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Vegetarian diets healthier for planet

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A study on the affects of vegetarian vs. meat diets on the environment.

"In their study, Eshel and Martin compared the energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions that underlie five diets: average American, red meat, fish, poultry and vegetarian (including eggs and dairy), all equaling 3,774 calories per day.

The vegetarian diet turned out to be the most energy-efficient, followed by poultry and the average American diet. Fish and red meat virtually tied as the least efficient.

Martin and Eshel's research indicated that plant-based diets are healthier for people as well as for the planet.

'The adverse effects of dietary animal fat intake on cardiovascular diseases is by now well established. Similar effects are also seen when meat, rather than fat, intake is considered,' Martin and Eshel wrote. 'To our knowledge, there is currently no credible evidence that plant-based diets actually undermine health; the balance of available evidence suggests that plant-based diets are at the very least just as safe as mixed ones, and most likely safer.'"

-sciencedaily.com
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/0604140127...


[For those who value their hamburgers too much you don't need to go completely vegetarian to make a difference, just eat one or two less meals with meat in it a week, even that can make a difference].
lukewarmenthusiasm

56 responses // Vegetarian diets healthier for planet

  • want to go vegetarian or need more reasons as to why?:

    www.goveg.com
    www.peta.org
    lukewarmenthusiasm
  • I eat meat on the daily and I could never give it up. Perhaps people should turn to organic. Also, the means by which we kill and obtain meat and fish should be looked into and changed to become more energy efficient.
    Bood
    2 responses to this
  • This is just another great reason more people should consider a vegetarian diet.
    Greensboro
  • Well duhh!

    Do you think that eating plants would somehow kill the planet? There's enough unwanted things that come from producing and slaughtering livestock, not to mention that meat is incredibly bad for you. Not that many people realize, is the fact that a lot of green house gasses comes from livestock.
    chipsinabox
    1 response to this
  • Better for you, the planet and the animals
    Merge9
  • watch this comment being used here, here, here, here, here, and here
    i'm not entirely against eating meat. occaisionally i'll have some myself. But until I can be sure that the beef i'm putting in my mouth has been raised ethically and sustainably, I'm not tempted.
    stephenthomson
    1 response to this
  • Who needs meat anyways? From the farm to the packaging room it's all a big turn off. Hopefully this "going green" kick everyone is on means everyone's diet too!
    AliceInWonderland27
  • a lot of facts about the effects of meat-production on the environment can be found at the website of the Humane Society of the United States.

    http://www.hsus.org/farm/resources/research/enviro/fact...

    We can't truly call ourselves environmentalists until we stop eating animals.
    Colonial_Zombie
  • http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=us/1-0&fp=485ee...
    Apparently the world's sexiest vegetarians are Anthony Kiedes and Leona Lewis.
    joshuaheller
    1 response to this
  • Right. Also, living in a cave with the occasional camp fire to cook said vegetables is more energy efficient and much better for the planet than living in a house.

    Although the piece posted here is FACTUAL, it's also highly IMPROBABLE to even begin thinking this is an angle in which to tackle the climate crisis.
    VSiskos
    1 response to this
  • Meat is not bad for you.
    Owwmykneecap
    1 response to this
  • HAHA meat is terrible for you! It is a lot easier to go veg than you think. It is also the best favor you can do for the environment and the animals that suffer for one's preference. Unfortunately we can't expect everyone to be a vegetarian.. but we can wish.
    TopScruffy
  • You're not going to get me to stop eating meat. I'd rather go cannibal...
    Dmitri_Molotov
    1 response to this
  • not even if we told you that your body does not fully digest it. Over time it just rots in your bowls and eventually is the cause of almost all cases of colon cancer.
    Me4you2
  • I've already cut pork and beef out of my diet to help the environment, so I know giving some meat the boot is really not as hard as it seems. But I still eat sea-food and poultry. :( What will I do without my Omega 3's?!
    alexandra_opny
    1 response to this
  • No I definitely would not stop eating meat if you told me made up shit. :)

    Talking about digestion, we have appendixes for a reason....
    Owwmykneecap
  • Yep.
    Dmitri_Molotov
  • A little meat is fine, but in America meat is pretty much all anyone eats.

