A healthy choice for your body and mind

There is a lot of deliberation as to whether the human body is meant to eat meat or not. There are arguments for both sides. Some say that our lack of sharp teeth is a sign that we are not meant to tear meat apart. Others argue that our stomach produces the enzymes needed to digest meat, so we are built to do so. Vegans adhere to the idea that just because you can kill an animal and eat it for your pleasure, does not mean that you should. To be vegan is to value the life of all living beings. It is very comforting to the mind to know that you are not contributing to the death of any animals. This does not mean that animals will not continue to be raised for food and killed, but it does mean that you are free from the guilt associated with that practice.

In the 1990s and early 2000's many issues arose around meat production. One of these was mad cow disease. This condition stems from feeding animal parts, in particular parts of cows, to other cows. This is cannibalism, and is a horrible practice. Mad cow disease took the lives of many people who were eating the tainted meat, and also resulted in thousands if not tens of thousands of cows being killed to prevent the spread of the disease. Cannibalism often finds its way into other aspects of animal farming. For instance, some chicken feed contains chicken beaks ground up in it. It does not take a genius to recognize the lack of moral and ethical standards in relation to this practice.

Similar mass killings were carried out with the scare of bird flu and swine flu. If these massive herds and flocks had not been assembled in the first place, this would not have been necessary.

Hormone injections are a regular occurrence in the meat production industry. Cows and chickens are given hormones to increase muscle mass and milk production. The person eating the meat then ingests these hormones. Added hormone levels within humans are being tested now as the cause of many illnesses including cancer. Later, after many more years of tests, chances are that serious long-term side effects will be discovered from the use of hormones in meat.

Antibiotics are also administered to livestock. This could possibly be resulting in the deficiency of the human immune system and hindering our ability to fight off illness. One can certainly hypothesize that most of our increased social health problems are a direct result of the engineering and manipulating of our food supplies.

The living conditions under which these animals are housed are certainly not the most humane. Although steps have been taken in recent years to improve these conditions, the resulting policies have done little to better the lives of the animals. The way in which these creatures are being treated, and the stress under which they reside, is certain to cause them misery. Who wants to eat anything that has been reared in misery?

The final part of this sad practice is the way that the animals are put to death. The slaughtering facilities show no concern for the final moments in the lives of these beings. Your mind and body are both much better served by knowing that you are not contributing to any of these negative, inhumane and irresponsible actions.

Many of the larger fast food chains have reported tainted meat recalls in the last many years. This has been international news and is a prime example of the lack of oversight that occurs on the production lines. By choosing to become a vegan you are not only protecting yourself from the harmful effects of these meats, you are also decreasing the demand for them to be produced in the first place.

Lastly, it has been documented that the workers in the animal processing factories have a track record of major injuries and death. The use of illegal immigrants as undocumented workers is a matter for the immigration authorities. Using undocumented workers allows these large companies to treat them without proper working conditions and to pay them much smaller amounts of money. When injured or killed on the job, these workers are not entitled to benefits that will keep their families protected.