Veggie-tari-N-ism

I've recently decided to become a vegetarian. I wrote this list to explains my reasons. It sounds nerdy, but hopefully it articulates my reasoning well...


Reasons for Vegetarianism:

1. Ethical-The way animals are horrendously [mis]treated, as well as the terrible conditions they are subjected to, is unethical. (Too put it nicely.)

2. Moral-The mistreatment of animals, as well as the sheer number of animals eaten, which forces them to be treated as commodities, devalues animals and is immoral.

3. Environmental- The meat industry is the biggest contributor to global warming. Even if you don't accept man-caused global warming (that's another discussion), there is no arguing that factory farming has lead to significant and extensive environmental degradation and pollution.

4. World Food Supply- As the world's population expands and the growth rate accelerates, and more developing countries can afford meat-intensive diets (like China and India, for instance), diets that include eating meat are simply unsustainable, and will lead to an increase in food shortages and global poverty.

5. Ecological Destruction- Besides the negative ecological impact of factory farms, aquaculture is destroying thousands of species of fish, mollusks, and algae, as well as causing significant destruction to the world's coastal and oceanic ecosystems.

6. Concerns over Food Safety
a. Concerns over many of the possibly harmful chemical substances, growth hormones, pesticides, antivirals, and preservatives used in meat production and storage.
b. Concerns over the presence of dangerous bacteria (especially enterobacteria, such as ecoli and salmonella), in meat, as well as the high possibly of the creation, mutation, and spread of such viruses as Swine Flu, Avian Flu, and other strains of influenza, prion-produced illnesses and diseases such as Mad Cow Disease, and other bacteria produced and foodborne illnesses.
c. Concerns over antibiotics used in animals, and the possibly of resulting reduced consumer immunity.

7. Worker Danger-
a. The majority of workers in the meat industry (i.e. factory farms and slaughterhouses) work in extremely poor and dangerous conditions, which numerous human rights organizations have designated as human rights violations.
b. Numerous mental health organizations have documented concerns over the psychological impact of contemporary factory farming and slaughterhouse methods on workers.


8. The Destruction of Family Farming- The growth of factory farming and the increased consolidation in the meat industry has forced a great number of "family farmers" out of business and has negatively transformed the meat industry.

9. Health- There are many studies that have concluded that well-planned vegetarians diets can actually be more healthy than diets which include meat consumption.

10. God's Ideal- From a religious perspective, I believe God's ideal, per Genesis (specifically Genesis 2:29-30 and Genesis 9:2), as well as many other verses throughout the Bible (such as Isaiah 11:6 and 65:25 most prominently), is for animals to not be predators, or preyed upon and killed for food.

11. From a merely personal standpoint, I find it difficult to reconcile eating animals with my belief in the Consistent Life Ethic. (In fact, some include vegetarianism in the Consistent Life Ethic, which is why a large segment of the estimated 400 to 600 million vegetarians worldwide is comprised of Buddhists, Hindus, and Quakers who subscribe to this type of belief system.)

Reasons against Vegetarianism:

1. Eating meat is more socially accepted.

2. From a functionality standpoint, a carnivorous diet is unquestionably easier, despite what some vegetarians may say. (Though maintaining a vegetarian diet is becoming easier everyday.)

3. Meat is rather tasty. (Depending on which kind of meat you're eating.)


I don't agree with a good amount of the philosophy and methodology of the more "liberal" stream of the animal rights movement, which is largely based on deep ecology theory and/or ecofeminism, both of which I have significant disagreements with. I'm not attempting to answer the question, or even ask the question, "Has eating meat always been wrong, or is it always wrong?" I have no good answer for that question. However, I do believe that in the context of the way meat is currently raised and slaughtered (i.e. factory farming, as stated)), as well as viewed in the context of the current poverty and environmental crises we face, the number of reasons to NOT eat meat far, far, far outweigh the number of reasons TO eat meat. , which is hopefully demonstrated through my list.