eating meat

[IfasehunReincarnated]

EATING MEAT is a tradition, not a necessity.

Meat is often touted as a super source of nutrients such as protein, iron, and zinc. But are you in danger of deficiency if you don't eat meat? Not if you consume a well-balanced vegetarian diet.

Protein: A single serving of meat provides roughly 25 grams of protein or about one-half the RDA. This means that the average meat eater gets far more protein than he or she needs, and is at greater risk for problems like osteoporosis and possibly kidney disease. Vegetarians, on the other hand, have adequate but not excessive intakes of protein. A cup of beans provides about 15 grams of protein, and a half cup of grains or vegetables provides about 3 grams. This means that meeting protein needs on a vegetarian diet--with or without animal products like dairy and eggs--is a breeze, provided you eat a variety of plant foods. Make sure you meet calorie needs as well, since protein needs increase when calorie intake is too low. As we've pointed out before, there is no need to eat special combinations of foods to meet protein needs.

Iron: While meat is indeed very rich in iron, research shows that high intake of heme iron (the kind found in meat) and high iron stores (which are typical of men who eat meat) may increase risk for heart disease and cancer. It makes more sense to get iron from plant foods. Plant foods are abundant in non-heme iron, and vegetarian diets are typically higher in iron than diets that contain meat. The iron in vegetarian diets is absorbed less well, so make sure you maximize absorption by eating a source of vitamin C with every meal. And avoid calcium supplements with meals, since high doses of calcium interfere with absorption. Among the best sources of iron are whole grains (enriched grains are a super source as well and can be a good choice for children especially), legumes, dried fruits, tomato juice, and potatoes (with their skins).

Zinc: Vegetarian diets tend to be adequate in zinc, but absorption of this nutrient is not as efficient from plant foods as from animal foods, so vegetarians must give some extra attention to it. Do identify several good sources of zinc that you enjoy and that you can include in your diet frequently. Some good sources include bran flakes and other bran cereals, peas, sea vegetables, legumes (especially adzuki beans, chickpeas, and tempeh), nuts and seeds (especially peanuts, Brazil nuts, and tahini), milk, yoghurt, and cheese. Watch for a feature article on zinc in VNHL in 1999.

The bottom line: Given the risks associated with red meat and the fact that it doesn't have any unique nutritional value, meat doesn't seem to offer anything that justifies its consumption.

Are Humans Carnivores?
The question should be: Are human beings designed and intended to eat meat? What all the available evidence points to is that there is no nutritional, physiological, or psychological justification for meat-eating by humans.

First let’s look at the nutritional aspects of flesh food. The number-one prerequisite of a food is most certainly its fuel value, fuel as it relates to energy for the body's use; Flesh foods supply no fuel, no energy. Fuel is built from carbohydrates; Meat has virtually no carbohydrates, In other words, NO FUEL VALUE. Fats may supply energy, but they must undergo a longer and less efficient digestive process and fats may be converted into fuel only when THE BODY'S CARBOHYDRATE RESERVES ARE DEPLETED. It should be understood that fat in the body does not all come from the fat that is eaten in the diet. When an excess of carbohydrates is eaten, it is converted by the body into fat and stored. In this way the body can store and use fat without having a large amount of fat in the diet. The fat deposits could be viewed as a type of carbohydrate bank, where deposits and withdrawals are made as necessary. So utilisable fat is ultimately dependent upon carbohydrate intake. Another consideration is fibre. Every area of health care is stressing the importance of fibre in the diet. Among other things, fibre helps to avoid constipation and haemorrhoids. Meat has virtually no fibre content.

Now lets look at the availability of amino acids in flesh food. An amino acid chain can contain anywhere from fifty-one to two hundred thousand amino acids. When flesh protein is ingested, the chain has to be broken down and reassembled into human protein. Amino acids are somewhat delicate. The heat of cooking coagulates or destroys many of the amino acids so that they are not available for body use. These unusable amino acids become toxic, adding to one's weight, increasing the chores of the body, and depleting energy. Meat would have to be eaten raw, the way carnivorous and omnivorous animals eat it, for any potential usage of amino acids. Except for the latest sushi rage, which has its own drawbacks, people are not exactly eating their meat raw. Meat is also very high in saturated fat. Not the kind to be used for energy- the kind that causes heart attacks. So nutritionally, notwithstanding all the propaganda to the contrary, meat has very little, if anything, going for it.

