Vegetarianism: The Negative Effects On The Environment

A poll by the Vegetarian Research Group conducted by Harris Poll shows, “about 3.3% of the US adult population and 4% of the US youth population, do not eat meat (including poultry and seafood)” (qtd. in “Background”). This then leaves more than ninety-five percent of the US population as people who—indulge in meat. Animal products became a staple in the American diet for decades and even back in early civilizations. Humans should continue to incorporate meat, poultry, and dairy products in their diets instead of excluding it. Variations of vegetable-based diets exist. For instance, according to the book Vegetarianism For Teens by Jane Duden states that vegetarian diets include “lacto-ovo vegetarians, lacto vegetarians, ovo vegetarians, and

Also, ubiquitous vegetarians negatively affect the environment. Hence, a regular diet consisting of meat outclasses vegetarianism in health and environmental impacts.

To go along with poor personal health, vegetarianism negatively affects the health of the environment and endanger the lives of other organisms. For starters, David Pimentel and Marcia Pimentel from the “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition” states, “about 90% of US cropland suffers from topsoil loss at 13 times the sustainable rate” (qtd. in “Vegetarianism”). Mass produced crops already exhibits detrimental effects to the environment by using up all of the top layers of soil, but if the amount of vegetarians rise, more soil will be used up and more disasters will occur. One example of a disaster due to dried soil is the Dust Bowl. If

To begin with, most vegetarian diets do not sufficiently supply vitamin B12. According to the article “Counterpoint: Vegetarianism Is An Unhealthy Dietary Choice” by Micah Issitt and Rosalyn Carson-Dewitt, vitamin B12 “is only present in animal tissues and is almost impossible to obtain from vegetarian sources.” Children should especially be more wary about vegetarian diets because “young children are especially prone to B12 deficiency, which can cause anemia, spinal cord and brain injuries and damage to the nerves of the eyes. There have been cases of child abuse in which parents forced their children to eat strictly vegetarian diets, causing irreparable damage” (“Counterpoint”). Vegetarianism should not be a diet to consider because not only of the risk of deficiency of essential nutrients, serious harm can develop. Any diet that brings permanent damage to vital parts of the body should not be considered as a healthy diet. Also, meat contains vitamin B12, therefore meat incorporated diets possess a lower possibility of serious health issues from lacking vitamin B12. In addition to vitamin B12 deficiencies, vegetarianism does not supply as much iron as a generic diet would. According to the Office of Dietary Supplements at the National Institutes of Health, “The body absorbs 15% to 35% of the heme iron in meat, but only