Hello everyone
Does veganism come with health issues? Is it sustainable? And does
vegetarianism change anything? - We're going to be comparing three different
diet types: veganism, vegetarianism, and a mixed diet, in multiple categories.
This post is structured into the following sections:
- human rights
- health
- area needed
- animal rights
- greenhouse gas emissions
- Which diet is the best?
- Image and text sources
Warning: There are no graphic images in this post. However, in the 'human
rights' and 'animal rights' sections, there are descriptions of physical and
mental abuse towards both humans and animals. Skip those sections, if you know
you can't deal with that.
Human rights
This may seem like an unrelated topic at first, but in many industries, the
rights of people in poorer countries are abused because it's cheaper for the
company to have workers in a country with a low min. wage than to have
workers in a country with a high min. wage. However, this means that the
workers are paid very little and this will often come hand in hand with
child labour. So this is a very important subject to discuss.
So the industry that we need to look at first is the meat industry.
So the industry that we need to look at first is the meat industry.
Meat industry
There have been allegations of human rights abuse in the U.S. meat industry
in a report Blood, Sweat, and Fear: Workers' Rights in U.S. Meat and Poultry Plants
from Human's rights watch. Other reports also describe terrible work environments, being convinced
to not report injuries, no proper training, and additional injuries due to
performing the same motions over and over again. As the human rights watch
said in this article:
Workers often do not receive compensation for workplace injuries because companies fail to report injuries, delay and deny claims, and take reprisals against workers who file them.
The meat packaging industry also seems to be a big problem, with reports of
undocumented workers from other countries being exploited. There are no unions
to protect the workers.
Fish industry
There have been reports of fishing industries in Thailand getting immigrant
workers from poorer countries to work for them instead of raising the pay
for their already existing workers. This industry has become known for human
trafficking, child labour, and forced labour. Again this comes with the
problem of violence and injuries not being reported. Workers can even be
deprived of basic human needs like showers and meals. Over 94% of the crew
has no contract according to this Greenpeace graphic, with workers being beaten if they did not do as told.
Crop industry
There are multiple allegations of human rights abuse in the crop industry.
Here are a couple:
- An anonymous farm worker reported trafficking set up over borders and was promised a different job to the one they received, with bad living and working conditions.
- We've already talked about this one in our palm oil post. Workers in Indonesia undergo false promises of high wages, getting caught in dept, trafficking, being beaten, having their passports taken, no maternity leave, unsafe equipment, no sick days & child labour.
- Reports of bad working conditions and exploitation in the wheat industry.
Summary
In this section, there is no real winner. The dairy industry seems to be the
only one where there are very few reports however we may never truly know what
goes on behind closed doors. It is important to mention that although there
are more allegations in the crop industry, the meat and dairy industry both,
at least partially, rely on the crop industry to feed their animals. In
conclusion, in the area of human rights, almost every industry does have some
major problems that need addressing.
Health
This is a big topic. When it comes to vegetarianism and veganism, many people
worry about the impact that these diets could have on your health.
Red meat
Red meat is an important source of multiple different vitamins and minerals
and is a source of protein. However multiple studies have shown that eating
red meat seems to increase the risk of heart disease, chest cancer, and type 2
diabetes. Although this seems to be more like when it comes to processed
meats.
White meat
Studies have very different opinions on this matter. Some claim that white
meat is just as bad or even worse than red meat, while others say that white
meat is far better than red meat. When it comes to claims that it is bad for
your health, normally the same things are said about red meat and that eating
white meat can lead to early death.
Dairy
The standard sentence of 'more milk gives you stronger bones' is now very
controversial and scientists are having a hard time working out whether dairy
is good for you or not. Diary contains calcium and protein, which are both
good for you. However, there are other sources for this and alarming studies
have shown that dairy intake might contribute to breast and prostate cancer.
At the same time, some studies show the exact opposite, so it is quite hard to
work out what's true and what isn't.