Now lets look at the physiological aspects of meat eating. A carnivore's teeth are long, sharp, and pointed - all of them! We have molars for crushing and grinding. A carnivore's jaw moves up and down only, for tearing and biting. Ours move from side to side for grinding. A carnivore's saliva is acidic and geared to the digestion of animal protein; it lacks ptyalin, a chemical that digests starches. Our saliva is alkaline and contains ptyalin for the digestion of starch. A carnivore's stomach is a simple round sack that secretes ten times more hydrochloric acid than that of a non-carnivore. Our stomachs are oblong in shape, complicated in structure, and convoluted with a duodenum. A carnivore's intestines are three times the length of its trunk, designed for rapid expulsion of foodstuff, which quickly rots. Our intestines are twelve times the length of our trunks and designed to keep food in them until all nutrients are extracted. Meat we eat can turn putrid in the intestines due to their length. The liver of a carnivore is capable of eliminating ten to fifteen times more uric acid than the liver of a non-carnivore. Our livers have the capacity to eliminate only a small amount of uric acid. Uric acid is an extremely dangerous toxic substance that can wreak havoc in your body. All meat consumption releases large quantities of uric acid into the system. Unlike carnivores and most omnivores, humans do not have the enzyme uricase to break down uric acid. A carnivore does not sweat through the skin and has no pores. We do sweat through the skin and have pores. A carnivore's urine is acid. Ours is alkaline. A carnivore's tongue is rough. Ours is smooth. Our hands are perfectly designed for plucking fruit from a tree, not for tearing the guts out of the carcass of a dead animal, as are a carnivore's claws.

There is not one anatomical faculty the human being has that would indicate that it is equipped for tearing, ripping, and rending flesh for consumption.

Lastly, we as humans are not even psychologically equipped to eat meat. Have you ever strolled through a lush wooded area, filling your lungs with good air while listening to the birds sing? Perhaps it was after a rain, and everything was fresh and clean. The sun was filtering through the trees and glistening off the moisture on the flowers and grass. Just then, perhaps a chipmunk scurried across your path. What was your VERY FIRST INSTINCTIVE inclination upon the sight of the chipmunk, before you even had time to think? To pounce on it, grab it with your teeth, rip it apart, and swallow it, blood, guts, skin, bone, flesh, and all? Then lick your lips with delight and thank the powers that be that you chose this particular path through the woods so you had the opportunity to devour this delectable little tidbit? Or would you instantly upon sight of the furry little creature, say, Shhh, did you see that cute little chipmunk?" I wonder how many more vegetarians there would be if when people wanted a piece of steak, they had to go out, beat a defenceless steer to death, cut it open, and wade through the blood and guts to slice out the particular pads they desired.

Kids are the real test. Place a small child in a crib with a rabbit and an apple. If the child eats the rabbit and plays with the apple, I'll buy you a new car.

So, why do people eat flesh?

Two very simple reasons: number one, habit and conditioning; number two, some people happen to like meat. And that's it. Which is alright as long as people aren't convinced that they eat meat for health reasons, because the only effect meat-eating has on health is that it deteriorates it.

It demands a tremendous amount of energy to digest it, and it makes the task of losing weight more of a chore than it should be.

Vegetarian diets offer protection against chronic disease in a number of ways. A plant-based menu is higher in fiber, nutrients like folate and vitamin E, and in phytochemicals, including many antioxidants. But what vegetarians don't eat counts, too. Vegetarian diets are typically lower in saturated fat and cholesterol. These kinds of observations have led some experts to suggest that a prudent omnivore diet that includes lean meats can reap the benefits of a vegetarian diet, as long as the omnivore diet is rich in fiber, fruits and vegetables, and avoids more fatty animal foods. Whether or not this is true remains to be seen. Some research challenges this idea--particularly where red meat is concerned.


