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| quote: | Originally posted by DaveSaenz
I see where you're comming from with that line of thinking, but if you follow it to its logical conclusion, you'd have to conclude that any form of agriculture is inherently "unnatural." So are you then advocating that we return to hunter/gatherer status?  Are you going to tell an Inuit who depends on hunting whale for his or her survival that they should stop because you consider it immoral?
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My argument was not that we shouldn't do unnatural things. Rather that killing is by nature immoral and can only be justified by true necessity. My point there was that the "natural" argument to justify eating animal is completely useless and rests on no basis of logic. Im really not going to get into a debate about natives right now. But I will say that they have much more of a necessity then people elsewhere do.
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I'm having trouble thinking of an example of how the farming of animals for human consumption "destroy(s) the world in which we live" other than the obvious environmental impact caused by the concentration of animal feces which can runoff into creeks and rivers etc. This has become a problem mainly only in the past two or three decades though with the explosion of commercial livestock farming. In days gone by, when there was less livestock in a larger space, the land was better able to absorb the waste from the livestock. As for the argument that it "creates more powerful diseases," there is the danger of accelerating the process of creating antibiotic-resistant microbes from giving livestock antibiotics, but if this practice were abandoned it would become a non-issue. So in reality, the real problem is with the demise of small family-owned farms and the rise of powerful commercial livestock farms. You could also make the argument about the risk of new variant CJV (mad cow-like disease in humans) from eating meat, but this is extremely rare. In fact I don't believe there have been any reported cases of this in humans in the US (I have no idea about Canada or Mexico).
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Firstly I will point to a few poignant examples of how habitat is being destroyed by animal farming. One good one is Central American rainforests. Since 1960 nearly a quarter of them have been cut down to support animal farming. Also in Mexico, a 7,000 square mile area of the Gulf of Mexico has become so polluted by animal waste from farming that it can no longer support most marine life.
those are just two examples, their are many many more.
As far as creating anti-biotic resistant bacteria, its true that it is almost exclusively a problem created by unnecesary antibiotic use. However we are using the practical example where this happens and it doesnt look like its going to stop. We can debate for hours about whether it is simply the methods or not, but regardless in this world right now and likely in the future this is a problem.
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On the other hand, commercial farm or not, growing crops such as corn and wheat take up much more land (i.e. destroy more natural habitat) than is needed for purely livestock farming. In terms of "detroying the world" through environmental impact all agriculture is harmful, and you can't merely single out livestock farming. |
Actually this is VERY VERY wrong. To produce one pound of animal takes around 16 pounds of vegetables. One quote I like from the World Watch Institute, a think tank in Washinton was
“There are few more inefficient ways to produce protein than through beef production. The grain needed to provide a family of four with just one serving of hamburgers could feed someone in a developing country for over a week.”
I can clearly single out livestock farming simply because of the amount of land that is required. It also takes around 100 times the water that it takes to grow vegetables.
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I'm sure you've heard of the controversial "protein" diet made popular by the late Dr. Atkins. My dad has been following this diet for perhaps 6 months now, and he was recently able to go off of his high blood pressure medication completely after taking it for 20+ years. He's also lost quite a bit of weight and seems to be in great shape. I think the optimal diet for each individual will probably vary according to their body type, so it's a matter of finding what is best for you.
As a sidenote, I've gotten food poisoning twice from eating produce, but never meat.   |
This is one isolated example. Your odds of getting cancer, heart disease and so on are greatly increased by eating meat.
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If anyone can get me the following records please contact me:
DJ Tiesto - Battleship Grey (Miro remix)
Tilt - Invisible (Tilt's human mix)
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