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Vegetarianism
There are three basic arguments for vegetarianism:
1. Health: It is nearly impossible to prove, scientifically, that meat-eating is directly harmful to all people; some people seem to tolerate meat in their diet just fine. But then again, some people smoke and live to be 100. The most common health problems linked to meat eating include heart disease, colon disease and cancers. But this is only the tip of the health question. Because of the severely overcrowded conditions in which factory farm animals are grown, large amounts of antibiotics must be used. These substances are passed on to the consumer, and bear a huge share of the blame for the alarming growth of antibiotic-resistant disease. Some 70 percent of all antibiotics produced in the US are used on livestock. The growth of antibiotic-resistant diseases is one of the greatest threats to worldwide human health, could easily eliminate surgery for all but life-threatening illness, and will greatly decrease the survival rate for necessary medical procedures, unless immediate action is taken.
2. Animal cruelty: The meat, dairy, egg and leather industries perpetrate unspeakable horrors on animals. This is mostly due to the growth of massive "factory farms," which churn out animals like a factory produces widgets. Small farmers, who took better care of their animals, simply cannot compete with these mega-farms. While chickens may indeed be stupid, that hardly justifies practices like debeaking, forced molting, and confinement in tiny cages. Cows certainly seem capable of feelings, and pigs are widely regarded as one of the most intelligent animals. The feedlot and slaughter conditions of these animals are deplorable.
3. Resources. Meat, dairy and egg production takes an enormous toll on the environment, Livestock operations in the United States produce 130 times more effluent than do humans, making them one of America's biggest polluters. It takes approximately 12 pounds of grain and at least 600 gallons of water to produce a pound of beef. Meanwhile, the oceans are being fished to extinction, and rivers are being polluted by run-off from factory livestock operations, which are possibly linked to outbreaks of strange diseases in some waters.
Changing to a plant-based diet, or at least greatly curtailing your consumption of meat, is probably the single most powerful step one person can take to benefit the environment.
Can't go vegetarian right away? That's OK. Start by just choosing vegetarian dishes occasionally, then gradually work the meat out of your home cooking. If millions of people just ate one less meat dish per week; the results would be dramatic.