10 Things that Drove me to Vegetarianism, Part 3

Read Part 1 and Part 2

7. Male chicks hatched at layer hatcheries are tossed alive into trash bins or grinders at the rate of 150,000 per day. This video also highlights some of the other reasons I don’t buy any animal products. I’ll let it speak for itself.



8. The meat industry is the #1 contributor to the carbon emissions problem. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the meat industry is responsible for more carbon emissions than all of the cars, trains, planes, and ships on the planet combined. The report Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options (2006) states that the meat industry is “responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions measured in CO2 equivalent. This is a higher share than transport.” (ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a0701e/a0701e00.pdf). And in case you are wondering, the answer is no, Al Gore is NOT a vegetarian.

9. Broiler chickens are ready for butchering within 45 days of hatching. These chickens grow so quickly (as in putting on muscle) that their skeletal systems and vital organs cannot keep up with the growth frequently resulting in lameness and heart failure. Death loss on chicken farms is so high it is a common point of debate whether the losses absorbed outweigh the profits from the chickens that actually survive to make it to the processing plant. So far the industry has decided that the rapid growth is worth the risk the chicken will die before it can be sold. Tyson can tell you their package of chicken is all natural, but there is nothing natural about the ways these chickens grow.

10. Because “it tastes good” is not a sufficient reason to financially support an industry that causes physical suffering to God’s creatures, promotes poor health, harms the environment, and is dangerous to its employees.

Question: What would it take for you to go vegetarian?

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