Why I am a vegetarian

I did not become a vegetarian overnight. On the contrary, my family and I weaned ourselves off of meat almost accidentally. To save money, we decided to live primarily from the food that was coming from our garden and did not purchase any meat. After 2-3 months we felt great and had saved quite a bit on our grocery bills; we asked ourselves, “why kill if we are healthier and saving money not doing so?” Without any fanfare or dramatic incantations, we became vegetarians. That was roughly 4 years ago.

Why kill?

With so many plant based foods available, why do we need to kill creatures to live? Is there some benefit or joy in killing? My meat consumption really boiled down to my own pleasure, habits, and convenience, and little else. Contrasted with so many reasons not to eat animals, the scale tipped and I simply went with it.

Economical

Quality protein and calories are easier and cheaper to come by through plant based means. Hemp seed, walnuts (along with most tree nuts), and oats massively outperform both in yields, calories, and protein per acre. Dry beans marginally outperform the meats, while Chia is a bit behind, but offers greater nutrition and is considered a superfood.

**Meat prices are based from 100% organic local pastured meats*

**Plant protein prices are based from 100% organic bought in bulk (5-25 lbs.)*

Monthly cost comparison

Average Americans consume 270 lbs of meat a year. If divided equally between the primary animal proteins, this roughly calculates to 3/4 lbs., 830 calories, and 74g of protein a day. Below I’ve compared the cost per month for meat and a vegetarian alternative, both calorie and protein equivalents.

**Vegetarian price analysis based off of 4 parts beans, 2 parts oats, 1 part walnuts, 1 part hemp, 1 part chia, and 1 part pepitas.*

**Protein matched Vegetarian diet consists of roughly 5.5oz of beans, 2.75 oz of oats, 1.4oz of walnuts, 1.4oz of hemp, 1.4oz of sunflower seeds, and 1.4oz of chia.*

If you are a family consuming organic, local, pastured meats, you’ll save over $60.51 per person by switching to an organic vegetarian diet. There will be problems with protein for the vegan, as this will only provide 40.8g of protein a day. Average female requires 50, and the average male requires 75. In which case they will need to supplement with powders, tofu, or other means. It takes 1,714 calories to get 75g of protein from the vegetarian source. Using a pea or hemp protein powder for 1/4 of your protein will cut on calories and costs.

I try to have an egg, yogurt, cheese, and a protein powder and fruit smoothie daily. I avoid any non fermented milk products and purchase nut milks. The savings I have over meat allows me to buy all of this without increasing my food budget or my cholesterol.

Environmental

Resource use

The amount of water, energy, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and herbicides it takes to produce a conventional pound of meat is vastly higher than that to produce a conventional pound of beans, soy, nut, or seed. Feed conversion ratios for conventionally raised livestock are 6:1 for cattle, 3.5:1 for swine, and 2:1 for poultry. These ratios are much lower for grass fed and free range livestock.

Fertility

Humanure, green manure, and mycorhyzal fungi can solve all fertility issues. The proper composting of yard waste, mainly leaf litter, by municipalities would also supply the organic matter needed to replace animal fertilizers, without the side affects of over salinization of soils. The use of animals as a fertility source is not a valid argument to keep domesticated animals.

I also hear a lot of livestock being “nature’s tillers,” as to imply the soil needs massive disturbance in order to be productive. The use of landscape fabric or tarps to smother weeds can be more effective, as this method utilizes nature’s true tillers, the soil biology, to prepare a soft and sterile seedbed. Cover cropping and no till practices are becoming popular amongst conventional farmers as well. All of these are effective without the need for livestock. The work, infrastructure, and energy needed to raise them are better put to use elsewhere.

Land Use

Raising cattle and livestock through pure grazing requires massive amounts of land that can produce exponentially more protein if used to grow plant based foods. Most land that can support cattle, can at least support perennial food crops, if not annual crops. The few areas that cannot, due to climate and terrain, can be used for livestock.

