Posted by Velinda on August 09, 2002 at 12:28:02:
In Reply to: Spoken like an animal rights person posted by FWIW on August 08, 2002 at 10:32:04:
The vast majority of N. Americans are overweight simply because they eat too many calories and are not active enough. This is not an issue of animal rights (why bring it up?!)...it is an issue of gluttony.
What is true is that the meat industry consumes huge amounts of our world’s resources. If it is possible to drop 10 - 20 kg. by eating a high protein diet, I cannot, would not, and have never argued with a person's right to do so - however - the industrialised meat industry takes a huge toll on our planet's resources.
There is a plethora of information in libraries and on the internet detailing the real “cost” of consuming commercialized meat…from e-coli in the water system, burning of the rainforests, to the vast amounts of (scarcer every year) fresh water needed to process animals into meat.
In Canada, the SPCA recently started applying a “sticker of approval” to meat products when the animals are raised, and killed, in more "humane" ways. Organic (growth hormone, antibiotic, etc., free) meat is also available. Nonetheless, cattle still dispense the majority of methane gas into the atmosphere, to raise and slaughter one cow takes enough fresh water to float a battleship (and this does not include the streams and water tables polluted by excrement and slaughterhouse waste – blood, more excrement, etc.).
Selfishness is also a form of gluttony. One might like to consider the real “cost” of a high-meat diet. Calorie reduction is the best way to lose weight. A balanced diet is the best way to maintain desired weight. Excercise prolongs life and improves its quality...these statements are obvious and common sense.