There is no question that red meat is a concentrated source of many nutrients. Most importantly, it provides protein, iron, and zinc. But since protein is well supplied from a variety of plant foods, and deficiency is rare among vegetarians, the fact that meat supplies this nutrient is of little importance. Furthermore, while vegetarians have adequate protein intake, most Westerners get far too much. High protein, from meat in particular, may adversely affect bone health.

Although red meat is also touted as a good source of well-absorbed iron, vegetarians seem to get plenty of this nutrient, since iron deficiency is not a common problem in the vegetarian population. And high iron intakes have been linked to increased risk for heart disease and possibly to increased risk for cancer.

The fact is, plant foods can provide the same nutrients that are in red meat and they also provide some unique compounds. Both fiber and phytochemicals, which have numerous health benefits, are abundant in plant foods but are not found in meat. However, establishing that red meat isn't necessary for health and that it lacks a number of health-promoting factors isn't the same as saying that it may be detrimental to your health.

Criticisms of red meat have always focused on the fact that it is high in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol. While fat content of different cuts of meat varies markedly, there is little doubt that the commonly consumed types are high in total fat--averaging about 50 percent of calories. A 3 -ounce serving of ground beef labeled "lean" provides 18 grams of fat and more than 7 grams of saturated fat. If a person consumes 2,000 calories per day and aims to keep fat intake down to 25 percent of calories, that single small serving of beef provides a third of the day's total fat allowance. Not surprisingly, the Adventist Health Study (see the October VNHL) found that men who consumed beef four or more times per week were twice as likely to die from heart disease as men not consuming beef.1

Red meat has also been linked to increased cancer risk. In a comprehensive review of existing studies, Dr. Sheila Bingham, of the Dunn Nutrition Center in Cambridge, England, concluded that, although there is some inconsistency, studies suggest that red meats and processed meats increase colorectal cancer risk.2 The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) summarized the research with this conclusion in their landmark report, Food, Nutrition, and the Prevention of Cancer: "Diets containing substantial amounts of red meat probably increase the risk of colorectal cancerÖalso, such diets possibly increase the risk of pancreatic, breast, prostate, and renal cancers." In their dietary recommendations for reducing cancer risk, the WCRF advised that red meat, if eaten at all, should be limited to three ounces daily.3 Harvard health expert Walter Willet suggest that, " the optimal amount of red meat to be eaten is zero."4

Several theories have been proposed for the observed relationship between red meat and cancer risk. First, the high iron content of red meat may promote the generation of free radicals, molecules that lead to oxidation of DNA. Oxidized DNA has been linked to cancer. One recent study at Wayne State University in Detroit showed that both beef and pork intake were linked to DNA damage and, therefore, possibly to cancer risk.5 (see Findings in the July/August issue of VNHL).

Another theory focuses on the changes that occur when red meat is cooked, especially at high temperatures under moist conditions. This leads to the production of compounds in meat called heterocyclic amines (HCAs). These are mutagens--compounds that can cause changes in DNA and raise risk for cancer. The way meat is prepared affects production of HCA. Those who eat meat that is fried or well done have a greater risk for cancer than those who eat meat cooked in other ways. Further, certain individuals are "fast metabolizers" of HCAs. They metabolize the compounds more quickly, putting them at greater risk for cancer. One study found that fast metabolizers who consumed well done meat were three times more likely to develop colon cancer than slower metabolizers. The relationship held when the two groups consumed meat that was prepared to the rare or medium stage. And when fast metabolizers consumed meat that was well-done, their cancer risk was six times greater than slow metabolizers who ate rare or medium-cooked beef.6 The rate at which a person metabolizes HCAs is genetically determined. HCAs may also raise risk for heart disease, since there is some evidence that they damage heart muscle cells.

