‘HOW DOES our diet affect our health and our: en- vironment? > By Margaret Bryant < > ZAF! Contributor a I am surprised at hew little ‘most people know about how’ greatly a meat-centred diet affects . a person’s health and the health of ‘ the planet. Many North Americans don’t know, or ‘choose to ignore, the major strain a meat-centred diet has on:our environment and how .\ bard that diet is‘on.our bodies, “not. to: mention the; cruelty im- : “\posed on innocent animals. ‘-: The‘meat and poultry you buy in the grocery store doesn’t come from farms where the cattle graze in the fields and chickens run . around i in a chicken coop. , Many people would be surprised ; to know that 50% of all antibiot- ics: manufactured in North “America are poured directly into factory farm animal fceds. Because they are kept in small, extremely dirty stalls or cages, in very close contact with other animais, disease runs rampant - amongst the animals in ‘these fac- - tories. Penicillin and ° tetracycline are the most commonly used -antibi- otics on farms. Due to uncon- trolled use of these lifesaving drugs in factory farming, these drugs are often useless in combat-_ ting human disease. Animals accumulate all the toxic substances used in’ agriculture to grow their feed as well as the hormones and the antibiotics they are given to keep them from get- ting diseases. : When people..ingest these huge amounts. of herbicides, pesticides ‘and fungicides in meat and dairy ‘products their immune systems break down. ANIMAL RIGHTS groups oppose the treatment of of factory-raised animals, iike hens that are Kept vire SOCIETY'S IMAGE of teenagers is often one of kids hanging out at fast food res- taurants eating endless burgers and fries, yet others like the author of this week's ZAP! article have much different lifestyles. What do you think of vegetarianism? Have you ever tried it? Is it a good idea? Why or Prato Peter Hamilton, courtesy Litstorce Foundation tually moticniess by the size of their cages. When you consider those, facts ‘about factory farming, it ‘really does make sense that it has been proven that vegetarians live longer and have Sess risk of heart attacks and cancer. The average’ Canadian will consume approximately :12 cows, 20 hogs, 11 sheep.or goats, 1,438 chickens, 398 kg of seafood and 530 kg of butter or margarine, plus the accumulated pesticides, herbicides and fungicides used in the production of these animals. How does this affect our health? Here are some facts. The average North American man’s tisk of death from.a heart attack is 50%;-the average North Amer- ican man’s risk if he avoids the meat-centred diet is’ 15%; the 2 Free 4”x 6” Photos average North. American man’s risk if he consumes no meat, dairy products or eggs is 4%. Also, - a meat-centred — diet greatly increases the risk of breast cancer for women and fatal pro- state cancer for men. The environment _ This is not only a health issue. Our diet greatly affects our en- vironment. A’ meat-centred diet puts:a huge strain on our natural resources, Production of a day’s food for an average meat-eater requires 4,000 gallons of water, because of all of the water the livestock must: consume. On the other hand, pro- duction of ‘a. day’s food for a 46 With the grain and soybeans now eaten by U.S. livestock alone; 13 billion people could be fed. #9, ‘vegetarian. only requires : 300 : gatlons of water. It takes about. 25 gallons of water to produce a pourd of wheat. To produce a pound of: beef it takes 2,500 gallons. There. is a lot of waste ( in- volved in a meat-centred diet. By cycling grain through livestock 95% ‘of the! protein is wasted How can so many people: suppor! this wasteful lifestyle? - «© -° Consider that on one acre, [65- . pounds of, beef can be grown ‘while on the same acre 20,000 pounds of potatoes can be grown. Meanwhile, 60 million people ‘will die of starvation this year. If North :Americans cut down their meat intake by: 10%, 60