People have a natural tendency to consume and use everything at their disposal. As humans carve out civilization, their consumption goes unchecked. Recent studies and research look at the impact humans have on the environment. The ever-increasing population demands meat, leading to jungles and rainforests being cleared for grazing land. Additionally, chemicals are being used on animals, which in turn affects humans. Abuse in “food factories” has been discovered. Processed foods are packed full of antibiotics, to which our bodies grow accustomed, making medicine ineffective. Animals are being slaughtered on a never-ending assembly line. Is human want for certain foods worth the impact and consequences it could have on earth and their bodies? To avoid these unfavorable situations, people need to switch to a more organic diet by avoiding certain activities and partaking in others. For example, people need to stop eating fast food, stop supporting negative factory activity that is potentially dangerous for humans and animals, and should eat a healthier diet. This is important to not only the environment, but also people’s bodies and health.
Fast food is a very common breakfast, lunch, and dinner option for many people because the food generally tastes good, is cheap, and is extremely convenient. One can be in and out of the drive-through in five minutes and have a whole meal prepared for him or her, versus going to the grocery store, buying ingredients, and making something to eat. These aspects of fast food are appealing to multiple individuals, which is why incorporating fruits and vegetables into diets are falling by the wayside. However, if people knew the effects of consuming fast food, they might be more likely to change their lifestyle. Since people are unacquainted and uninformed about what goes in their bodies, they are not concerned with the possible outcomes. According to a research study, a fast food diet contains more total fat and carbohydrates, more added sugars, more sugar-sweetened beverages, and less milk in comparison to a more organic diet (Bowman et al. 112). Regularly consuming these components could be detrimental to one’s health. For example, an excessive amount of these products could lead to obesity or other health risks. Partaking in a more organic diet would be beneficial to everyone because no one needs these added (or subtracted) ingredients in their diet. The previous study also discusses that weight gain due to fast food is prevalent because of the oversized portions (Bowman et al. 112). When ordering something from a fast food business, people tend to order more than needed; people’s bodies adjust and become habituated to these types of foods. This means people will constantly want to eat food high in sugar, fat, and salt. Individuals everywhere are becoming too familiar and comfortable with getting a meal at a fast food restaurant. Therefore, people should switch over to a healthier and more organic lifestyle. Organic food is natural and free from other unnecessary ingredients, proving that a more organic diet needs to be put into effect in households.
In the past two decades, there has been an increase in meat consumption. According to the Secular Trends article, “The proportions of [Chinese] adults who consumed red meat, poultry, and seafood increased from 65.7% in 1991, to 86.1% in 2011, from 7.5% to 20.9%, and 27.4% to 37.8% respectively” (Wang et al. 228). The Chinese are a good representation of the average world meat consumption. These trends show that there is a significant increase in the number of people consuming all types of meats in the past twenty years. This is partially due to the ability to mass-produce meat faster with better technologies and because of the strategies the industry uses to process and market the food. The increase of meat production has become more manufactured and processed so the global population becomes unaware of how much is being consumed. The Secular Trends article also states that, “the absence of processed meat recommendations in the CDG [Chinese Dietary Guidelines] should be taken into consideration, so an intake level could be established and serve as a basis for making food choices” (Wang et al. 232). Because labeling and scaling are not presented accurately and understandably, it is difficult for consumers to know what amount they are taking. This creates the problem of being unaware of their current position. If consumers do not have the correct information, the consumption levels will continue to rise.
There is pressure on the government to influence people to consume at these high rates. According to Natalia Milanesio, the government has always given their people incentives to consume more meat. Milanesio states, “since the nineteenth century, locals and foreigners alike attributed the physical strength of gauchos to beef, arguing that ‘beef was the secret to their traditional vigor, what made them tough and courageous’” (84). The government wants the economy to maintain or increase stimulation, and it has used many different kinds of methods to influence the people’s decisions. In today’s world, a common method is when the politicians will subsidize the companies who produce the meat so the suppliers will supply more. The cheaper it is to produce a product, the more the supplier will produce. It is elementary economics. Because the government has been subsidizing the meat industry, the price of meat has fallen, increasing the demand of consumers.
These meat-packing plants have the worst working conditions. Justin Ewers wrote, “The ‘knocker’ went first, hitting the cow over the head with a sledgehammer. Another man strung the beast up with a chain. Still another slit it open. The killing floor, half an inch deep in blood and guts, bubbled and steamed in the summer. In the winter, fingers were accidentally sliced off numbed hands” (45). These workers go through strenuous job for very little pay. The working conditions are so dreadful because most of those working in these slaughterhouses have no rights as citizens of the United States. These jobs are also very dangerous, with many of the workers getting injured at some point during the job. This in turn makes them unable to work, and unable to supply for their family. Once injured, they are without work and do not receive workers compensation. Working conditions may have improved over the years but they are still among the worst jobs to have.
