<p>Have you guys read Fast Food Nation? Its so, ugh. The meat industry. Ugh. LOL. if you haven’t read it, read it, it’s soooooo disturbing.</p>
<p>Ever watched BBC News? UGH. I mean, politics just make me SICK. Let’s boycott it even though we’re hard pressed to find a viable alternative in developing nations . . . : )</p>
<p>I should write a biased book about the plight and health of vegetarians. If I already know my findings before the study, maybe it’ll disturb lots of people.</p>
<p>In comparison to the statistic that 600 die each year from salmonella: (<a href=“NCHS - 404 Error - Resource Not Available”>NCHS - 404 Error - Resource Not Available)</p>
<p>Heart Disease: 696,947
Cancer: 557,271
Stroke: 162,672
Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 124,816
Accidents (unintentional injuries): 106,742
Diabetes: 73,249
Influenza/Pneumonia: 65,681
Alzheimer’s disease: 58,866
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 40,974
Septicemia: 33,865</p>
<p>As you can see, 600 deaths a year is tiny compared to these. In addition, salmonella, while usually found in meat, can also be found in produce. Of those 600 deaths, we don’t know how many were from eating contaminated meat and how many were from eating contaminated produce. You could argue that since more people die from eating contaminated meat than produce, being vegetarian is safer, but you also said that it would be alarming if even one person died… obviously, the solution is to eat nothing at all! ;)</p>
<hr>
<p>Here in Michigan, we have massive overpopulation of deer. We could, as you imply, decide not to hunt them. What would happen? The deer population would continue increasing until it crashes, since none of the deer would have enough food in the winter and obviously they wouldn’t be able to eat other deer for survival. In addition, since deer can transmit TB, the overpopulation of deer presents a health threat. (Note: I don’t hunt deer.)</p>
<p>
At-risk individuals who eat hefty portions of red meat, which is very high in cholesterol, are included in this statistic. They’re no small contribution . . .</p>
<p>At least eat the deer you shoot down. Or turn em into jackets and shoes or somethin.</p>
<p>Ok, if people where I live didn’t eat the deer, I would have a problem with it, for sure. But they do, and venison is actually a very healthy meat. I can’t imagine hunting and shooting deer, and I can’t understand why people enjoy doing so, but since pretty much all the natural predators were killed off years ago–the deer population does need controlled. Comparing this to starvation in Africa is a little off-base. Starvation in people is mainly caused by politics–there is enough food to go around. If we could manage to get along well enough to truly, and generously, address the problem, it would go away. Deer overpopulation would not unless we reintroduced some of the larger animals that used to be their predators.</p>
<p>If you are worried about cruelty to animals, deer hunting should be the least of your worries. Deer live their lives free and happy in the wild. Of course, it’s sad when they are killed, but I find it much more disturbing for animals to be raised in cages, force fed antibiotics and hormones until they are fat enough to kill.</p>
<p>I think people who don’t live in areas with a lot of wildlife and hunting don’t really understand it. Sure, many people look at it as a sport–but I’ve yet to meet anyone who doesn’t eat it, or give it to someone who will. People in the country are more self-sufficient in many ways, growing gardens, raising chickens, and hunting their own meat when they can.</p>
<p>Deer, unlike cow, is a great source of a certain fatal prion disease (especially wild deer). I’d suggest avoiding it . . .</p>
<p>“I never linked to anything from PETA.”</p>
<p>Someone did, or at least someone mentioned them, and I was addressing that, since you seemed to be supporting the validity of PETA.</p>
<p>“Wow! What an attitude, man! 600 people die a year and you say it’s not alarming! I think it’s alarming if one person dies… let alone six hundred lives”</p>
<p>There almost three hundred million Americans, almost all of which eat chicken several times a week. Six hundred people dying in an entire year is not alarming. Something like 150 people die each year from lightning strikes. That’s a comparative figure to 600. Do you feel that is an alarming number too? Maybe we should be investing money in educating children about lightning safety.</p>
<p>“But, unless you give me proof that PETA uses its donations towards causes other than the ethical treatment of animals”</p>
<p>I never said it did. I implied it acts extreme in order to get donations to further its cause. Yes, PETA’s goal is promote their idea of ethical treatment of animals. However, do they lie, deceive, stretch truths, and manipulate to reach that goal? Most certainly. They are an extreme organization. To them, the desire to achieve their goal is at least as strong as the motive for a corporation to make a profit.</p>
<p>And for the record, I have NO problem with vegetarians. What they eat really does not concern me at all. However, I’ll never avoid a nice discussion. :)</p>
<p>I’m not even going to start debating the issue of 600 people dying a year of salmonellosis… because you think it’s a negligible number and I don’t. So let’s just agree to disagree.
