The Necessity of a Plant-Based Diet

The meat industry is a vicious cycle that not only impacts our overall health as humans, but the environment and the animals involved as well. According to PETA, 51 percent or more of the global greenhouse-gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture. It also takes an enormous amount of water for the animals to drink, to clean the filthy factories and to grow the animal’s feed. A single cow drinks up to 50 gallons of water per day, and for every one pound of beef, it takes 2,400 gallons of water; compared to tofu which takes 244 gallons of water to make. It is getting to a point where a plant-based diet is becoming necessary to fight the battles the meat industry has put on the environment.

We truly do not know what is in our meat in the first place. Our meat consists of what the animal eats during their lifetime before they are slaughtered. “The economic logic of gathering so many animals together to feed them cheap corn in CAFOs is hard to argue with; it has made meat, which used to be a special occasion in most American homes, so cheap and abundant that many of us now eat it three times a day” (Pollan 67). We would rather feed animals corn because it makes meat cheaper, on top of the hormones and steroids they are given, which in the end is fed to families every day. This now puts all that corn and hormones into a human’s systems.

Pollan also states in Omnivore’s Dilemma, “[i]n fact, growing meat on a grass makes superb ecological sense: It is a sustainable, solar-powered food chain that produces food by transforming sunlight into protein” (70).  He also states, “[f]or the grasses, which have evolved to withstand the grazing ruminants, the cow maintains and expands their habitat by preventing trees and shrubs from gaining a foothold and hogging sunlight; the animal also spreads grass seed, plants it with his hooves, and then fertilizes it with his manure” (70).  By feeding the cows corn, we are not only cutting off a simple cycle that helps the environment. We are also preventing natural fertilizers to be spread to help grow more grass and nourish the soil.

Cows consume a ton of land when you are mass producing them for meat purposes. “In the United States alone, 56 million acres of land are used to grow feed for animals, while only 4 million acres are producing plants for humans to eat” (PETA). This is an extremely unproductive way to use the land. It takes 20 times less land to feed someone on a plant based or vegan diet compared to someone who eats meat. But you also must add the other environmental effects that are associated with the meat industry other than just the mass amount of land usage. The extreme amount of fossil fuel usage, effluent waste and animal methane also adds to the pollution.

Factory farms are also persistent on dodging water pollution limits by spraying liquid manure in the air. It then gets taken with the wind and continues to add to the air pollution problem. Or if it has not been sprayed into the air, there is always effluent waste. Effluent waste comes from when cows are stuck in pens that have extremely tight quarters, and then they end up standing and living in their manure until it is sprayed down and cleaned with water. The liquid waste flows out of the factory farms into a body of water polluting rivers, lakes or lagoons that we then drink from. There is absolutely no way around it; the meat industry pollutes the environment in any way you can possibly think of.

Are small farms better than large factory farms? The answer is yes, of course they are! “Smaller farms maximize productivity in three ways: by using each square foot of land more intensively, by growing a more diverse selection of products suitable to local food preferences, and by selling more directly to consumers, reaping more of the net over time” (Hopp 76). If more people were to buy local, that is less money going towards feeding the horrific meat industry. It is also giving the environment a chance to make a comeback from the negative impacts the meat industry has caused, but also cuts back on the chemicals that are being put into the soil from industrial farming.

Following a plant-based diet does not have to be boring or a hassle, like many people assume it is. Today there are hundreds of vegan and vegetarian restaurants, bakeries and recipes that make food items that replace the meat or animal product the recipe originally called for. You truly are not losing out. If anything, you still get to eat great food, have a healthier lifestyle and stand up for a cause. The following recipe is for Vegan Apple Oatmeal Muffins! They are dairy-free and prove that you can still enjoy and have fun with food even if it is vegan. 

Apple Oatmeal Muffins (Vegan)

Ingredients:

For the apples:

• 1 apple, peeled and chopped into ¼” cubes
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the batter:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup whole wheat flour
• ½ cup rolled oats
• ½ cup light brown sugar (can substitute with coconut sugar to make it refined sugar free)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup applesauce
• ⅓ cup apple cider or non-dairy milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. In a small saucepan, sauté the apples, brown sugar and cinnamon for about 5 minutes over medium heat. The apples should begin to soften and caramelize slightly. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Stir together flours, oats, brown sugar, white sugar, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Add in the applesauce, vegetable oil, and cider or milk. Stir until just moistened. Fold in chopped apple. Fill muffin cups ¾ full.
4. Bake for about 18 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Works Cited:

Conners, Rachel. “Apple Oatmeal Muffins (Vegan).” Bakerita. N.p., 01 Mar. 2017. Web. 18 May 2017.

Kingsolver, Barbara, Camille Kingsolver, and Steven L. Hopp. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle a year of food life. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 2007. Print.

“People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): The animal rights organization.” PETA. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2017.

Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. NY, NY: Penguin, 2006. Print.