Can Eating Less Meat Help Our Health and Save the Planet?

As I was eating my breakfast this morning, I was chewing on something else—how our consumption of meat is affecting our health and the health of the planet. It’s possible that this will make your eyes glaze over and prompt you to quickly switch to reading something else, but please give me just a minute—I promise, I’ll be quick.

I watched a documentary last night, which made me re-consider my decision lately to start eating meat again after becoming a vegetarian a couple of years ago. I wasn’t unhealthy when I decided to restrict meat, but I did experience fatigue and some digestive symptoms. I also had high blood pressure, for which I have taken medication for years.

Within a few weeks of cutting out all meat, and reducing dairy, I felt much more energetic and my blood pressure became and stayed normal. However, I worried about not getting enough protein, essential micro-and macro nutrients for good health—I continually heard about this, and although those concerns have since been debunked, (although you do need a supplement for B12) they were a factor in my beginning to add meat to my diet. Although I am still healthy after several months of eating meat, I notice that I’m very tired after meals, and have lost the ability to walk long distances, something I could easily do as a vegetarian.

Equally important is what meat-eating consumption is doing to the environment. The following research, reported by Chatham House and The Conversation, is especially frightening:

*Livestock farming contributes up to 18% of human produced greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. This is more than all emissions from ships, planes, trucks, cars and all other transport put together. 

**To produce one kilogram of beef requires 25 kilograms of grain to feed the animal and roughly 15,000 liters of water.

***At the production level, industrial livestock farming relies heavily on antibiotic use to accelerate weight gain and control infection – in the US, 80% of all antibiotics are consumed by the livestock industry. 

The statistics above are alarming, but the benefits of a plant-based diet, if adopted by a large segment of the world community, are many. Imagine the huge tracts of land now devoted world-wide to ugly feed lots, being converted to green spaces. Imagine less congestion, and cleaner air. And don’t forget the economic benefits. Some researchers have estimated that the economic benefits of dietary change could be as much as $700 Billion-$1 Trillion per year in terms of savings on healthcare costs and lost working days due to ill health.

I’m not going to pretend that eating vegetarian is easy. But making small changes gradually, will make it more manageable. Even a slight modification, say having one meat-free dinner a week, will make a difference.

I’m aware that vegetarians have a bad rap—often accused of sounding elitist and superior,—but I try to get beyond that. When I was a vegetarian I used to say, when asked, that I was simply cutting down on meat—that made it easier for others to accept. Both our health as we age, and climate change demand urgent attention, and it seems worthwhile to me to make the effort. The livestock industry affects the quality of our air, water and land. It seems to me that these are compelling enough reasons to push for changes in our consumption.

After seeing the documentary (Say No to Meat) and doing research for this article, I’ve been doing some thinking about this. Sign me up! I’ve decided to resume my vegetarian habits.

The following reference the studies and reports used in this article. Asterisks are used to separate the points made:

• *United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 2006, Chatham House, Royal Institute of International Affairs, 2014
• **Livestock-Climate Change’s Forgotten Sector, Bailey, Froggatt, Wellesley, 2014The Restore our Planet Diet, Patricia Tallman, 2015
• ***Summary Report on Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed for Use in Rood-Producing Animals, 2014