JaLon Williams

Immortality Paper
Professor Graham
2/27/2017
Why its immoral to eat meat.

Eating meat has never been a necessity to survive. Many people would like to believe it is

that they can continue to feed needlessly, not considering the terribleness that comes with it.

Animals are mistreated and no one bats and eye because it is the cycle of life. They are forced to

consume drugs like antibiotics to make animals grow faster and to keep them alive in the

unsanitary conditions. Some animals are even genetically modified to grow larger because what

family man doesnt love a large chicken breast on his plate at dinner, right? In the food industry

some animals have especially heinous living quarters as they are made to stay in small cages

jam-packed sheds, [or] crowded, filthy feedlots. (Peta, Factory Farming: Misery for

Animals) They are slaughtered without a moments thought to fill the belly of man who does

not need but wants to taste flesh.

The consumption of meat can also affect your heart negatively, even recently another link

was found between red meat and the development of heart disease.
Researchers have found that when we eat red meat, there is a set of reactions mediated

by microbes in our gut. These gut microbe reactions are triggered by carnitine, a nutrient found

in red meat. The study found that these reactions, which were previously unrecognized,

contribute to the development of heart disease. (Heart and Vascular team, Researchers Find

New Link Between Red Meat and Heart Disease (Video)) This article also states a quote said by

Dr. Stanley Hazen, Stanley Hazen, MD, PhD, Vice Chair of Translational Research for the

Lerner Research Institute and Section Head of Preventive Cardiology & Rehabilitation.
These studies do offer some powerful reasons to consider dropping or limiting red meat.

Its important to talk to your doctor. He or she can advise you based on your personal health
history and individual heart disease risk. (Heart and Vascular team, Researchers Find New

Link Between Red Meat and Heart Disease (Video)) However opposite of this, excluding meat

from your diet and turning to vegetarianism can actually lower your risk of heart disease.
The American Heart Association says vegetarian diets may lower high blood pressure

and coronary heart disease because plant-based diets tend to be lower in cholesterol, saturated

fat, and total fat. (Coleman, Advantages of Vegetarianism)

Knowing the pain and suffering these animals went through before being slaughtered

churns my stomach. It isnt right to rob an animal of its life just to serve it on a platter when the

positive effects can be found elsewhere. Beans, nuts, and spinach all contain protein as do many

other non-flesh foods. There are other benefits such as reduced cancer risk, lower risk of

diabetes, and body weight lost, but despite that only 5% of America consider themselves

vegetarians according to a 2014 review in the journal Nutrients (Coleman, Advantages of

Vegetarianism)
If cutting meat from our diet can actually strengthen our body why make the conscious

choice to keep consuming meat at the risk of deteriorating your own health?
It is morally wrong to needlessly consume animals who have been tortured. We even go

so far as to eat at a rate that harms our own bodies. There are other ways that must be considered

because meat is not, nor will it ever be, a necessity to survive.

McClees, Heather. "Why We Dont Need to Eat Animals to Be Healthy." One Green

Planet. N.p., 18 Dec. 2014. Web. 26 Feb. 2017. http://www.onegreenplanet.org/natural-

health/why-we-dont-need-to-eat-animals-to-be-healthy/
"Factory Farming: Misery for Animals." PETA. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.

http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/factory-farming/
L.D., Erin Coleman R.D. "Advantages of Vegetarianism." LoveToKnow. N.p., 18 Dec.

2016. Web. 26 Feb. 2017. http://vegetarian.lovetoknow.com/Advantages_of_Vegetarianism

 Team, Heart And Vascular. "Researchers Find New Link Between Red Meat and Heart

Disease (Video)." Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic. N.p., 14 July 2015. Web. 26 Feb.

2017. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/2014/11/researchers-find-new-link-between-red-meat-

and-heart-disease-video/