Peak Land

The world will have serious trouble supporting a human population which consumes animal products in quantities matching that of Americans. The world’s total arable land amounts to roughly 0.5 acres per person. If we expand this to all of the worlds prairies, meadows, and grasslands, we have roughly 1.7 acres per person. If we compare the land efficiency of livestock over plant based proteins, the solution is rather obvious.

With meat production averaging 0.29 acres per American, we can see how little room there is to budge. Global meat consumption needs to come down, and vegetable protein production needs to replace this in order for us all to fit comfortably here as the population grows.

Biological

Are we made to eat meat?

We don’t have meat receptive (ATP) tastebuds like felines and canines; we can’t taste water like felines and canines—useful for the high salt content in meat; and we have a long intestine evolved to digest plant foods vastly larger than felines, substantially larger than canines, but not as long as foraging herbivores.

Comparing the human digestive system to that of cats, dogs or bears will show a marked difference. We are not pure or omnivorous carnivores. But a true omnivore we are more similar to is the boar. There are very few differences between the human digestive system and the boar’s. Boars do not survive primarily on hunting, but rather scavenge and eat a wide variety of plant foods as well as smaller prey and invertebrates. On the farm, you will find very little meat fed to pigs. Because of their stomache chemistry they are very susceptible to parasites and diseases from meat. They thrive on a vegetarian diet.

We are by definition omnivores, because we can and have historically eaten meat without acute adverse effects. But that alone doesn’t quantify how much meat is healthy, or if no consumption of meat is unhealthy.

How much meat are we fit to eat?

The evidence continues to mount, as more cancers and diseases are being linked to heavy meat consumption. So much so that the American Institute for Cancer Research now recommends 2/3 or more of your plate be made up of plant based foods. I agree with this article by the University of Texas, that we should eat 18 ounces of cooked meat, or less, a week. For me though, there’s greater benefit to eliminating meat entirely from my diet.

Scientifically Marked Benefits

Lower cholesterol
Lower blood pressure
Lower risk for strokes
Lower risk for cancer
Lighter bodyweight, 30 pounds (on average)
25% less likely to die of heart disease
50% less likely to get diabetes

Enough data has been collected to show that vegetarian diets are healthier by and large. This makes it clear enough for me that our biology thrives on a diet comprised almost entirely of plant based foods.

Morals

Feeling bad for animals is not a reason to stop eating them or their products. If that was your primary reason for becoming a vegetarian or vegan I would hope you give your choice some more thought. I saw all the videos of the CAFOs and stopped eating conventional meat. This did not, however, lead me to becoming a vegetarian. Most animals raised well, have much better lives than wild animals. Big ag kills countless amounts of wild animals accidentally with its monstrous war like farming equipment. Moral arguments don’t lead naturally to veganism. And it wasn’t a factor in my choice to become a vegetarian.

Furthermore, there isn’t enough hard data for Vegans and Vegetarians to proselytize their ways. While I firmly believe in all the reasons above, there are counterpoints and valid arguments against each. There are so many ways to farm, organize food production, and distribution, that it’s hard to pinpoint an exact parallel comparison. For the individual homesteader and farmer, one may find his/her land is more efficient at growing cattle over grain, fruit, seed, nuts, or vegetables. Overall however, I think a whole foods plant based diet will come out on top as far as health, economics, and environmental impact. I won’t however argue a moral or ethical superiority to one or the other, and I won’t evangelize this lifestyle.

For me it’s a decision that works for myself and family, and one I’m proud of and convinced of. I think the world and every individual would benefit from a plant based diet, but I don’t think it’s THE solution to all the worlds ills, just a method of living an intentional and low impact life in harmony with my body, goals and values.

Notes:

Prices

Meat prices are rough averages from various cuts from one of the best organic local livestock farmers in MI

What about fish?

Evidence shows that fish present no danger, and can actually reduce the risks of certain cancers. I choose not to eat fish for other factors: the price, the over fishing of our seas, the terrible factory farming methods, and the mercury and other contaminants found in wild caught fish.

Phytic Acid

When switching to legumes, nuts, and seeds as the main source of protein, the phytic acid needs to be considered. Soaking the beans, nuts, and seeds is extremely beneficial and will reduce phytic acids and aid in nutrient absorption.

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