My Beef With Meat is a new book by firefighter, Rip Esselstyn, the creator of the popular vegan diet Engine 2.
He’s on a personal quest to convince people that eating only plants is the best choice for their health as well as for the planet.
My Beef With Meat devotes 35 chapters to the condemnation of eating meat and animal products, but I’ll pick just 10 as a sample of Rip’s argument against meat.
Just 10 Reasons to Not Eat Meat
1. Meat and dairy can lead to sickness and death - The National Heart and Blood Institute, who after a 10 year study, found that nearly every man over 60 or woman over 70 on a western diet has heart disease.
2. Humans are herbivores - While humans can eat meat, our bodies do not digest if efficiently and eating meat is no longer necessary for our survival as a species.
3. The meat industry spends billions to convince people that meat is healthy as well as influences public policy with cash.
4. Livestock accounts for 9% of all CO2 emissions – This is more than all cars, trucks, and planes combined.
Rip Esselstyn
5. Craving meat is unnatural- Craving meat is similar to craving sugar, drugs, or alcohol. It isn’t a “healthy craving” since we don’t need it for survival.
6. Eating Meat is Expensive- When all factors are considered including the health impact meat imposes, a plant based diet is far more economical.
7. Plants are complete protein- Rip says that this is one of the biggest myths around. Humans can and do get all essential amino acids and adequate protein easily from eating plants.
8. Real Men and Women Eat Meat- This is a misconception. Some of the best athletes, thinkers, and body builders are vegan. Meat isn’t needed to have a great body or a great mind.
9. Plants build stronger bones- Many believe that by only consuming enough dairy are strong bones possible. Rip refutes this notion by noting that calcium from plants actually is incorperated into bones more readily than dairy calcium.
10. Eating animals isn’t nice- From factory farms to slaughter practices, the process of eating animals is inhumane and mean.
Are You Convinced Yet?
If not, there are many more reasons to compel you in My Beef With Meet.
Personally, I’m a bit on the fence with this issue. I have drastically cut back my meat consumption to only a few times on the weekend and this is mainly chicken or fish. I do feel better and being an avid gym goer, I haven’t seen any decrease in muscle mass.
I’ve been eating this way for about 9 months. I turned 40 in February and had a physical. Everything, including blood test results, came back gleaming.
So, I guess I would fall in the middle. Should human’s cut back on animal products? Yes, definitely.
Should they completely be eliminated from the diet? Health wise, there probably isn’t much evidence that would show that occasional meat or dairy is harmful. But, if someone wants to completely avoid meat, more power to them.
What do you think?
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