The nutritional needs of human beings has become a multimillion dollar market over the last 80 years. Diet pills, nutritional books, celebrity endorsements, prepackaged meals, all claiming to help you achieve the body you’ve always wanted and feel great while doing it. The media bombards us with photoshopped images of beautiful people attaching claims such as lose 5 pounds in your first week or you get your money back. But crash dieting and eating only certain food groups can only go so far, and is not sustainable by any means. This combined with the our government’s subsidies on the meat and dairy industry create a population obsessed with thinness, yet consuming food the not only clogs arteries and causes heart disease which was the leading cause of death last year (Center for Disease Control). How are the American people supposed to be able to differentiate healthy from unhealthy when our food pyramid tells us to consume fatty meats, dairy and oils? Is there any diet that can not only sustain the human body but allow it to perform at its prime? The ideal human diet for mental alertness, cardiovascular health and overall well being is a plant based diet low in saturated fats and animal products. 

From a biological standpoint, the human body is designed to thrive on a plant based diet rich in fruits, vegetables and nuts. Our jaw structure, teeth and digestion are designed to process plant based foods high in fiber. Beyond this, our digestive tract is about 9 times our body length and it takes about 12-18 hours for humans to digest a meal, which is in line with a typical fruitavore’s digestive system (Vegaprocity). This is because plant based food decays slowly and without the strong hydrochloric acid present in a carnivore’s digestive tract, extra length in the digestive tract is essential. Human’s also do not have the enzymes present to digest the raw meat, 

hooves and bones that carnivore’s would encounter on a daily basis. This is why humans have to cook their meat and cannot consume it raw or they become ill. It is also why the smell of uncooked meat is so unappealing to human, as to warn us that it can make us ill. So the question still remains, how did meat as a whole become so engrained in our culture and diet? The answer to this lies in our government’s outlook on the meat and dairy industry. 

Annually, the American government spends 38 billion dollars on subsidies to the meat industry (PETA). By comparison, the United States spends less than 0.04% of that amount (17 million annually) on fruit and vegetable subsidies (PETA). Most of this money goes to large farm-like corporations designed to produce cheap food filled with additives and hormones, not to your mom and pop home grower's farm you’d likely find at your local farmers market. These subsidies create a vicious cycle which grows big industry while pushing small businesses out of the market, effectively creating food monopolies. The common belief that healthy foods are expensive and can only be afforded by those in the 1% is completely incorrect. And in fact, if the government transferred even a small percentage of the money spent on the meat industry to vegetable or fruit farming, these foods would be available to the whole population for much cheaper than meat. 

Additionally, raising livestock requires feed for the animals to eat. Over the last fifty years global meat production has almost tripled from seventy eight million tons per year in 1963 to three hundred eight million tons per year (Meat and Animal Feed), with American consumption in fourth place. Livestock, and the land used to feed livestock, uses about 80% of all agricultural land. This shocking figure becomes even more dire when the calories versus land production are calculated. One of the worst culprits to date is beef. Roughly sixty percent of agricultural land dedicated to farming livestock is employed for cattle production with roughly one fifth of all greenhouse emissions coming from livestock based food production (Smithsonian). This includes the land used to raise cattle, their feed and production areas. Astoundingly, even with all the land used beef only accounts for 2% of the world’s calories (Meat and Animal Feed), rendering beef one of the most ‘wasteful’ caloric blackholes . To make matters worse, cattle production has the highest water footprint of any farm animal at around 15,414 litres (Meat and Animal Feed) per kilogram of meat. This is more than six thousand liters higher than the next offender, goat at 8,763 litres per kilogram produced (Meat and Animal Feed). Yet all livestock production dwarfs vegetable farming which on average which requires requires 322 litres of water per kilogram produced (Meat and Animal Feed), which is overall more sustainable long term for our environment, by providing the highest amount of calories per land used, and overall health of the earth. So even with all this information present why is beef still one of the most popular meats in the United States, with chicken only surpassing it’s popularity in 2012 (Huffington Post)? The answer lies in the way beef has been advertised throughout our culture’s history. 

