Like a Pathogen!

Vegetarianism is spreading.

Once thought of as a fringe, hippie group, veggies are becoming more mainstream.  The increase in factory farming has lured many an animal-lover/moral crusader over to the plant side.  Environmental impacts of factory farming have baited many ecologists and "greenies."  But one of main attractions of vegetarianism for many people has nothing to do with global warming, or ethics for that matter - it has to do with health.
Once thought of as a fringe, hippie group, veggies are becoming more mainstream.  The increase in factory farming has lured many an animal-lover/moral crusader over to the plant side.  Environmental impacts of factory farming have baited many ecologists and "greenies."  But one of main attractions of vegetarianism for many people has nothing to do with global warming, or ethics for that matter - it has to do with health.

Meat, in general, has less calories than not-meat.  I myself like to indulge every once-in-a-while with a good, ole fashioned, humongous burrito from chipotle. This tasty monstrosity I like to get with all the fixins’ that one wants in a burrito – obviously a tortilla, and rice and beans (black ones please!), but then also the fajita mix (onions and peppers), pico de gallo, tamatillo salsa, guacamole, sour cream, lettuce, and let’s not forget extra cheese…mmm! Now that is one tasty meal, albeit ginormous, meal…and I am madly in love with it.  However, this particular burrito happens to be a special splurge in my diet for me, not because it holds a whopping 970 calories and 45 grams of fat, but because after I eat a burrito that is almost a thousand calories, I feel like it is nap-time for the next day and a half.

Now just imagine what adding meat would do! If you add steak, you are adding 190 calories, and 7 more grams of fat, which, in a thousand calorie burrito, doesn’t make too much of a difference, does it? Does it??
Ahh but it does.  Meat is dense in protein, fats, and saturated fats, which means the breakdown of it takes a longer time.  Which is GREAT if you are hunting wooly mammoths and need that mammoth burrito to keep your body running until your tribe gets around to finding another wooly mammoth - but what’s not so great is if you eat that mammoth burrito for your 3 geometrically shaped meals a day.

To get down to it, most people would be just fine if they cut meat out of their diets. “Meh,” you say. “Why does it even matter?”

I’ll tell you why! Because more meat consumed means more meat produced…supply and demand at its very core.  More people want meat, more meat is made for them.  This means more greenhouse gasses from cow farts…n cow farts contain the deadly chemical…METHANE! Ok, so it’s not deadly, but it is 23% more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide, and it smells bad.  Not a good combination. 

Methane bad, ozone in ozone layer good! Keep bad methane away! Eating less meat equals less cows for meat! Which means less greenhouse gasses! And less factory farming! And less cow farts!

The moral of the story is that if you eat less meat, the world will smell better, obviously.

Happy Eating!