3 reasons to give up meat; 1 not to

[Azure]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Meh, I was just going by what I found on wikipedia (consider the source):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarian_nutrition

Of course, I counter with this: if eating meat wasn't healthy, then humans would not have evolved to find it so delicious!

Q.E.D.

I think this may be due to vegetarians being more aware of what constitutes a healthy diet.

A lot of those health benefits you mentioned are found with one eats an increase of fruit/vegetables, which is entirely possible to do if you eat meat.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by photon

Why creepy, seems much more efficient to me. Why grow the brain/eyes/bladder/spleen when you don't need them, just grow the tasty bits.

No need for big fields for them to range in, just a big building with meat vats.

Can let the rain forests regrow.

Sadly you would never be able to convince everyone to eat that. Many people still won't eat genetically modified vegetables.

[IliketoPuck]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Sadly you would never be able to convince everyone to eat that. Many people still won't eat genetically modified vegetables.

Plenty of Americans think Obama is a muslim as well.

Fox news could convince a majority of America that sun beams are the most nutritious food group available.

[Mad Mel]

Originally Posted by Azure

But, I'm still of the opinion that meat that has been subject to antibiotics, crappy like conditions, steroids, and various types of preventive medicines, not to mention being corn fed which increases the health risk substantially isn't as healthy as people think it is.

Not to mention, it tastes worse. I'm the furthest thing from a granola-munching hippie, but I mostly buy organic meat now because the flavour is so much better than juiced-up supermarket crap.

[HPLovecraft]

Originally Posted by Azure

I think this may be due to vegetarians being more aware of what constitutes a healthy diet.

A lot of those health benefits you mentioned are found with one eats an increase of fruit/vegetables, which is entirely possible to do if you eat meat.

When one eats fruit/vegetables, AND a reduced meat diet. That doesn't mean a complete elimination, but it does mean a reduction.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by HPLovecraft

When one eats fruit/vegetables, AND a reduced meat diet. That doesn't mean a complete elimination, but it does mean a reduction.

Why do you need to reduce your meat intake?

[HPLovecraft]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Sadly you would never be able to convince everyone to eat that. Many people still won't eat genetically modified vegetables.

There are many reasons why some choose not to purchase GMOs. A lot have to do with the practices of their creators.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by Azure

I think this may be due to vegetarians being more aware of what constitutes a healthy diet.

A lot of those health benefits you mentioned are found with one eats an increase of fruit/vegetables, which is entirely possible to do if you eat meat.

Maybe there's a correlation/causation issue going on there, but I've often read about doctors and nutritionists citing health benefits when advising people to reduce or eliminate the amount of meat in their diet.

Also, don't mistake me for a vegetarian promoting that lifestyle -- I don't care how healthy it may or may not be. Enjoying a juicy medium-rare steak is one of the greatest things in life and I would never voluntarily give that up.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Maybe there's a correlation/causation issue going on there, but I've often read about doctors and nutritionists citing health benefits when advising people to reduce or eliminate the amount of meat in their diet.

Also, don't mistake me for a vegetarian promoting that lifestyle -- I don't care how healthy it may or may not be. Enjoying a juicy medium-rare steak is one of the greatest things in life and I would never voluntarily give that up.

Yeah, I absolutely know where you're coming from.

Strangely enough, my doctor doesn't recommend eating less meat, but eating more white meat(chicken), skinless of course, and less red meat, although he does say that eating a steak once a week isn't going to kill you.

On a list of all the unhealthy stuff we eat, meat is so far down the list. Fast food, which is by FAR the common diet and millions of people here in North America not to mention the rest of the world is a MUCH bigger concern.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Azure

I think this may be due to vegetarians being more aware of what constitutes a healthy diet.

A lot of those health benefits you mentioned are found with one eats an increase of fruit/vegetables, which is entirely possible to do if you eat meat.

I think the explanation is even simpler than that.

The major issue with diet is avoiding obesity. Most vegetables are completely devoid of any nutrition and consist of fibres we are unable to digest. Therefore, a vegetarian diet also usually means a low calorie diet. You don't see many vegetarians eating McDonalds etc... (although things like Ceaser salads are pretty bad for you)

So it's not that eating meat is unhealthy. It's that eating too many calories consistently is unhealthy. So avoiding double cheeseburgers is healthy. However, eating lean chicken is healthy too.

Edit: saw you beat me to the chicken thing.

[Crispy's Critter]

Guys, I learned something today. It's wrong to eat meat because the animals are horribly mistreated, but if you don't eat meat at all, you break out in vaginas. - Stan Marsh

You see these sores are all tiny Vaginas. If he had stopped eating meat completely, he would've turned into one giant poosy. - South Park Doctor

[HPLovecraft]

Originally Posted by Azure

Why do you need to reduce your meat intake?

There has been a lot of research done and studies published that show why our North American diet of extreme meat intake is not healthy. As with most traditional diets across the globe, meat is not eaten as the main course everyday of the week, but instead used as a side and for flavoring. When we eat it, we usually eat it at the expense of other food groups. That's the major issue, in my mind.

I am sure you're already familiar with heart disease risks, obesity levels, and cancer (gastrointestinal especially) rates in North American, or at least realize they're at far higher levels than most other areas of the world. A lot of it has to do with our massive North American style meat industry, where we feed animals extremely unhealthy diets, inject them full of extremely unhealthy chemicals, subject them to extremely unhealthy living standards, and then expect the meat to be healthy for us to digest.

So, while meat itself, in its essence, might not be any worse for you than other food types, it is when eaten in large amounts like we tend to do over here every day. That's largely because of how we produce our meat, and what we eat less of because of it. Scale it to a more reasonable level while eating more of the things we tend to ignore because of it, (fish, especially oily, and a wide variety of vegetables/fruits) and you'll likely feel much healthier.

[Dion]

Isn't it wierd that we drink milk, stuff designed to nourish baby cows? How did that happen? Did some cattleman once say, "Oh, man, I can't wait till them calves are done so I can get me a hit of that stuff."

[alltherage]

Originally Posted by HPLovecraft

So, while meat itself, in its essence, might not be any badder for you than other food types, it is when eaten in large amounts like we tend to do over here every day.

I love this- a well thought out post accentuated with a hilarious misuse of a word like this... hahahaha it just makes me laugh.

[HPLovecraft]

Originally Posted by alltherage

I love this- a well thought out post accentuated with a hilarious misuse of a word like this... hahahaha it just makes me laugh.

Haha, I read through it and stumbled over that word but didn't bother to change it. Maybe I will now, since it's been caught.

[CrazyCaper]

My dad lives with the following motto: "If it didn't have parents, keep it off my plate"

[Prototype]

Originally Posted by CMPunk

There is no reason to stop eating meat

That's what she said.

Unless you're married... then it's...

That's what she didn't say.

[Pinner]

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-gu...uantit-eng.php

8-10 fruits and veg, 8 grains... are you kidding me ?

[Dion]

[burnin_vernon]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

I'd stop reading that garbage at, you are light. I've never eaten sunlight, anyone know what it tastes like?

Chicken.