Top 5 Reasons NOT to Eat Beef

A year ago, I lowered my meat consumption by not eating red meat anymore. I do still eat poultry and seafood, but since I stopped eating beef and pork, I have definitely lowered my meat digestion. Here are the top five reasons to stop eating beef, inspired by PETA’s list. 

1) Beef has a high fat content, much higher than a turkey or soy product.


All beef products have "artery-clogging cholesterol and saturated fat... it is a good way to increase both your waistline and your chances of developing impotence and diseases" and "research has shown that vegetarians are 50 percent less likely to develop heart disease than are meat-eaters, and they have 40 percent of the cancer rate of meat-eaters,” according to PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

2) It is useless to feed cows grains and other crops when those crops could be fed to poor families. There are over 1.02 billion people currently suffering from world hunger (www.worldhunger.org). 

3) Beef production is one of the largest causes of deforestation in the Amazon. Cattle ranchers must burn many acres of land to create new ranches. The trees and plants being burned may never grow back again, depriving the world of much-needed oxygen. 

4) The thousands of cows in massive factory farms produce huge amounts of waste, which seeps into lakes and rivers close to the farms, infecting the fish and killing many other life such as plants and micro-organisms. The horrid stench pollutes the air around the factory farm and thins the ozone layer even more. According to GoVeg.com, a website by PETA, "Numerous studies and governmental reports have shown higher rates of miscarriages, respiratory problems, and neurological diseases among people who live near factory farms.” 

5) Cows in factory farms are crammed into crates and cages so small they cannot turn around. They are fed unnecessary huge quantities of food chock-full of harmful chemicals and hormones. Cows have their horns sliced off, tails chopped off, they are branded with scorching hot irons, all without the use of painkillers. Is that worth a steak or cheeseburger?