Vegetarianism - To Meat Or Not To Meat Essay -- Healthy Lifestyle Essay

     As children, one of the first things we learn is to recognize the affectionate barnyardanimals. We easily can spot the furry cow with the gentle eyes, the f flowherlike chickenswho run wildly about, and the pink pigs that roll in the mud. We may too sing about thatnice farmer, Old McDonald, and exclusively of his nice animals. The legality is that Old McDonaldwith a straw hat has been replaced by a caper man in the hard hat.     Ninety-five percent of the meat we eat does not come from Old McDonalds farm. Hens, chickens, turkeys, and over half of beef kine, dairy farm cows, and pigs come from an"animal factory" (Sussman, 95) which is a mechanized environment. This new factory farmmethod finds blue skies, tall silos, and grassy hillsides good for calendars but, bad forbusiness. Those pictures atomic number 18 not cost effective. Animals atomic number 18 not treated with the loving business organization of a farmer but, ar treated like inmates on finis row.     Poultry, pigs, and calves are laboured to live in total confinement neer to see thelight of day until they head to the slaughter house. Hens are often crowded intosmall cages which they may not leave for a division or two. Pregnant sets are often put in stable that are their homes for three months at a time. After having her piglets, a sow maybe pinned to the floor for four to seven weeks in install to keep the sow from rolling overon her babies. Cows may be fed quiet diet of molasses laced saw dust, shrednewspaper, plastic pellets, poultry manure, and processed slaughter house wastes in orderlinessto gain weight faster. Confinement is so complete that the animals do not have room tomove (206).     Not only are the animals forced to live in this unnatural environment, they arealso pumped ripe off antibiotics, hormones, steroids, and are dipped in pesticides. Overhalf the cattle and nearly a ll pigs, calves, and poultry are fed a steady diet of antibioticsand related                                                   Jarboe 2medications to help control diseases. No o... ...though our bodies are designed to rely on vegetarian foods, modernman has changed his dietary habits to those of the carnivore, or meat eater. We maythink of ourselves as carnivores but, our flat teeth are not designed to tear through hide,flesh, and bones. Tenderizer is put on meat so that it will be more easily chewed. Furthermore, the digestive system of the carnivore is designed to get rid of the meat iteats forwards it decays. The human digestive system is designed to break down analyzablecarbohydrates and fibers like those of the herbivore (Sussman, 300).     Taking a look past the cruel intercession of animals and the nutritional value of thevegetarian diet, maybe perfection did not intend for us to eat meat at all. In Genesis 129-30God saidI give you every seed-bearing plant on the acquaint of the whole earth and everytree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be your for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move      on the ground - everything that has the breath of life in it - I give every plant      for food. And it was so.