Drastic approaches to lifestyle changes don’t work for everyone. Instead, try and phasing out meat from your diet little by little. Choose what works for you, whether you commit to a plant-based Monday or one plant-based meal each day. Every little bit counts!
Greens are a rich source of protein.
Protein is an essential nutrient in our diet, helping us build and repair muscle. Nature offers us a wide and colourful variety of meat-free options that are rich in protein. You could try legumes such as lentils and beans, tofu, and chickpeas. Many greens are also a fresh and healthy source of protein. Studies show that people who eat more meals rich in vegetables and plant proteins like beans and lentils reduce their risk for heart disease and cancer — living longer, healthier lives than those with meat-heavy diets. While on the other hand, excess saturated fat – which predominantly comes from animal foods – will increase your risk of dying of heart disease, according to leading cardiologists. Eating too much meat and animal products is contributing to obesity and other chronic diseases as well.
Animal Protein Products are stuffed with antibiotics.
Due to their overgrown size and quick growth rate, many chickens on factory farms suffer skin wounds, painful lameness, and overworked heart and lungs before being slaughtered for food. In addition, the enormous increase in the demand for animal protein has rapidly increased the use of antimicrobials in the animal health sector, where these drugs are used to treat and prevent infections and promote rapid growth. Already, more than 700,000 people die each year from superbugs where antibiotics are ineffective in treating infections. Alarmingly, up to 10 million people are expected to die from superbugs each year by 2050. These will disproportionately affect the poorest countries in the world.
Factory Farming is cruel.
Of the more than 70 billion animals farmed annually, 50 billion of them spend their lives on factory farms. They endure short, miserable lives in conditions so horrible they are often prevented from engaging in natural behaviours such as dustbathing, raising their babies, or even lying down comfortably. Moreover, most of our consumption, be it meat, dairy or eggs, comes from immunologically compromised animals confined to cramped, unhygienic conditions and transported long distances without proper handling and care.
You can help farm animals by changing your choices.
When farmed animals are treated as mere commodities, their welfare is extremely compromised. Eating less meat and choosing higher welfare options is crucial in shifting away from cruel factory farming. By reducing global demand for animal protein, there will be less pressure on the farmers who have industrialized their systems to meet this currently excessively high demand. In this way, you can help billions of animals who are factory farmed every year.
Animal Production can lead to Environment Devastation.
The global food system is the biggest driver of the natural world's destruction, and a shift to predominantly plant-based diets is crucial in halting the damage. Even the Chatham House Report states that intensive animal agriculture is the biggest driver of biodiversity loss. Animal farming occupies almost 80% of agricultural land globally. The report also states that the current food system indirectly drives biodiversity loss by contributing to climate change. The global food system is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than any other aspect of our lives. The intensity of animal protein production is a threat to the survival of most biodiverse and critical ecosystems.
“Life is too short to make others shorter. -Chris Hannah