One Steak Fewer Is Not A Mistake
By Yanira Larios
Vocabulary
Vegetarians are basically people who don ' t eat any kind of red meat, fish, or poultry. Becoming one of them isn ' t easy. I can tell you that from personal experience. The first time I heard about this type of diet was about two years ago when I left my country; however, I ' ve always been compassionate towards animals, which is the main reason I changed my diet. In El Salvador, where I come from, most people love meat. I can ' t remember anybody talking about vegetarianism or anything like that. Well, at least not that I remember. Most of my relatives are meat lovers. My family has always owned a chicken farm, and whenever they wanted to have some chicken for lunch or dinner, my mom killed the chicken. For me, it was sad. Sometimes, she asked me to do it so I could learn, but I refused. I would have rather done anything else, and in fact I ' m so glad I never did that.
I admired vegetarians a lot since I first learned about them because I was sure that it would be very hard to give up meat and find vegetarian food to replace it. But, for some to adopt vegetarian diets, it is natural because they don ' t really like meat. This happens just in few cases. If you ever wonder whether it makes sense, or whether it is worthwhile becoming vegetarian, let me explain some of the great reasons to be vegetarian.
First of all, your health: Many people want to improve their health, but they don ' t know what to do. Vegetarians automatically reduce the risk of heart disease, the number one killer. Vegetarians ' diets are naturally lower in saturated fat and cholesterol and higher in plant nutrients than most meat-based diets. You also can lose weight and keep it off in a healthy way. Being overweight or suffering from obesity is a big problem in the United States. That is mainly because most meat is too processed. It ' s loaded with dangerous poisons and contaminants such as hormones, herbicides, pesticides, and antibiotics.
Second, our home, our planet: Believe it or not, a vegetarian diet reduces global warming. The United Nations said in its 2006 report that livestock generate more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world, combined. Therefore, the single most important step an individual can take to reduce global warming is to opt for a vegetarian diet. As I said, it isn ' t easy, but it ' s not impossible. In my personal case, I did it little by little, and now it ' s so easy.
Finally, one of the most common reasons is compassion for people and animals. Being vegetarian helps end world hunger. Did you know that every day, forty thousand children around the world needlessly starve to death? Crops that could be used to feed the hungry are instead being used to fatten animals raised for food. Then, all of these animals in different farms are treated with so much cruelty, and what ' s worse is that they don ' t have legal protection from cruelty, which would be illegal if it were inflicted on dogs or cats.
In conclusion, being vegetarian is much more significant than you think. It benefits everyone. It improves our planet, our own lives, and the lives of others. It ' s about being inspired and persistent, being less selfish, and understanding more of what ' s around us. It ' s about helping and being empathetic.
In Our Own Words 2016 33