calculated that the raising and slaughtering of Livestock may contribute up to 51 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. In the west we eat on average 78.9kg of meat a year. That’s 18kg more than the average weight of a human being, per year. And remember we aren’t eating the bones…
Today I came across this article “We Could Be Heroes” by Mark Bittman and was struck again by our species’ stupidity. Bittman made a joke about New York ‘one day’ being under water, partly due to our diets – and now it is. We should probably get curbing what we eat.
On a more positive note. A bright spark lovely friend of mine designed an image for World Vegetarian week and came second! Aint she a genius. Check out her clever things.
My favourite vegetarians and vegans:
# Albert Einstein, renowned scientist .
# Allen Ginsberg, poet .
# Andre 3000 Benjamin, musician from OutKast, vegan .
# Aristotle, Greek philosopher .
# B.B. King, musician .
# Bill Hicks, comedian.
# Brad Pitt, actor .
# Buddha, Indian Saint and Spiritual Master .
# Charles Darwin, renowned scientist .
# Charlotte Bronte, novelist .
# Christian Bale, actor .
# Daman Albarn, singer for Blur and Gorilaz .
# Franz Kafka, Jewish writer .
# JD Salinger, American novelist .
# Jesus Christ, Christian saint and mystic .
# John Lennon, Beatles singer and songwriter .
# Kate Bush, singer and songwriter .
# Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer and philosopher .
# Leonard Cohen, singer and songwriter .
# Leonardo Da Vinci, Italian painter and inventor, vegan .
# Lord Byron, writer .
# Mary Shelley, novelist .
# Moby, musician and co-author, vegan .
# Morrissey, singer, vegan .
# Nikola Tesla, physicist and inventor .
# Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, musician of The Mars Volta, vegan .
# Paul McCartney, musician, singer and songwriter, Beatles guitarist .
# Peter Gabriel, singer and songwriter .
# Peter Sellers, actor and comedian .
# PJ Harvey, musician, singer and songwriter .
# Plato, Greek philosopher and student of Socrates .
# Prince, musician, singer and songwriter .
# Pythagoras of Samos, Greek mathematician of Pythagorean Theorem . (perhaps the first Vegetarian)
# Robert Smith, lead singer of The Cure .
# Sir Isaac Newton, physicist .
# Spike Milligan, comedian .
# Thom Yorke, singer of Radiohead, vegan .
# Vincent van Gogh, Dutch Post-Impressionist artist .
# Voltaire, French writer and philosopher .
# William Blake, writer .
And don’t forget this guy # Percy Bysshe Shelley, writer and Romantic poet. If you like to read try his 200 year old but on the money short essay about Vegetarianism, titled A VINDICATION OF NATURAL DIET.
Luke
Source:
http://explosiveheart.com.au/ill-continue-until-the-floods-come-to-manhattan-vegetarianism/