One of the most distinctly red blooded ‘American’ meats is beef. Family barbeques, hamburgers and steaks all seem to scream red white and blue and play an intricate role of our conception of the American Dream. Throughout history meat has been the symbol of wealth and masculinity, and its perception in our society is no different. In prehistoric times, men who hunted were praised for their bravery and strength, and the calorie dense meat that fed their family reinforced that viewpoint. And as American’s why shouldn’t we consume what throughout history was regarded as a strong masculine food to represent our stance as a world superpower? As time progressed, our government took on a similar stance, which can be seen through checkoff taxes, such as playing farmers per head of cattle or pound of dairy produced and increased marketing campaigns such as “got milk” or “Pork the Other White Meat” (Meateconomics). These check off taxes incentivize farmers to produce more product, regardless of the quality, and the consumer still pays the price. The biggest winner in the game of government subsidies is the milk industry. Which because of check off taxes produced an excess of seven billion pounds of milk in a little over a year and a half (that’s an excess of forty seven servings of milk per person!) (Meateconomics) to receive more funds from the United States Department of Agriculture. All these checkoff taxes and excess advertising push farmers to lower the quality of meat and raise production. 

Subsidies and production aside, meat is still one of the cornerstones of most people’s diets. Meat contains nutrients vital to the human body such as B12, which is not found in commonly consumed plants (Authority Nutrition). Unprocessed meats are also loaded with healthy fats such as omega-3 that promote brain function help maintain a healthy liver. One of the most common reasons people eat meat or consume dairy is for the protein. Humans cannot produce the amino acids found in protein alone which is why they are a quintessential part of our diet. Most plant based sources of protein are not complete proteins, meaning they do not contain all nine essential amino acids to be properly digested and used by the human body. Yet all animal products containing protein are considered complete proteins, making a high animal derived protein diet attractive to people trying to gain muscle mass. Additionally, studies show that the consumption of protein is associated with lower risks of bone fractures and osteoporosis in old age (Authority Nutrition), which is appealing to America’s aging baby boomer population. 

Furthermore, since meat and dairy are so ingrained in our society it’s challenging to eat a plant based diet. Advertisements of fast food items and trendy diets such as paleo or ketogenic diets, which rely on animal product fats as their source of energy, are more mainstream than eating vegetarian or vegan are. Eating out for ‘meat eaters’ is a breeze compared to plant based dieters who are in a continuous loophole of asking the waiter if there’s animal products in their meal. Not to mention the price difference between paying four dollars for a Big Mac from McDonald’s, which will fill you up for hours versus a swanky salad that’ll probably be at least double the cost and barely make a dent in your appetite. So why even consider cutting meat out of your diet? 

First and foremost while the term “unprocessed meat” is present on the United States Department of Agriculture website, it is extremely loose marketing. For example if a product is labeled ‘free range’ it does not mean the animal was raised outside and grazed on a pasture, it simply means the animal “has been allowed access to the outside” (United States Department of Agriculture). Most meat found in supermarkets and restaurants is processed by chemical preservatives, which also causes it to lose some of its nutritional value. Another misleading fact about meat is the amount of protein it contains. When meat is cooked past 122 degrees fahrenheit the vital proteins inside the flesh begin to denature, lowering the nutritional value (Key Temperatures in Cooking), rendering most meat packaging labels incorrect. Milk, while filled with pus and hormones is also touted as one of the best sources of protein by the dairy industry. While milk does in fact contain protein, eight ounces contains only eight grams of protein and almost one hundred fifty calories. Yet, for the same one hundred fifty calories black beans contain nine grams of protein (Bush Beans), and do not carry the threat of intestinal discomfort that some people who are lactose intolerant experience with milk products. While meat is a complete protein there are countless of vegetarian options that provide the same benefits such as soy, quinoa and low cost combinations like rice and beans. While the added calcium in milk and protein in meats can attribute to strong bone structure, there are extensive plant based alternatives. Soybeans, fortified nut milks, broccoli and kale are just a few alternatives to animal sources of protein and are usually cheaper than the latter and are cruelty free and sans pus. Critics of a plant based diet will cite convenience as one of the cornerstones of their argument. While it is much easier to not think about what you’re putting into your body, awareness and body consciousness has grown exponentially in the last few years. This is evident through the introduction of vegetarian or vegan menu sections in restaurants, and even restaurants that are fully plant based. This combined with a growing movement to eat locally sourced food has driven up the popularity of eating a cruelty free plant based diet. 

