Why Should YOU Become a Vegetarian?

1. Why Should YOU Become a Vegetarian? Leah Marofsky

2. The practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat – red meat, poultry, seafood and the flesh of any other animal • 1 person can save *100* animals for every year that they don’t consume meat • Studies have shown that 7.3 Million Americans Are Vegetarians and an additional 22.8 Million Follow a Vegetarian-Inclined Diet Vegetarianism

3. 3 Main Benefits for Becoming a Vegetarian Three Main Reasons: Statistics: The Amount (%) of people that became vegetarian for the three main benefits: - 34%: Overall Health Benefits 35%: Animal Welfare 31%: Environmental Concerns • Overall Health Benefits • Animal Welfare • Environmental Concerns

4. Cancer: A diet filled with fruits, vegetables, and fiber can help reduce the risk of lung disease and related illnesses. • Prevent Type 2 Diabetes: vegetarian diet includes complex carbs and fiber that help the body manage insulin more efficiently. • Hormone-free eating: Fruits, vegetables, and soy products are never injected with growth hormones and other chemicals that may harm the human body. • Low Cholesterol Levels: Without unhealthy meat and fat sources in the diet, cholesterol levels of vegetarians are much lower than meat eaters. Overall Health Benefits • Lower blood pressure: Vegetarian diets can be naturally low in fat and sodium, helping reduce blood pressure and improve circulation instead. • Heart: Studies show that being a vegetarian can cut risks of heart problems into 1/3

5. More than 25 billion animals are killed by the meat industry each year • Animals are used for our clothing, food, entertainment, and experimental every day • Animals are kept in overcrowded stalls/cages/crates where they can’t even turn around their whole life • Deprived of veterinary care, exercise, and sunlight • Factor Farming: animals are injected with hormones and stimulants to make them grow bigger and faster/fed antibiotics • Testing shampoo, cleaners, cosmetics, etc. cause animals to be poisoned, blinded, and killed every year Animal Welfare

6. Damage to the earth like air and water pollution, the erosion of lands, waste of precious energy, and deforestation • Reduces destruction of tropical rainforests, wildlife habitat, and help save endangered species • Every second, one football field of rainforest is destroyed in order to produce 257 hamburgers • In order to raise cattle • Diet reduces pollution in the land and waters • Factory farms spray herbicides and pesticides • These chemicals destroy topsoil and leak into near by streams/rivers • Eating one hamburger does as much damage as driving your car for three weeks • Diet reduces CO2 • If everyone stopped eating meat, it would eliminate all the pollution in the world Environment Concerns

7. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vegetarianism • http://www.vegetariantimes.com/article/vegetarianism-in-america/ • http://www.statisticbrain.com/vegetarian-statistics/ • http://voices.yahoo.com/17-benefits-being-vegetarian-589913.html • http://www.happycow.net/why_vegetarian.html • http://www.peta.org/ SOURCES