Summary
Again it is quite hard to tell which is the best. However, the general
understanding is that too much meat/dairy is bad for you and that most people
eat too much. There are some things that you can only get from meat, for
instance, B12. However, there are some vegan sources for these and if you
don't have any other options then there are supplements for pretty much
everything. It is also worth mentioning that if it weren't for the animal
industry, we wouldn't be dealing with COVID-19 and many other viruses.
Area needed
This is an important topic. With the world population growing at alarming
rates, we need food sources that take up as little space as possible.
70% of the world's agricultural land is used for meat, dairy, and other animal
products. This is because cattle require a lot of land for grazing and land is
also required to grow animal feed. However, when looking at how much protein
we get from animal products, although different sources vary massively, most
seem to agree that we only get about one-third of our protein from animal
products. So basically we use 70% of our agricultural land but only get about
33% of our protein from it. The meat industry is also responsible for the
majority of the deforestation in the amazon rainforest.
Animal rights
This is where veganism and vegetarianism become a lot more appealing than an
omnivore diet.
Beef, Pork & Chicken
There are multiple reports of the mistreatment of animals in the meat industry
including:
- branding
- being left to die of starvation
- being left to freeze to death
- being beaten
- implanted with hormones
- stunned
- being strung upside down while still conscious
- being boiled alive
- not enough space to lie down or move
- testicles being ripped out while conscious without painkillers
- tails cut off while conscious
- no vets for the sick or injured
- females being constantly forced to give birth and then being separated from their young
- piglets being thrown across the room
- spread of diseases
Dairy
Dairy cows are treated appallingly and live in terrible conditions. There
are 2.5 million dairy cows in the UK alone and far too many of them have
spent their entire lives in a barn or factory. The milk adverts with happy
cows walking across a massive open pasture with enough grass and enough
shade are just not true. Some cows have never even seen daylight.
To produce milk, a cow must be pregnant. So the cows are impregnated. After
months of pregnancy (during which she will be kept in an enclosure so small
that it's hard to lie down), she gives birth to her calf. The calf will be
separated from her within the first few hours. If it is a female, it may
survive, but only to be raised for the same fate as her mother. If it's a
male, it will most likely be shot in the head and/or left to die.
The mother will be attached to a machine that will take her milk. Once she
stops producing milk, the whole cycle starts again. Of course, at some point
she will be too old, then she will be killed and used for cheap meat or
leather.
Summary
It is quite clear, that when it comes to animal abuse veganism and
vegetarianism are the way forward.
Greenhouse gas emissions
In our last section, we are going to be comparing the greenhouse gas emissions
in the agricultural industry. More than a third of all emissions come from
food production and according to a guardian article, 57% of all greenhouse
gases in the food sector come from the meat industry, whereas only 29% of the
food sector comes from plant-based food production. Beef is the biggest
producer followed by cow milk. It is also worth mentioning that many of the
emissions due to beef and cow milk are methane, which is much worse than
CO2.
So which diet is the best?
More factors play into this and in some cultures, it is much harder to be
vegetarian or vegan, unfortunately, it is often more expensive. However, from
what we've looked at today, we need to cut down on meat and dairy, especially
looking at the animal abuse section.
Your Green World Blog Team💚
Images:
Title image: This image is owned by a blog editor.
Workers on fishing boat:
This image, owned by
ILO Asia-Pacific (on flickr.com), is licensed under
CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Palm oil worker: This image, owned by ILO Asia-Pacific (on flickr.com), is licensed
under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Amazon rainforest:
This image, owned by
Stephen Bové (on flickr.com), is licensed
under
CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Text sources:
Human rights - meat industry
Human rights - fish industry
Human rights - crop industry
- https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/25/us-farms-made-200m-human-smuggling-labor-trafficking-operation
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHreDVWW0Fo https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/11/key-facts-about-palm-oil/ https://independentmediainstitute.org/palm-oil-the-ingredient-behind-human-rights-abuses-and-eco-destruction-thats-probably-in-your-home-right-now/
- https://www.healabel.com/wheat-benefits-and-side-effects/
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