By Christina Fermin
Politics & Society Columnist
I have been a vegetarian for almost 4 years, and I must say I do not regret it at all. There are many reasons why I become a vegetarian, but it mostly has to do with health purposes. Like many of you I never dreamed of becoming a vegetarian, it just kind of happened. I was an avid carnivore and loved my pork, steaks and hamburgers, and very much disliked anything that was considered "rabbit food". Growing up in a Latin househould I ate meat 4-5 days a week and loved every minute of it. When I went to my family and told them I was a vegetarian it was quite shocking.
It all started a few years ago when there was a lot of talk about hormones in chickens, pigs and cows, from there I began doing my own research. I saw the disgusting practices used by corporations who slaughtered 10 billion animals a year to feed the carnivores of this country. That numbered staggered me and when I learned about the process of how the meat, poultry and fish was bagged and shipped it horrified me. I must say I am an animal lover and I could never imagine doing such a practice to a loved pet.
Aside from the killing practices of these slaughter houses, I delved deeper into our meat eating culture. It surprised me to learn that our ancestors did not eat meat as much as we thought they did, especially in the hunter-gatherer days, our ancestors spent more time eating fruits, vegetables, and nuts, the likelihood of capturing an animal to eat was minimal. Many health problems today can be attributed to poor diet and too much red meat, such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, impotence, kidney disease, osteoporosis, hypertension, obesity and the list goes on.
If you are as dedicated to go green and reducing your carbon footprint as I am, you do not necessarily have to become a vegetarian. You can try meatless Mondays, a concept that encourages you to prepare a meal a week that does not include meat. It is amazing how reducing your meat intake to 1 day a week will drastically reduce your carbon footprint.
Here in the U.S. we use a very unsustainable method of animal farming, so much so that there is a huge problem in properly disposing of animal waste which eventually finds its way into our streams, rivers and drinking water. This causes all sorts of havoc on the environment which affects our daily lives. In South America, the Amazon rainforest is being cut down by hundreds of acres a minute to produce land for cows so that the U.S. can serve burgers in our fast food chains.
Because of our over consumption of meat, we now face the horrors from deforestation, the effects of the hormones that go into these animals to grow faster, agrochemicals to make feed for them, waste created by 10 billion animals yearly, fuel used to transport the animals, and imagine the energy that you consume from such an outdated inhumane practice. If you are going to eat meat go with Organically grown offerings and shop local farmers markets to reduce that carbon footprint. Protect yourself and your family and go vegetarian a few days a week. You will not only feel better, you will look better, younger and you will be doing your body a favor.
Since I have become a vegetarian I have noticed that I look better, feel better, have more energy, and I have changed for the better. Yes there are times where I see a nice juicy steak and wish that I could have a bite, but then I am reminded of why I did this. I cannot imagine being a part of an industry that slaughters 10 billion animals a year, and I would be devasted if I were to get a disease like diabetes. I now have a love affair with vegetables and eat things that I never thought I would eat, since becoming a vegetarian I have influenced others to do so or influenced others to be more aware of what they eat. It comes down to being aware of your actions and understanding how they impact the world around you. What better way of making the world a better place than to have the power of deciding what goes into your body.
Peace & Harmony,
Christina
About the Columnist
With a bachelors degree in political science from Florida Atlantic University, Christina Fermin has always cultivated her love for history, politics, sociology, ancient knowledge and teachings, the outdoors, the ocean and the environment. Christina strives to make our world better by helping us all create a new reality and understanding of all taking place here and now.
1 comments:
I'll stop eating meat when the Lion lies with the Lamb.
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