When it comes to a diet as a whole the number one thing that should come to mind is sustainability. This is not only in regards to the Earth and how were affecting it long term, but in regards to our bodies as well. So, the question remains is meat sustainable? In short, no. In 1990 the World Hunger Program at Brown University discovered that if all land that was used for farming, including land that is used to produce grain for agricultural feed, the Earth could support six billion people, while a meat based westernized diet could only supported 2.4 billion people (Is Meat Sustainable). While these figures are a bit outdated they show the ridiculous amount of resources and the unsustainability that a carnivorous diet has on our planet. Additionally meat isn’t sustainable for our diet as humans. Eating meat, especially red meat, has extensive health consequences. A compound in red meat called carnitine has been found to harden and clog arteries. These blockages can then become loose and flow to the heart which can lead to a heart attack (Prevention). Red meat can also increase the chances of people developing type two diabetes, with more processed meats such as bacon or hot dogs increasing the risk by over fifty percent (Prevention). In addition, the additives present in meat are completely vile. Certain cheap ground cuts and fast food meats use “lean finely textured beef”, or more commonly known as pink slime. This additive is essentially fatty bits of leftover meat that’s heated, spun to remove any excess fat and then treated with ammonia to kill bacteria (Prevention). The pink slime is then added to meat as a filler, meaning it’s intent is to stretch the meat to enhance the margin of profit received by the meat production plant. This irresponsibility towards the American population by the meat industry is shocking and places a distrust in the general demeanor of meat consumption. People who consume plant based diets do not share the worries or concerns of becoming ill from diseases such as E Coli or worry about pink slime in their diet unlike their carnivorous companions. Research shows that even a reduction in meat consumption can increase lifespan by 3.6 years (Livestrong). Yet when researchers studied participants who took on a vegetarian diet which contained no meat at all, the findings were shocking. On average, males showed a longevity increase of 7.28 years, while women increased their lifespan by about 4.42 years (Life Extension). This is due to lower rates of heart attacks, obesity, certain cancers and other common first world killers that have arisen due to our gluttony and access to high saturated meaty foods. Additionally, the quality of life for plant based dieters remains higher due to the lower presence of chronic illness and higher reported overall wellbeing. 

Biologically speaking, humans are one of the most advanced creatures to walk the Earth. We have mastered farming, domesticating animals and have a complex socio economic caste system that dictates the way our world is run and functions. Yet one of our biggest vices to date is food, both in regards to production and consumption. As the most intelligent species, we have duties and responsibilities to fulfill. We owe it to this planet, and the animals that inhabit it, to take care of it and preserve it for future generations. Humanity can achieve this through sustainable farming and decreasing, or halting, meat production. Yet this can only happen if we change the way not only think about food, but the way it is produced. I do not necessarily believe mankind will just stop raising slaughtering helpless creatures without their consent at least at the moment because of its ingrained position in society, but I do believe that overtime whether it be because of lack of land to farm on or social incentives, first world countries such as American can be the catalase in a change from a society that uses meat as an indicator of wealth, to one that eat sustainably, cares about our environment and prepares for our future. 
