THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CARNIVORES (ANIMALS), HERBIVORES and HUMANS (and why carnivorous animals can eat other animals)
Meat-eaters: have claws
Herbivores: no claws
Humans: no claws
Meat-eaters: have no skin pores and perspire through the tongue
Herbivores: perspire through skin pores
Humans: perspire through skin pores
Meat-eaters: have sharp front teeth for tearing, with no flat molar teeth for grinding
Herbivores: no sharp front teeth, but flat rear molars for grinding
Humans: no sharp front teeth, but flat rear molars for grinding
Meat-eaters: have intestinal tract that is only 3 times their body length so that rapidly decaying meat can pass through quickly
Herbivores: have intestinal tract 10-12 times their body length.
Humans: have intestinal tract 10-12 times their body length.
Meat-eaters: have strong hydrochloric acid in stomach to digest meat
Herbivores: have stomach acid that is 20 times weaker than that of a meat-eater
Humans: have stomach acid that is 20 times weaker than that of a meat-eater
Meat-eaters: salivary glands in mouth not needed to pre-digest grains and fruits.
Herbivores: well-developed salivary glands which are necessary to pre-digest grains and fruits
Humans: well-developed salivary glands, which are necessary to pre-digest, grains and fruits
Meat-eaters: have acid saliva with no enzyme ptyalin to pre-digest grains
Herbivores: have alkaline saliva with ptyalin to pre-digest grains
Humans: have alkaline saliva with ptyalin to pre-digest grains
Based on a chart by A.D. Andrews, Fit Food for Men, (Chicago: American Hygiene Society, 1970)
Information above obtained via http://www.celestialhealing.net/physicalveg3.htm
Here is a link to an article written by Mike Roizen, M.D. and a long time collaborator with Dr. Mehmed Oz. The article suggests that there are more reasons, than otherwise known, to avoid red meat. Here is the link:
http://blog.doctoroz.com/in-the-news/more-reasons-to-avoid-red-meat
An article written for Huffington Post by Craig Cooper, Mens Health Advocate and founder of Cooperative Health and Prostate.net entitled: Before Eating Red Meat, Think Twice and Live Longer cited a study that collected data from 83,644 women from the Nurses Health Study and 37,698 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, so investigators could determine the affect and how much meat each of these adults consumed over a 22-year to 28-year period.
The bottom line of the study? The more red meat you eat, the greater your risk of dying and of developing heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
Here is the link to that article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-cooper/red-meat-health_b_1758346.html
For me, I choose not to eat reasons for the following reasons, excluding the above health reasons:
ENVIRONMENT
Inefficient use of agriculture. 70% of U.S. grain production is used to feed farm animals. The grains and soybeans fed to animals to produce the amount of meat consumed by the average American in one year could feed seven people for the same period.
Inefficient use of water. It takes 2640 gallons of water to produce one pound of edible beef. The water used to raise animals for food is more than half the water used in the United States.
Inefficient use of energy. Calories of fossil fuel needed to produce 1 calorie of protein in beef: 28. Calories of fossil fuel needed to produce 1 calorie of protein in soybeans: 2.
Environmental Pollution. Raising animals for food is the biggest polluter of our water and topsoil. Factory farm animal waste pollutes the ground and groundwater horribly.
Destruction of natural habitat. It takes more land to raise animals for food than it does to produce the equivalent nutritional value by raising edible plants. Rain forests are being destroyed to make room for huge cattle ranches. Coyotes and other animals are poisoned and shot by western cattle ranchers who consider federal land to be their land for grazing.
ETHICAL REASONS
Animals on factory farms are over-crowded. They spend their brief lives in crowded and ammonia-filled conditions, many of them so cramped that they can’t even turn around or spread a wing.
Animals on factory farms are tortured. Within days of birth, for example, chickens have their beaks seared off with a hot blade. Animals are hung upside down and their throats are sliced open, often while they’re fully conscious.
Animals on factory farms are treated like machines. They are pumped up with drugs, fed their own waste and forced to grow or produce as fast as possible. They are subjected to 24-hour artificial lighting while being crammed into tiny cages one on top of the other to make it easier to harvest.
Although I respect an individuals rights to choose to eat meat – I resent how many meat-eaters cite reasons such as; humans have to eat meat for our health and then mock vegans and vegetarians for their lack of food choices. This clearly demonstrates their lack of knowledge of what a vegan/vegetarian diet consists of. I believe that many studies are pro-meat because they are funded by the meat industry and they also debunk the studies that clearly demonstrate that eating too much red meat is not healthy.
It is our responsibility to educate ourselves and not always believe what ‘THE INDUSTRY’ or ‘BIG CORPORATION’ feeds us because, ultimately, it is not in their best interest to advocate for our well-being, they only care about how they can profit. Think about it – has Coca Cola ever admitted that their product(s) promote obesity and diabetes? Has Wal-Mart ever stated that by opening one of their Superstore’s in a small town, local businesses suffer and even go bankrupt? Do automobile companies talk about the impact CO2 emissions have on the environment? Don’t even get me started on the lies our government and the agriculture industry has sold the public on MILK. Government and BIG CORPORATION work together to keep the general public confused so that they can continue passing legislation that supports those BIG CORPORATION products that continue to brainwash and enslave us.
We should always go through life asking questions and learning – why should we just believe what is being fed to us? Should it not be our responsibility to be proactive in everything we do in our lives? If we continue to be slaves to BIG CORPORATION and government, we will continue to lose more and more of our freedoms. A great man said “be the change you want to see in the world” – The only way this can happen is if we empower ourselves to create the change we want to see happen.
The facts, both environmental and health benefits, about eating meat are out there – all you have to do is READ IT. The video evidence of the abuse animals go through is out there, all you have to do is SEE IT.
Together we can make the world a more positive one.
For more information on the environmental impact of raising cattle for food, please visit the following websites:
www.wwf.ca (Canada)
www.worldwildlife.org (International)
Please visit my archived blogs for articles, documentaries and other general articles about animal, environment and human rights advocacy. There are also ‘general interest’ blogs, videos and audio that may inspire you to create positve change in the world.
COALITION OF POSITIVE ENERGY 