    Even just reducing the amount of meat you eat can help alot, guys!
    PoisonTheMonkey
  • Sure it's healthy, until there is an overpopulation of chicken, cows and such. Then all the people who raised the animals will lose their jobs, and there would be a major economic crisis. That would most likely, and historically, cause a recession which would make more demand for cheeper foods, which, most all of them have mass amounts of harmful chemicals in them.

    so i'm saving the planet by eating my chicken.
    THEREisHOPE
  • You dont need to give up meat in order to eat more efficiently. Buy local, buy organic. Support your local farms.
    Human beings are designed to eat meat, simply in moderation.
    mookster_07
    1 response to this
  • It's good to see this information making its way around.
    Disable
  • I stopped my meat consumption this past January and I honestly do not miss it. My change to a veggie diet (or pescatarian- (?!) fish eater) came about because I read Fast Food Nation. It is enough to turn anyone's stomach.
    If one is to continue eating meat they have to demand the humane treatment of the live stock from birth until death. The feed lots and slaughter houses are horrible places. (Not just for the animals but for the underpaid, overworked employees) If people only knew the truth behind what goes on, many would stop eating meat. And just to let you know, we will probably never find out because the USDA and FDA control things! Why do you think when a meat recall happens it when it is the consumers hands? Why didn't it stop at the processing plant? Why do people have to get deathly ill and some die before anything gets done? I know the recalls are not an everyday occurrence but they do happen too many times.
    Just think about what you are eating.
    christina71
    1 response to this
  • Err...prepared correctly meat can taste really damn good, but I think the same applies to vegetables as well. Boca burgers aren't made from animals, but they taste pretty good. I only eat meat to get my protein intake. I'm not actually sure what other nutritional benefits meat is well-known for having. I'll eat whatever is available and is edible, just as long as it sustains my body sufficiently. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to search around as to what products I could substitute the meat products I do eat for plant products... This isn't said to excuse me, but it is my reason.
    AutifK
  • for me, it's an easy decision, if I can kill it and prepare it with my own hands, then I can eat it...

    if I wouldn't kill a determined animal, then eating it is out of the question
    jade_azul16
    3 responses to this
  • Based on what I learned in anthropology a human diet is supposed to be mainly fruit with very little or no meat.

    That being said, I love eating meat.
    BenDorries
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhxKnys7Ryw
    if you care about animals watch this movie
    nanakin
  • But can you imagine a word run by vegetarians, how completely boring would that be?
    jonbrooks
  • I'm a self-titled food hedonist, and proud of it. I would very much rather eat something that I find delicious than something that tastes bland, even if it costs me a few more years at the end of my life. I never wished to live forever anyway.

    mmm. Steak
    4free
  • switching to compact fluorescent bulbs and driving a more fuel-efficient car, i can do. but going veg' in the name of helping save the environment? might as well ask me to cut off my right arm.
    orangeseverywhere
    2 responses to this
  • for space (grazing space vs space for growing food), vegetarians will get 10 times as much food, compared to what you can get from an animal.
    Joe_Leo
  • http://current.com/items/89042310_what_s_your_water_foo...
    And we should also become more aware of the water we use daily from our plates to industry, The meat industry uses billions of gallons of water to produce meat, including the growing of corn for feed which is very water intensive to the production of it with factory farms that also seep fertilizers and pesticides into our open waterways.

    Once we become more cognizant of the effects our actions have on the world we can then make choices to modify our diets for the better. I personally do not eat meat anymore but that doesn't mean I would push others into doing the same... at least if they think about modifying their diets to lessen the effect on the environment. With the population reaching 7 billion with projections of it going to 9 billion we cannot continue to destroy rainforest for cattle grazing, and we cannot continue to pollute our waterways with toxins when we need that water for survival.

    There are also vegetables however that are water intensive as well (potatoes, peppers, etc) so researching that can also help in planning a more sustainable diet that is also healthier for you.
    JanforGore
  • Yep. This is why I became a vegetarian - to really cut down on my CO2 emission. A year later, I'm healthier, thinner and hardly ever get sick any more. The best part? Discovering all sorts of delicious foods that are just a treat for your taste buds! Foods that I wouldn't have bothered trying when I was still eating meat. Goveg.com has the best veggie recipes.
    phoenix_fire999
  • All the people that respond to this with a die-hard hoo rah attitude only make themselfs look like arrogant selfish buttholes.

    Seriously, meat production is killing the environment, it's PACKED foull of chemicals and hormones, and YOU WOULDN'T EVEN BEE ABLE TO KILL IT YOURSELF.

    Think about it.

    Oh, and to see what that "meat" is really made of, educate yourself, you're only eating overpriced corn starch!

    Watch: http://www.kingcorn.net/
    onechance
  • And if you STILL insist on putting that very unhealthy stuff into your body, check this out:

    http://www.eatwild.com/
    onechance
  • everything in moderation people
    blue7272
  • To me it's interesting how many responses don't comment on the topic of the article - the health of the planet - and instead immediately leap to "I love eating meat!"

    It tells me that people are not likely to "go vegetarian" but they are probably more likely to cut back on meat consumption if it didn't mean "going vegetarian" and did mean helping the planet.

    I think we vegetarians should focus on this aspect when talking to people, instead of the more extreme, PETA-type dogmatic talk that turns people off.

    By the way, I was a teenage animal rights activist and radical vegetarian. I learned that moderate step-taking is more effective than urging radical changes in behavior.
    Julie_Soller
  • I recently became a vegetarian and seriously feel so much better, in almost all aspects of my life!
    CathEY
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