"Americans, including vegans get twice the amount of protein their bodies actually need." The world consumes a lot of meat, approximately 80kg per person a year in the industrialized world. We consume over 315 million tonnes of meat worldwide, and its production has grown 5-fold since the 1960s. Is meat healthy, or a growing cause of disease? The World Health Organization classifies red and processed meats as known carcinogens, meaning that there is significant evidence that they can increase the risk of certain types of cancer. "There is new evidence underscoring the risks of bacon and sausage and ham and hot dogs and the other processed meats. "Uh, that despite all the interest in genetics that diet and long-term dietary patterns played a major role in whether most people would develop colorectal cancer or not." "Regardless of whether, uh, it's organic or not, cooking skeletal muscle produces carcinogens. And that's why every epidemiologist agrees that vegetarians have less cancer." A sugar found in animal meat has been shown to trigger inflammation in the body, which can cause arthritis, tumors or cardiovascular disease. "We've known for 15 years that a single meal high in animal fat, sausage and Egg McMuffins were used in the original landmark study, can cause an immediate elevation in inflammation within our bodies that peaks at about 4 hours. Remember the whole endothelial dysfunction story- where you can, you know, hook people up to a device that can measure the natural dilation of their arteries and blood flow through ultrasound? So as you can see here, within hours of eating animal fat our arteries get paralyzed, we nearly cut their ability to open normally we nearly cut their ability to open normally in half And that's not just happening in our arm, the lining of our whole vascular tree gets inflamed, Stiffened, crippled, from just one meal!" "Some scientists have suggested that a vegan diet may be helpful in the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Vegans also appear to have lower rates of hypertension than both meat-eaters and vegetarians." The high-fat content of meat, and the increased trend of exceeding daily protein requirements are also risk factors. Humans ingest the hormones and antibiotics that the animals have been injected with. A likely explanation for increased infertility rates. "But we're using 30 million pounds of antibiotics in food animal production each year. 30 million pounds. And the data, or the best estimates suggests that only 205 of those antibiotics are being used to treat sick animals. 80% are being used as production tools, they're being used to make animals grow faster." "And enable them to survive unhealthy conditions. This system is creating antibiotic resistant superbugs." "And the antibiotics can cause animals to grow fatter, faster! Right, why is this important? Because unhealthy animals need antibiotics. So sicker animals are cheaper to raise 'cuz they're just given
a whole bunch of crappy grains. Some argue that our ancestors ate meat, meaning its natural for modern humans as well. Right? "As DNA analysis and archaeology improve, we're getting more and more evidence that our ancestors had a very varied diet no matter where in the world." In those times, meat consumption was rare - only when hunting proved successful. Most of the diet was comprised of plant foods harvested by women. We also have the physiology of an herbivore. "It's essentially very straight, short, simple. And that's because by the time whatever residue gets to the colon has no nutritional value, they just need to get it out of their body before it putrefies. With the plant-eaters, you have a very long and elaborate colon. This is a horse, this is a Rhesus monkey. That often has a pouch structure, and the reason it has pouches is to increase the capacity. And it has several functions, including water absorption, vitamin production, and ultimately, elimination." We have an innate compassion for animals too. Because when the truth of the meat industry is revealed - the abattoirs, the torture and violence - most people feel for these animals. "Those chicken breasts, and chicken thighs and yesterday's KFC. And therefore I was a hypocrite for feeling sorry for these animals when the only reason they were there in the first place, was because I ate their flesh, and therefore demanded that they be slaughtered on my behalf. What about grass-fed beef? As of 2016, the American government dropped its definition of ‘grass-fed,’ leaving it up to interpretation. How long animals actually spend outdoors is a grey area. A grass-fed system would require a lot more land and resources too. A quarter of the world’s arable land is already dedicated to livestock grazing. To satisfy current demand, we would require 33 million more methane-producing cattle in the U.S. alone. What should we eat instead of meat? Many diets around the world are predominantly plant-based - Mediterranean Asian, and Indian diets to name a few. These diets have been linked to better health in its corresponding populations. The world is also seeing growing popularity of a whole foods, plant-based vegan diet, that also provides many health benefits. If everyone went plant-based, we could feed the growing population expected to reach 9.7 billion in 2050. Vegan options are endless. From whole foods at farmer’s markets, to new vegan products disrupting the commercial market. Some products even taste like meat! Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat have perfected the meaty taste of a burger. The latter is hoping to launch vegan steaks and bacon as well. Restaurants are getting creative too - Duck’s Eatery in New York, makes vegan ham out of watermelon. Sultana, in Tel Aviv, makes vegan schwarma meat with forest mushrooms, and Gordon Ramsay's UK restaurant Bread Street Kitchen recently introduced a vegan beet wellington. Popular fast-food chains like Greggs and Del Taco are offering vegan options too. This is LIVEKINDLY, and that is the honest truth about meat.
That was really good. :D