Finally, toxic compounds, called nitroso compounds, are produced in the colon when red meat is consumed. These mutation-causing compounds increase dramatically in proportion to increased red meat consumption. One theory is that the unabsorbed iron from meat is responsible for this effect.7

Although most of the concern has focused on the relationship of red meat to cancer and heart disease risk, it may affect risk for other diseases as well. Red meat may promote the growth of certain bacteria that produce a toxic metabolite, a spasmogen that weakens the wall of the colon and favors the development of diverticuli.8 Additionally, meat protein may increase risk of kidney stones.9

Finally, a very speculative but interesting theory about red meat, and about meat in general, has been put forth by Dr. Steven Provonsha of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Kaiser Permanente. He suggests the following:


consumption of flesh food, because it is body tissue, activates a hormonal response like that seen in injury, illness, or starvation. That is, the body mistakenly thinks that it is starving and, as a result, defense or survival mechanisms are triggered. While these defense mechanisms are crucial to survival during starvation, under normal conditions these hormonal changes could increase risk of diseases like hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease in response to repeated flesh consumption over a prolonged period of time.


Although more research is needed in all of these areas, it is clear that at least part of the benefit of vegetarian diets is due to avoidance of foods like red meat. But it is certainly not the whole story. What vegetarians do eat probably matters just as much. The key to a healthful vegetarian menu lies in eating a wide variety of whole plant foods including whole grains, plenty of legumes, and generous amounts of fruits and vegetables.


1. VNHL
2. Cancer Lett 114: 25-34, 1997
3. Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: a global perspective
4. Willet's quote
5. J Am Diet Assoc 98: 524, 1998
6. Cancer Epidemiol, Biomarkers & Prev 3: 675-682, 1994
7. Carcinogenesis 17: 515-523, 1996.
8. Gut 26: 541-543, 1986.
9. N Engl J Med 328: 333-838, 1993.
10. Personal communication

"Vegetarianism is a personal choice. Don’t try to force it on everyone else."

From a moral standpoint, actions that harm others are not matters of personal choice. Murder, child abuse, and cruelty to animals are all immoral. Our society now encourages meat-eating and the cruelties of factory farming, but history teaches that society also once encouraged slavery, child labour, and many other practices now universally recognised as wrong.

"Animals kill other animals for food, so why shouldn’t we?"

Most of the animals that kill for food could not survive if they didn’t. That is not the case for us. We are better off not eating meat. Many other animals are vegetarians, including some of our closest primate relatives. Why don’t we look to them as our example instead of to carnivores?

"The animals have to die sometime."

Humans do, too, but that doesn’t give you the right to kill them or to cause them a lifetime of suffering.

"Farmers have to treat their animals well, or they won’t produce as much milk or lay as many eggs."

Animals on factory farms do not gain weight, lay eggs, and produce milk because they are comfortable, content, or well cared for, but rather, because they have been manipulated specifically to do these things through genetics, medications, hormones, and management techniques. In addition, animals raised for food today are slaughtered at extremely young ages, usually before disease and misery have decimated them.
Such huge numbers of animals are raised for food that it is less expensive for farmers to absorb some losses than it is to provide humane conditions.

"What will we do with all those chickens, cows, and pigs if everyone becomes a vegetarian?"

It’s unrealistic to expect that everyone will stop eating animal’s overnight. As the demand for meat decreases, the number of animals bred will decrease. Farmers will stop breeding so many animals and will turn to other types of agriculture. When there are fewer of these animals, they will be able to live more natural lives.

"If everyone turned vegetarian, it would be worse for the animals because so many of them would not even be born."

Life on factory farms is so miserable that it is hard to see how we are doing animals a favour by bringing them into that type of existence, confining them, tormenting them, and then slaughtering them.

"If everyone switches to vegetables and grains, will there be enough to eat?"

Yes. We feed so much grain to animals in order to fatten them up for consumption that if we all became vegetarians, we could produce enough food to feed the entire world. In the U.S., animals are fed more than 80 percent of the corn we grow and more than 95 percent of the oats. The world's cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people—more than the entire human population on Earth.

"Don’t vegetarians have difficulty getting enough protein?"

In the West, our problem is that we get too much protein, not too little. Most Americans get about seven times as much protein as they need. You can get enough protein from whole wheat bread, oatmeal, beans, corn, peas, mushrooms, or broccoli—almost every food contains protein. Unless you eat a great deal of junk food, it's almost impossible to eat as many calories as we need for good health without getting enough protein.
By contrast, too much protein is the major cause of osteoporosis and contributes to kidney failure and other diseases of affluence.

