| Brochure: Go Veggie! |  |
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Go Veggie!
...For the Animals
...For the Earth
...For Yourself!
Have you noticed? Your local restaurant now has vegetarian selections on the menu . . . the newspaper has a weekly vegetarian column . . . vegetarian cookbooks are best-sellers. About 15 million Americans consider themselves vegetarian, and this number is increasing. A vegetarian is someone who does not eat the flesh of animals- chickens, cows, pigs, fish, horses, lobsters, ostrich, or other animals. An estimated 500,000 Americans are vegans. A vegan diet is free of all animal products, including eggs and milk. People become vegetarian or vegan for a variety of reasons- to be healthier, to help animals, to preserve the environment, for religious reasons, etc. In many countries, vegetarian meals are common. In fact, vegetarianism has been a way of life for many people for centuries. Health
Health is often the biggest motivation for people to choose a diet without animal products. A diet high in meat, eggs and
dairy products has been linked to heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, and some forms of cancer. Antibiotics and
hormones fed to livestock, as well as pesticide residue, often are passed on to consumers of meat and dairy products. Fish can
also have high levels of pollutants, like PCBs. The risk of food poisoning- E.coli and Salmonella- from eating animal products is
an additional concern.
It is not difficult to get ample amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and other vital nutrients from a vegetarian or vegan diet.
For example, calcium for strong bones can be found in calcium-rich vegetables and in fortified foods. The proper daily
amount of iron is easily found in beans, lentils, dates and other foods. A good rule to follow is to eat enough calories each day
from a wide variety of foods, including vegetables, beans, fruits, nuts, whole grains and pasta, and soy products like tofu.
A vegetarian or vegan diet can be an empowering and exciting choice. Virtually any meat-based dish can be prepared with
vegetables or soy substitutes. Try cheeseless pizza with lots of vegetables and extra sauce. Foods like burritos, pasta dishes
and soups are often naturally meatless. Restaurants like Indian, Chinese, Thai, Italian and Mexican have numerous vegetarian
selections, or ask at your favorite restaurant for meatless options. Add variety to your diet. Enjoy traditional favorites or
explore new vegan foods. There's never been a better time to Go Veggie!
If you are concerned about the environment, a switch to a vegetarian diet should be an obvious step. Animal agriculture
pollutes the air, soil and water. Did you know that livestock (such as cows, chickens and turkeys, goats and sheep) now
outnumber humans 3 to 1? With this in mind, it is not surprising that livestock production uses incredible amounts of water:
more than half of all water consumed in the U.S.! These animals produce millions of pounds of excrement every day, making
livestock production also the largest polluter of water in the U.S. A broken waste lagoon at a North Carolina hog farm
destroyed farmland, lakes and rivers in an entire county. Raising animals for food is responsible for 75% of the topsoil loss in
this country. Worldwide, cattle ranching has been responsible for destruction of rainforests. The production of meat not only
destroys and pollutes the Earth, it is an unnecessary and wasteful use of scarce resources, farmland and food.
For many people who love animals, the institutionalized cruelty and unnecessary killing of animals for food is all the reason
needed to become vegetarian, or better yet, vegan. When people order meat at a restaurant, or purchase meat at the
supermarket, the slaughterhouse is most likely the last thing they are thinking of. Bloody slaughterhouses, crowded feedlots,
abusive livestock haulers, and nightmarish factory farms are the realities of meat.
The numbers are staggering. An estimated 8 billion animals are killed for food each year in the United States. This number
does not include fish!
In today's modern factory farms, where meat, dairy products and eggs are produced, animals are treated like machines.
Within days of birth, pigs are separated from their mothers, and have their tails cut off; males are castrated. Pigs are kept in
stalls so tiny that they cannot turn around. Chickens used for egg production are stuffed into wire cages for their entire lives-
they can never stretch their wings. Intensive milk production maximizes yield for profit, at the expense of the cow, whose
male calves are sold to become veal, and who herself will end up one day at the slaughterhouse. These animals never get a
breath of fresh air until they are crowded onto trucks, headed for slaughter.
Animal Rights Foundation of Florida |
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