Did Scientists Make A Discovery That Throws Vegetarianism Into Question? ~ Lol WTF r we suppose 2 eat ???
by Alanna Ketler.
University of Missouri researchers Heidi Appel and Rex Cocroft have been able to successfully demonstrate that plants are able to sense themselves being chewed and digested and even respond by sending defenses. Plants can feel pain.
Researchers placed caterpillars on thale cress, which is similar to cabbage and kale. They then placed lasers and a small mirror on the leafy greens to mimic the same vibrations that occur when the caterpillars feed on them. Then the scientists put actual caterpillars on the greens and found that the previous “vibrations to mimic feeding” caused an increase in levels of mustard oils – a chemical that repels many herbivorous insects -than would have been found on plants that had not been previously effected by the lasers.
Check out this video
Plants are more in tune with their environment and surroundings than previously believed, but this doesn’t mean that plants actually suffer in the way that animals do.
In fact, the idea for this article came from an article that was titled: “Scientists Made A Surprising Discovery Throwing Vegetarianism Into Question” with the opening sentence reading: “Meat eaters rejoice! You can finally tell your Vegetarian friends to get off their high horses.” Obviously, as someone who consumes a primarily plant-based diet, this rubbed me the wrong way. I’ll try to keep emotions aside, and just present the facts.
It takes about 13 pounds of grain to produce just 1 pound of meat. Which is much more than any Vegetarian or Vegan would be eating on a daily basis, and the majority of people who consume meat on a daily basis are consuming about 10 ounces of meat daily -about two-thirds of a pound. Now, I don’t believe that the vast majority of those here on planet Earth are evolved enough to live strictly on fresh air and sunlight at this time. So what’s the next best step?
I want to be clear about this next statement, I am not intending to shame anyone who eats meat. I even believe that some people do need some meat in their diet, but the keyword here is some. What a huge difference it would make in the world if people decided to simply eat less meat. If everyone stepped up to this challenge eventually over time, the meat could actually be sustainably produced and have way less of an impact on our environment. Many people are unaware of the massive environmental toll that is the direct result of daily meat consumption, read more about that here.
If everyone who is eating a lot of meat opted to consume it in moderation then less animals, (and in turn, less plants) would have to die. It’s a win-win for both situations. Perhaps it’s something we should all consider.
Much Love
Researchers placed caterpillars on thale cress, which is similar to cabbage and kale. They then placed lasers and a small mirror on the leafy greens to mimic the same vibrations that occur when the caterpillars feed on them. Then the scientists put actual caterpillars on the greens and found that the previous “vibrations to mimic feeding” caused an increase in levels of mustard oils – a chemical that repels many herbivorous insects -than would have been found on plants that had not been previously effected by the lasers.
Check out this video
What Does This Mean?
The plants actively responded to what they perceived as a threat by stimulating their defense system. Yes, plants have a defense system. It is no surprise that plants can be responsive to outside stimuli.Plants are more in tune with their environment and surroundings than previously believed, but this doesn’t mean that plants actually suffer in the way that animals do.
How This Relates To Vegetarianism
I’ve been seeing this argument quite often, that plants feel pain and even have defenses against being killed. The argument therefore, would make Vegetarians and Vegans just as “bad” or “inhumane” as the meat eaters because the plants are suffering as well.In fact, the idea for this article came from an article that was titled: “Scientists Made A Surprising Discovery Throwing Vegetarianism Into Question” with the opening sentence reading: “Meat eaters rejoice! You can finally tell your Vegetarian friends to get off their high horses.” Obviously, as someone who consumes a primarily plant-based diet, this rubbed me the wrong way. I’ll try to keep emotions aside, and just present the facts.
Why This Is An Invalid Argument
People must be forgetting that the animals they love to eat also have to eat. The majority –if not all, of what they eat is… you guessed it, plants. Cows for example, eat anywhere from 100-200lbs of plants daily. Sometimes it is grass, hay, corn, soybeans, etc. But all plants nonetheless.It takes about 13 pounds of grain to produce just 1 pound of meat. Which is much more than any Vegetarian or Vegan would be eating on a daily basis, and the majority of people who consume meat on a daily basis are consuming about 10 ounces of meat daily -about two-thirds of a pound. Now, I don’t believe that the vast majority of those here on planet Earth are evolved enough to live strictly on fresh air and sunlight at this time. So what’s the next best step?
I want to be clear about this next statement, I am not intending to shame anyone who eats meat. I even believe that some people do need some meat in their diet, but the keyword here is some. What a huge difference it would make in the world if people decided to simply eat less meat. If everyone stepped up to this challenge eventually over time, the meat could actually be sustainably produced and have way less of an impact on our environment. Many people are unaware of the massive environmental toll that is the direct result of daily meat consumption, read more about that here.
