In 2012, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated that Americans ate an average of 52.3 pounds of beef, 57.4 pounds of chicken, and 43.5 pounds of pork, a year per person. Vegetarians, on the other hand, do not eat meat. The USDA includes meat as part of a balanced diet, but it also states that a vegetarian diet can meet the recommended dietary allowances for nutrients.

Many vegetarian people say that eating meat harms health, wastes resources, causes deforestation, and creates pollution. It is often argued that killing animals is inhuman and cruel. There are plenty of non-animal food products to eat.

Animals are sentient beings that have emotion and social connections. Scientific studies show that cattle, pigs, chickens, and all warm blooded animals can experience fear, stress, and pain. In the US, about 35 million cows, 115 million pigs, and 9 billion birds are killed for food each year. These animals should not have died for an unnecessary dietary preference. That is awful. Animals have feelings too. Why would you slaughter and eat something with a living soul. It’s almost like eating another human.

Not only does being a vegetarian help our animals, but it is also good for your health. According to the American Dietetic Association, a vegetarian diet can meet protein requirements, provide all the essential amino-acids, and improve health. It can also provide all the necessary vitamins, fats, and minerals, and can also improve ones health. According to the USDA and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, meat is not necessary for a healthy diet.

To top things off, meat isn’t really that good for you. For one thing, it’s fatty and greasy but another thing; studies have linked the heme iron found in red meat with an increased risk of colon and rectal cancer. Vegetarian sources of iron like leafy greens and beans contain non-heme iron. Also, a vegetarian diet helps build healthy bones because vegetarians absorb more calcium than meat eaters. Plus, a vegetarian diet lowers the risk of heart disease. Studies show that vegetarians are up to 40% less likely to develop cancer than meat eaters.

Vegetarianism is also good for the environment. About 70% of the 11 western states are grazed by livestock. Grazing has been a factor in the listing of 171 species under the Endangered Species Act. It has damaged 80% of streams and riparian areas in the western United States. 85% of US land used for grazing livestock is not suitable for farming. Abstaining from meat would help in the restoration of vast US lands more naturally suited to provide habitat for native plants and animals. Also, a vegetarian diet conserves water. It takes about 2,500 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef, and about 660 gallons to make a pound of chicken. It only takes about 220 gallons to make a pound of tofu and 180 to make a pound of wheat flour.

A vegetarian diet is not only good for you but it is also is good for the environment. Next time you bite into a Quarter Pounder from McDonalds, you should think about the cow that was killed for it.