Meat-based diet unacceptable
Human body better suited for vegetarianism, ‘karma-free diets’

The subject of this column is something most Americans just don’t want to think about. It is hard. However, no matter how hard it is, it is important we are conscious of the decisions that we make regarding our health, our ethics and our spirituality.

Most Americans do not make a connection between the slaughter of a mammal and the meat that appears prepackaged in the grocery store. Most Americans do not want to think about the ethics of consuming meat, or the health hazards of a diet based on meat, but instead simply justify their daily animal sacrifice by saying that it is “convenient” or even “practical.” The purpose of this column is to prove that eating meat is neither convenient nor practical, but instead unhealthy, wasteful and sadistic.

There is a strong movement that advocates vegetarianism on spiritual grounds. For those who are interested in spiritual vegetarianism, I would recommend reading Gandhi, who said, “I feel that spiritual progress does demand at some stage that we should cease to kill our fellow creatures for the satisfaction of our bodily wants.”

However, spiritual beliefs are deep-rooted, and to advocate vegetarianism on spiritual grounds would seem to be argumentative suicide here in the West, where it is deeply held that mankind is given dominion over all of the beasts of the Earth. I know I am not going to change anybody’s ideas regarding religion and spirituality. They are just too deeply entrenched. Perhaps a more pragmatic argument would suffice.

Is the human body anatomically better suited for a vegetarian diet or a diet that includes meat?

Most importantly, one may ask whether humans have the capacity to effectively digest animal flesh. The answer to this question has a direct impact on the health of meat-eating humans. The fact is, the human alimentary canal (mouth to anus) is four times as long as a typical carnivore. Because of this, partial putrefaction of meat occurs as it is digested, releasing toxins into the blood stream and placing a heavy burden on the kidneys, which function to extract waste from the blood. The result of this is a high rate of kidney disease among those with a meat-based diet.

In addition, there are the effects of cholesterol and fats on the human body, which we are all familiar with. Carnivores in the wild have the ability to metabolize cholesterol and many fats that humans cannot. In humans, consumption of high levels of cholesterol and fats associated with meat leads to increased occurrence of arteriosclerosis, heart attacks, strokes and blood clots. The Journal of the American Medical Association states that 90 to 97 percent of heart disease (which results in over half of the deaths in the United States) could be prevented by a vegetarian diet.

There are also studies that have linked consumption of meat with the occurrence of certain cancers, especially due to the treatment of meats with dangerous carcinogenic chemical preservatives. There is also a known link between the consumption of meats and colon cancer. This is quite disgusting, so I will spare you the details of how the slow defecation of partially digested meats causes one’s colon to become irritated and swollen.

There are many additional reasons for one to adopt a karma-free diet. There are countless health benefits and many economic justifications that I have not explored in this column. Vegetarianism is economically beneficial to both the individual and the society as a whole.

Many believe that in order to become a vegetarian one must sacrifice taste in diet. Well, for those of you who believe this, I give an open invitation to join me at my apartment for dinner. I will cook a three-course meal that will blow your mind, with no meat at all.

Many believe that in order to become a vegetarian one must sacrifice health, especially protein. This is a fallacy. Beans, nuts and dairy products all contain more protein by weight than meat, without the sacrifice of an animal. The fact is, it is not difficult at all to justify vegetarianism. On the other hand, I challenge you to justify to yourself your choice to eat meat.

Zachary Norris is a senior biology major from Long Beach, Calif.
He can be reached at (pookyson@hotmail.com)

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