"Don’t humans have to eat meat to stay healthy?"

Both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the American Dietetic Association have endorsed vegetarian diets. Studies have also shown that vegetarians have stronger immune systems than meat-eaters and that meat-eaters are almost twice as likely to die of heart disease, 60 percent more likely to die of cancer, and 30 percent more likely to die of other diseases. The consumption of meat and dairy products has been conclusively linked with diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, clogged arteries, obesity, asthma, and impotence.


"Eating meat is natural. It’s been going on for thousands of years. Our bodies are designed that way."

Actually, human bodies are better suited for a vegetarian diet. Carnivorous animals have long, curved fangs, claws, and a short digestive tract. Humans have flat, flexible nails and our so-called "canine" teeth are minuscule compared to those of carnivores, and even compared to vegetarian primates like gorillas and orang-utans. Our tiny canine teeth are better suited to biting into fruits than tearing through tough hides. We have flat molars and a long digestive tract suited to a diet of vegetables, fruits, and grains. Eating meat is hazardous to our health; it contributes to heart disease, cancer, and many other health problems.

"What’s wrong with drinking milk? Don’t dairy cows need to be milked?"

In order for a cow to produce milk, she must have a calf. "Dairy cows" are impregnated every year in order to keep up a steady supply of milk. In the natural order of things, the cow’s calf would drink her milk (eliminating her need to milked by humans). But dairy cows’ babies are taken away within a day or two of birth so that humans can have the milk nature intended for their calves. Female dairy calves may be slaughtered immediately or raised to be future dairy cows. Male dairy calves are confined for 16 weeks in tiny veal crates too small for them even to turn around in.
The current high demand for dairy products requires that cows be pushed beyond their natural limits, genetically engineered and fed growth hormones in order to produce huge quantities of milk. Even the few farmers who choose not to raise animals intensively must both eliminate the calf (who would otherwise drink the milk) and eventually send the mother off to slaughter after her milk production wanes.

"I know a vegetarian who is unhealthy."

There are healthy and unhealthy vegetarians. But doctors agree that vegetarians who eat a varied, low-fat diet stand a much better chance of living longer, healthier lives than their meat-eating counterparts.

"I didn’t kill the animal."

No, but you hired the killer. Whenever you purchase meat; that means that the killing was done for you and you paid for it.

"If you were starving on a boat at sea, and there were an animal on the boat, would you eat the animal?"

I don’t know. Humans will go to extremes to save their own lives, even if it means hurting someone innocent. (People have even killed and eaten other people in such situations.) This example, however, isn't relevant to our daily choices. For most of us, there is no emergency and no excuse to kill animals for food.

"It’s okay to eat eggs because chickens lay them naturally. The eggs we buy in the supermarket are sterile and not unborn fetuses."

This is true, but the real cruelty of egg production lies in the treatment of the "laying hens" themselves, who are perhaps the most abused of all factory-farmed animals. Each egg from today’s factory farms represents 22 hours of misery for a hen packed in a cage the size of a filing cabinet drawer with up to five other chickens. Cages are stacked many tiers high, and faeces from cages above fall onto the chickens below. Hens become lame and develop osteoporosis from forced immobility and calcium lost to produce egg shells. Some birds’ feet grow around the wire cage floors; they starve to death because they are unable to reach the food trough. At just two years old, most hens are "spent" and they are sent to the slaughterhouse. Egg-laying hatcheries don’t have any use for male chicks; they are killed by suffocation, decapitation, crushing, or are ground up alive.

[Tehuti-4]

Very comprehensive and holistic breakdown of this subject. Tua Atef!!!

[Earth]

In the Spirit of the ancestors, I say Peace

I bless your spirit, for you in-depth coverage of a subjects most of or people try to avoid. You have given me more reasons to add to my long list of why the African person should not eat me. Bless you King

The ancestors have blessed and so it is…

[BlakWolf]

every time i come in to this place i learn something new and beneficial to me...

thank you for bringing this information......

this is definite proof that being a vegetarian is more beneficial that eating meat


thank you

[Nesayem]

Peace,
Thank you so much for this knowledge. I'm going to send this to a few people.