Besides, I never reiterated that one shouldn’t eat meat solely due to the posibillity of salmonella poisoning in the first place. I just responded to someone claiming that salmonella and cooked feces could be eliminated by cooking the meat. One should stop eating meat, however, because it’s been proven that vegetarians have a lower risk of diabetes, obesity, coronary heart disease, diet-related cancers, and other diseases (<a href=“http://www.eatright.org/Public/Other/index_adap1197.cfm[/url]”>http://www.eatright.org/Public/Other/index_adap1197.cfm</a> - a good ADA article)… not because of the risk of salmonella poisoning.</p>
<p>“obviously, the solution is to eat nothing at all!”</p>
<p>Haha, yeah, that’s exactly what I was suggesting. Or, rather, have you seen “Soylent Green”? Great movie.
Well, if your definition of “everything” is “meat”, then I do think the solution is to eat nothing at all. Thank goodness, vegetables and fruits are also available nowadays. These food stuffs not only don’t cause diseases, but some also protect your health and are used purposefully to fend off heart disease, stroke, etc.<br>
As for filmxoxo’s statistics:</p>
<p>Heart Disease:
Average U.S. man’s risk of death from heart attack: 50 percent
Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat: 15 percent
Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat, dairy or eggs: 4 percent</p>
<p>Cancer:
The less animal source food per capita, the lower the cancer rate (breast cancer, intestinal cancer, lung cancer, lymphoma, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, etc.) around the world</p>
<p>Stroke:
Vegetarians are 13% less likely to suffer from stroke than meateaters</p>
<p>Diabetes:
Death rate due to diabetes in vegetarians was found to be only 45% that of the meateating population</p>
<p>Alzheimer’s disease:
A recent study at Harvard Medical School showed that subjects who adopted a vegan diet had their homocysteine levels (homocysteine causes Alzheimer’s) drop between 13% and 20% in just one week.</p>
<p>“Yes, PETA’s goal is promote their idea of ethical treatment of animals. However, do they lie, deceive, stretch truths, and manipulate to reach that goal? Most certainly.”</p>
<p>Prove it.</p>
<p>One last thing, Mavin. It’s been bugging me - do you pronounce your sn “Maahvin” or “Mayvin”?</p>
<p>Regarding the original question, I’ve been vegan for some time now and I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever done…I only wish I had started sooner. Often times vegetarians are stereotyped as being soft spoken, mushy people who faint at the idea of killing animals. Vegetarianism is much more than animal rights. Few people realize that our meat-eating culture is a huge contribution to poverty and pollution. Raising animals requires a lot of grain and water (something like 17 lbs of grain for 1 lb of beef). It is much more efficient to eat the grain instead of eating the animal that eats the grain. Vegetarianism is not and has never been a fad; there are nearly 1 billion vegetarians today. Some famous vegetarians: Plato, Voltaire, Leo Tolstoy, Franz Kafka, Leonardo da Vinci, Louisa May Alcott, Darwin, Edison, Einstein, etc. Some tips:
Don’t worry too much about vitamins. Very few vegans have problems with deficiencies.<br>
I think it’s better to go cold turkey and stop eating meat altogether, instead of giving it up over time.
