With Thanksgiving right around the corner and the holidays right after that – many people will be consuming a lot of meat. What many people might not realize is that reducing your meat consumption can come with a multitude of benefits.
Joe Loria, Meat Reduction Campaign Manager of World Animal Protection, a global nonprofit whose mission is to have a world where animals live free of suffering- an expert in this field put together FIVE Benefits of reducing your meat intake.
1) It helps fight climate change
Factory farming is one of the leading causes of climate change and deforestation. We can do our part to combat climate change by simply cutting back on the amount of low welfare meat we consume.
2) It helps farmed animals
Of the more than 70 billion animals farmed annually, 50 billion of them spend their lives on factory farms. They are treated more like machines, than living, breathing, feeling animals. They endure short, miserable lives and are often confined together in cages, crates or pens which prevents them from engaging in natural behavior. Reducing your meat consumption will make a huge difference to the lives of these animals and free-up resources to help move to higher welfare production.
3) It helps your health
From reducing cancer rates and heart disease to showing an increased overall lifespan, by consuming more plant-based foods you’ll be helping to improve your own health.
4) It protects wildlife
Grazing land and feed crops now use more than one-third of Earth’s landmass. With this rapid loss of habitat, it’s no wonder we’re losing critical species at alarming rates and experts warn a mass extinction is on its way. By eating less meat you’ll be helping protect wildlife.
5) It helps fight hunger
There are nearly a billion starving people on the planet, while it takes 16 pounds of grain to produce just one pound of beef. It’s clear as day, by reducing your meat consumption you can help alleviate the waste associated with factory farming.
It also helps workers from slave labor to sexual abuse, workers on factory farms are in many cases treated just as cruelly as the animals. These workers are often subjected to countless workplace hazards, including life-threatening injuries, respiratory illnesses, PTSD, and exposure to dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria. You can help stand up for these exploited workers by reducing your meat consumption and withdrawing financial support from the companies profiting from poor labor practices.
Change starts with you.
If we want to protect the planet, our health, workers and animals, we need to dramatically reduce our meat consumption. That means switching to plant-based alternatives and to other protein sources such as ‘clean meat’. Pledge to eat less meat today: https://www.worldanimalprotection.us/meatreduction