If everyone who is eating a lot of meat opted to consume it in moderation then less animals, (and in turn, less plants) would have to die. It’s a win-win for both situations. Perhaps it’s something we should all consider.
Much Love
Factory Farming Is Destroying Our Environment
by Alanna Ketler.
According
to the US Department of Agriculture nearly 10 BILLION animals are
raised and killed for food each year in the United States alone. While
there are multiple reasons for you to start cutting factory farmed
animals out of your diet, one of the most important reasons is one that
is not often talked or thought about -the destructive toll that is taken
on the environment from the mass production and consumption of factory
farmed animals and animal products. It’s interesting how this aspect is,
for the most part, entirely overlooked. No one ever really stops to
think about how much land and resources are actually needed to produce
enough animals and products to cater to the excessive over-consumption
of animals across the globe. Just think about how much these animals
need to eat and drink, feeding 10 Billion animals in the US alone is
considerably more than feeding the entire planet. Currently according to
the UN, raising animals and producing the feed for them uses 30% of the
Earth’s land mass- wow.
While doing research for this article I have come across some staggering statistics to support this environmental issue.
- 260 Million Acres (and counting) of US forests have been clear-cut to create land for producing feed for livestock.
- 70% Of the grain that is produced in the US is fed to farm animals
- Scientists at the Smithsonian Institution have stated that the equivalent of SEVEN football fields of land is bulldozed every single minute to create more land for farming animals.
- 2,400 Gallons of water is needed to produce 1 pound of meat, only 25 gallons is needed to produce 1 pound of wheat. You would save more water by not showering for 6 months than you would by eating a pound of meat!
- In the 2004-2005 crop season all the wild animals and trees in over 2.9 million acres of the Amazon Rain forest in Brazil were destroyed in order to grow crops to produce feed for chickens and other factory farmed animals.
- Close to half of all water used in the USA goes to the production of animals for food.
- A United Nations report from 2006 states that animal agriculture is “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.”
- The EPA reports that roughly 80 percent of ammonia emissions in the US come from animal waste. Atmospheric ammonia can disrupt aquatic ecosystems, ruin soil quality, damage crops, and jeopardize human health.
- Cows and sheep are responsible for 37% of the total methane (23 times as warming as CO2) generated by human activity.
I also came across this very interesting
piece of information: it takes more than 11 times as much fossil fuel
to make one calorie from animal protein as it does to make 1 calorie
from plant protein.
1) Grow massive amounts of corn, grain, and soybeans (with all required tilling, irrigation, crop dusters etc.)
2) Transport the grain and soybeans to feed manufacturers on gas-guzzling 18 wheelers.
3) Operate the feed mills
4) Transport the feed to the factory farms
5) Operate the factory farms
6) Truck the animals many miles to slaughter
7) Operate the slaughterhouse
8) Transport the meat to processing plants
9) Operate the meat processing plants
10) Transport the meat to grocery stores
11) Keep meat refrigerated or frozen in stores until sold
Keep in mind, this would be much more
than 11 steps if this meat was being processed further into fast-food or
processed packaged products such as hot dogs and the like.
How come this is never talked about? How
come all of this is pretty much kept a secret from us? We are told to
recycle and we hear about the environmental affects that we are
contributing to by driving a car and using too much water. In many
cities there are water-bans put in place during certain times of the
day. We are encouraged to buy energy saving light bulbs and other items
that are deemed ‘energy efficient.’ So why are we not encouraged to step
back and at least look at the massive ecological footprint we are
creating by continuing to excessively raise and slaughter animals for
mass consumption? If we were really concerned about helping the
environment, we might consider how much meat and other animal products
we are consuming on a day-to-day basis. We could consider buying our
meat from local organic farmers who raise grass-fed cattle. We may
consider incorporating a lot more local fresh fruits and vegetables into
our diet. We would limit our intake of fast and processed foods. We
might consider participating in ‘Meat-less Mondays.’ (http://www.meatlessmonday.ca/)
Maybe we would start raising our own chickens. Or maybe, we would just
stop eating meat and animal products altogether. There have been many
studies that suggest eating meat -especially factory farmed meat, is not
even good for us and we could have a much longer, happier, healthier
life by cutting out meat. The environmental and sustainable factors tell
us that at the very least we must return to a more organic and local
way of creating animal products if we are choosing to still have them
available.
We are destroying our Mother Earth and
our entire Eco-system in order to fulfill our own selfish eating habits.
It is so important that we become harmonious with all life on Earth,
including all vegetation and the animal kingdom once again. Just imagine
a greener, cleaner more lively planet that we could inhabit if we all
chose to have a more compassionate lifestyle.
Sources:
No comments:
Post a Comment