How To Begin With A Vegetarian Diet
Not too long ago, a famous pop star caused a minor stir when he suggested that one step everyone could take towards helping the environment would be to abstain from meat for one day a week. That’s all he asked – that we adopt a low carb vegetarian diet for a single day out of the week. A few papers took him seriously, but most of them just laughed.
With very few exceptions, the media completely failed to take his suggestion seriously and look at the facts. Had they done so, they would have discovered that people give up meat eating for very good reasons. Why not give vegetarians a chance and listen to their point of view for a change?
Americans consume far more beef per capita than any other nation and our environment suffers as a result. We could utilize our precious arable land far better by raising protein rich plant crops than we do by raising cattle. This is an established fact. There is plenty of proof for this that is buried rather than confronted.
People living near beef processing plants and process plant workers report a high incidence of health problems directly related to the processing of beef. There is sound medical evidence to prove this, but one way to find out for yourself would be to visit one of these places. But be prepared – you may get sick from the smell before you even enter the premises.
Once inside a slaughterhouse, anyone who hasn’t been numbed by years of killing cattle will be horrified by how inhumane the process is. While it is not directly an environmental issue, it is likely that after seeing the inside of a slaughterhouse, you will think twice before buying your next neatly packaged slab of beef. You will definitely look at a vegetarian diet in a new light after a horrific experience like that!
The meat industry will tell you that beef makes you strong and healthy. They will talk about a protein-packed meat diet as if a high intake of meat is essential for health. What they won’t tell you is that you are consuming far more meat than you could possibly need for good health. They will also not tell you that your predominantly meat diet contributes to cancer, heart disease and other life-threatening illnesses.
Those who have given up meat and taken up a vegetarian diet meal plan rarely feel the need to go back to eating meat. While some do go back to occasional servings of meat, they almost never go back to consuming it in large quantities. Why should they? They feel healthier and happier than they did before.
The two largest religions in the world, Buddhism and Hinduism, both advocate a total abstinence from meat eating. Interestingly enough, all the other major religions, including Catholicism, Judaism, and the Muslim faith advocate abstinence from meat during certain religious holidays. Why is it that only the cattle industry advocates a strict meat eating diet?
A low carb vegetarian diet is no laughing matter. Give this a little credit for trying to open people’s eyes to the vegetarian diet meal plan.