Check out books from the library on vegetarianism - they’re much more helpful than websites
Don’t bother with all those vegetarian sausage, pepperoni, etc. They’re disgusting. Eat a lot of beans, vegetables, nuts, fruit, and tofu, and you won’t miss meat
Try different cuisines: Indian, Mediterranean, Chinese…
Good luck and don’t let family and friends intimidate you. This is the best thing you can do for yourself.</p>
<p>“One should stop eating meat, however, because it’s been proven that vegetarians have a lower risk of diabetes, obesity, coronary heart disease, diet-related cancers, and other diseases (<a href=“http://www.eatright.org/Public/Other/index_adap1197.cfm[/url]”>http://www.eatright.org/Public/Other/index_adap1197.cfm</a> - a good ADA article)… not because of the risk of salmonella poisoning.”</p>
<p>Just eat meat in moderation. Problem solved.</p>
<p>"“Yes, PETA’s goal is promote their idea of ethical treatment of animals. However, do they lie, deceive, stretch truths, and manipulate to reach that goal? Most certainly.”</p>
<p>Prove it."</p>
<p>Well I could link sources, including those from non-profit organizations that are out there to expose PETA, but they could certainly be considered biased. If I linked a study conducted by scientists being funded by meat packaging corporations, then that would have questionable validity. However, could you prove that the report is false? Not really. The point is that those meat corporations have just as much of a motive to lie as does PETA.</p>
<p>“One last thing, Mavin. It’s been bugging me - do you pronounce your sn “Maahvin” or “Mayvin”?”</p>
<p>This is not the typical internet screen name I use, so I’m not sure why I chose it for this board, but it is pronounced like the English word – “Mayvin.”</p>
<p>my doctor says i should cut down on a certain part of my diet. guess what part?</p>
<p>GRAINS (pasta, rice, wheat, basically carbs)
apparently my triglycerates are high.</p>
<p>go freakin figure.</p>
<p>“Just eat meat in moderation. Problem solved.”</p>
<p>Even though that’s usually the best way to practice anything, in this case it has been proven that the less meat you eat, the healthier you are. Not to mention the effect it has on the environment, poverty, and the animals you’re eating.
However, if you find you aren’t able to be vegetarian all the way, then at least eat meat in moderation and cut out at least one type of meat… you’ll feel much better about yourself.</p>
<p>“If I linked a study conducted by scientists being funded by meat packaging corporations, then that would have questionable validity.”</p>
<p>Uh-huh. 
No, but if you link to an independent source (not necessarily non-profit, because those could also be biased) where a group of people are clearly not associated to any meat corporation, then I don’t see why it would be considered biased.</p>
<p>“my doctor says i should cut down on a certain part of my diet. guess what part? GRAINS …apparently my triglycerates are high”</p>
<p>That’s not at all unusual. Anything you consume too much (be that coffee, cheese, grains, etc.) can be harmful for your health. That doesn’t mean that these foods are harmful unto themselves. Take it this way, vitamins are healthy. But if you take 50 pills a day, they’re bound to have an adverse effect on your health.</p>
<p>how do u tell an asian man he eats too much rice?</p>
<p>“Even though that’s usually the best way to practice anything, in this case it has been proven that the less meat you eat, the healthier you are. Not to mention the effect it has on the environment, poverty, and the animals you’re eating.”</p>
<p>Not true at all. Excessive meat eating is unhealthy, yes. But if you eat meat in appropriate amounts, you won’t be any less healthy than someone not eating meat. Look at the new food pyramid (revised this year) that the FDA puts out. Meat is still there. In fact, the new pyramid says to eat 5.5 oz from the “meat and beans” group. It says to eat 6 oz from the “grains” group. Those numbers are almost equal, so the FDA realizes the value of meat. You’re way off base.</p>
<p>“No, but if you link to an independent source (not necessarily non-profit, because those could also be biased) where a group of people are clearly not associated to any meat corporation, then I don’t see why it would be considered biased.”</p>
<p>PETA is not an independent source. An independent source is one that gains no benefit from reporting results a certain way.</p>
<p>“That’s not at all unusual. Anything you consume too much (be that coffee, cheese, grains, etc.) can be harmful for your health. That doesn’t mean that these foods are harmful unto themselves. Take it this way, vitamins are healthy.”</p>
<p>Same goes for meat.</p>
<p>College is actually a great time for a lot of people to transition to vegetarianism. First, virtually all colleges now offer vegetarian options with every meal, and many offer vegan ones. Second, it’s easier to adjust to vegetarian food if you don’t need to cook it. Most people don’t like the hassle of learning new recipes, so having someone else do all the work for you is a pretty good deal.</p>
<p>A lot of people start by simply eliminating red meat and/or pork, then working to get away from poultry. Many continue eating fish. Your diet only needs to dramatically change if you really want it to.</p>
<p>I’m a vegetarian, but for health reasons, not so much moral ones. (I do think some meats are cruel, like veal, but that’s not my concern.) Nothing says you need to join PETA or throw out your leather shoes if you do decide to go ahead with it.</p>