Although we may no longer have huge factory-sized meat-packing plants all over the United States, it doesn’t mean the torture and dissatisfying styles of slaughtering for meat is not still the same. Now many people raise multiple animals just for butchering in a butcher shop. Most of the people who sell their meat to butchers are only ever looking for profit. For this reasons, many of the suppliers still feed tons of antibiotics and other drugs to help increase the size and amount of meat on the animal. As written by Beatrice Hunter, people have been feeding antibiotics to animals for years to help fight off infections. This in turn lead them to discover the antibiotics, in small doses, increases the appetite of the animal increasing the animal's weight. It’s a concern because the antimicrobial drugs leave residues in the final produce, leading to sickness in humans after consumption (15). Suppliers then in turn do not share the amount of chemicals injected and how these chemicals affect the consumer of the meat once eaten. When looking at the antibiotics, those eating the product ingest the meat, and also ingest the drugs used to bulk up the animal. If high enough amounts of those antibiotics are consumed, those eating the product can become immune to those antibiotics or ill because of them.
The production of meat also has a tremendous demand on the earth. Clark states that, “current meat production levels contribute approximately 22% of the 36 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases the world produces every year.” (109). Eating meat is a problem that the world does not want to acknowledge. The car industry is adapting to the marketplace and beginning to produce cars that have don’t emit as much greenhouse gases. This ability to adapt is not present in the meat industry, who is responsible for more greenhouse gases than the transportation industry. Because of the food industry’s choice to not adapt to the market, it is up to the the private and private sector to encourage healthier and more sustainable ways of living. The transition to sustainable and healthy food will be an obstacle that will have to be tackled by the human population as a whole.
The amount of water that is needed to produce food is tremendous and as the population continues to grow this demand will only increase. Clark makes the argument that, “currently 70% of all available water goes to agriculture” as well as “that there will not be enough water available to produce enough food for the expected 9 billion population by 2050 if we adhere to current dietary trends across the globe” (108). A significant amount of crops that are grown today are used to feed the animals that are used by the meat industry. This method of food production will not be viable as the population continues to grow and food demands increase. The resources of our planet will be exhausted in a much shorter time than originally thought. Feeding the current population on our planet is already having a great toll on the planet, and as billions more people are born, this demand will only increase. It is ultimately up to the individual and society to promote a more organic and sustainable way of living in order to ensure that humanity is able to continue to survive and prosper for generations to come.
Although there are many downsides to eating meat and the way meat is produced, there are upsides to consider as well. Meat offers a great source of protein and other needed nutrients. These sources of nourishment are crucial and very beneficial to human development. An article written in Nutrition Reviews states, “animal food source also provides certain “key” nutrients that are not widely available from plant sources unless they have been fortified.” This means if people must continue to eat meat, to cut out the chemical changes to foods to gain all nutrients needed. However, the same article continues with how each type of meat contains different contaminants. Some of these contaminants raise the risk of certain cancers or even the potential of having a neurological effect on the consumer (). Eating meat puts people’s bodies at risk. There are other ways of gaining the appropriate protein and nutrients to be healthy without encountering these risks such as: nuts, which offer protein, and certain vegetables that offer some of the key nutrients found in meat. Because the cons outweigh the pros, people should cut meat from their daily diet.
If people become more aware of the food industry’s products, they will be able to make a more informed decision about what foods they consume, activities they participate in, and the environmental impacts they create. Governments have a very powerful influence over the choices we make by marketing and subsidizing certain food types creating a demand. These actions by the government can be misleading to their people and can hide the environmental impacts from the public. Once people become aware of the issues in the food industry, they are then able to make the ultimate decision of whether or not to keep the same consumption habits or change. That is why we all need to be conscious of what and how we consume.
Works Cited
Bowman, Shanthy. A., et al. "Effects of Fast-Food Consumption on Energy Intake and Diet Quality Among Children in a National Household Survey." Pediatrics 113.1 (2004): 112-118. Health Source - Consumer Edition. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
Delta Farm Press. "Meat Packing Industry Reaches Safety Milestone." Delta Farm Press (2012): 1. Ball State OneSearch. Web. 26 Feb. 2016.
Ewers, Justin. "Don’t Read This Over Dinner. (Cover Story)." U.S. News & World Report 139.6 (2005): 45-46. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.
Hunter, Beatrice Trum. "Animal Drugs And Microbial Resistance." Consumers' Research Magazine 84.12 (2001): 15. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
Milanesio, Natalia. "Food Politics And Consumption In Peronist Argentina." Hispanic American Historical Review 90.1 (2010): 75-108. Academic Search Premier. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
Wang, Z H, et al. "Secular Trends In Meat And Seafood Consumption Patterns Among Chinese Adults, 1991-2011." European Journal Of Clinical Nutrition 69.2 (2015): 227-233. Academic Search Premier. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
WILEY-LISS. "Laceration Injuries among Workers at Meat Packing Plants."American Journal of Industrial Medicine (2005): 1. Ball State OneSearch. Web. 26 Feb. 2016.
Alexis Clarke. “Vegetarianism and sustainability.” Journal of the Australian Traditional-Medicine Society. 21.1. (2015): 108-109. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Feb 2016
