Don't Have a Cow!

As part-time-vegetarians, we are concerned with eating the most healthy diet available.  How many servings of fruit did you eat today?  How many vegetable servings?  What about whole grains, legumes and nuts?  The evidence that a diet loaded with fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains reduces the risks of all major causes of illness and death is so overwhelming that it is no longer debatable.  While I do not advocate a purely Vegetarian or Vegan diet, I do advocate eating less red meat.  Here are many reasons why you should avoid eating red meat.

• Red meat is high in saturated fat and cholesterol
• Cows take longer to grow so they have more time to absorb toxins from the pesticide ridden grains they are fed.  They are treated with growth hormones so they grow faster and fed large doses of antibiotics to keep them from getting sick.  If you eat fast food burgers, a lot of them are treated further with all kinds of preservatives, additives, and chemicals.  Treat yourself to a homemade burger of organic beef from the supermarket.  
• An increased risk of bowel cancer was found for people who ate more than two servings of red meat per week. "Men who eat red meat as a main dish five or more times a week have four times the risk of colon cancer of men who eat red meat less than once a month," says Edward Giovannucci of Harvard Medical School. 
• Heavy-red-meat eaters are also twice as likely to get prostate cancer.
• Excessive amounts of red meat can lead to a higher risk of osteoporosis due to an acid byproduct from digesting very large amounts of protein.
• Eating red meat every day can double the risk of Arthritis
• A recent study found that rating more than one serving of red meat per day can double the risk of breast cancer, especially in young women. 
• Energy use. It takes almost ten times more energy to produce and transport livestock than vegetables.
• Soil erosion.  For each pound of meat, poultry, eggs, and milk we produce, farm fields lose about five pounds of topsoil.
• Overgrazing. About ten percent of the arid West has been turned into a desert by livestock.

The message I want to get across is that red meat should be eaten at most a couple times a week. Other foods, such as poultry, fish and beans are great red meat substitutes that provide lots of protein and should be eaten more frequently. When you do eat red meat, choose smaller portions, lean cuts and organic if you can afford it.  When preparing red meat, it should be roasted, broiled, or braised rather than frying or grilling it.

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