Introduction
Attention Getter: We all love meat. Even in the
beginning history tells us that the primary
source of food was hunting and gathering.
Psychological Attention: Meat is not
only a delicious
meal, but is also very essential to our
bodies. However, it could have downsides. There is a statement that goes “you are what you eat”, so that’s very important
for you to understand how much meat you should consume.
Logical Attention:
Eating too much meat could be harmful and
get you trapped into
some diseases, so
you should consume
less of it. Today I
am going to talk about environmental and health problems with eating too much
meat, how much meat we should consume, and benefits of eating less meat.
Body
A. Main point: By
eating less meat we shall save our health against harm further more
safeguarding our environment.
a.
Sub point: According to Elferink, a
researcher on environmental sciences from university of Groningen, the main issues related to meat
consumption are effects to the environment, such as land and water (2008).
i.
Large
land using and water shortage caused by keeping animals greatly impacts
deforestation and soil erosion (Elferink, 2008).
a)
On
the one hand, the increasing population and
global demand has caused overgrazing in the pastures while animals require a large amount of land to produce food energy(Elferink,
2008).
b)
On the other hand, livestock has one of the largest water
usage in the world (Elferink, 2008).
ii.
Thus,
people need to develop more land and use more water for keeping animals.
iii.
This
is an serious issue
Central Americans are facing,
that they have to use forests as grazing land for keeping animals (Elferink, 2008).
b.
Sub point: Meat consumption also affects
human health in many different ways.
i.
Meat
contains high saturated fats (Park, Murphy, Wilkens, Henderson, & Kolonel, 2007) .
a)
According to professor Park Murphy a scholar in Cancer and
nutrition, saturated fats from meat
increases blood pressures, causes artery damages, and put heart into a strain
through depositing unnessary fats (Park, Murphy, Wilkens, Henderson, & Kolonel, 2007) .
ii.
Large
meat consumpion increases chance of one getting several cancers including
breast cancers and colon cancers (Chao A, 2006).
a)
Researchers
Sang-Ah Lee and Xi-Ou Shu in their study on women health, indicates that many
countries that have high intake of fats from animal products have a much higher
rate of breast cancer (Sang-Ah Lee, Xiao-Ou
Shu,2009)
iii.
Meat
consumption is also related to colon cancer (Butler LM, 2003).
a)
Colon cancer staging is an estimate of the amount of penetration of
a particular cancer (Butler LM, 2003).
b)
It
takes a significant time for people to fully digest meat because of its rich
protein (Butler LM,
2003).
c)
During the digestion process, if the
meat sits in the intestines for a long time, the carcinogenic compounds will
damage the intestinal walls (Butler LM, 2003).
iv.
Unfortunately, meat also contains drugs according
to Park Murphy a professor at University of Hawaii.
a)
Because every animal has its worth, it will be
subjected to drugs every time it seems unwell(David,2003)
b)
Hence, we take these drugs into our bodies every
time we eat it (David,2003).
Transition: By now you probably start to be
concerned about how much meat consumption is proper for your health. Don’t worry;
I will give you some tips.
B. Main point: In
order to solve the problems brought to us through meat consumption, eat less
meat and consume more plants is essential (Horowitz, 2006).
a. Sub Point: Let the main source of our protein be plant proteins,
such as soybeans, peas, and wheat; and we will successfully reduce the amount
of meat we eat.
i.
Horowitz Roger a American Scholar in nutrition,
tested that an adult man requires 56g of protein daily while women require 49g
(2006).
ii.
A 100 grams of meat contains an estimate of 27g of
proteins while one cup of cooked soybeans contains around 29g (Horowitz, 2006).
a) It
means that an adult man needs either 200 grams of meat per day or only two cups
of cooked soybeans to get enough proteins (Horowitz, 2006).
iii.
Proteins from plants also can be found from one
cooked cup of Lentils with giving 18g of proteins, and one cup of split peas
contains 16g of proteins (Horowitz, 2006) .
iv.
Seeds could also be a good replacement of proteins.
a) For
instance, in one cup, hemp seeds contains 60g of proteins; pumpkins
with 36g of proteins; and sunflower seeds have 32g (Horowitz, 2006)
v.
Through this simple calculation, 4 ½ cups of hemp seeds are
equivalent to one 1kg of beef, 900g of pork and 1.1kg of lamb (Horowitz, 2006)
b. Sub
point: If you don’t like beans, here is a plan B that you replace meat in your
meal with fish and eggs.
Transition: The amount of meat we eat
has effects on the future generations.
C. Main point: Reducing the amount of
meat we eat will ensure that the future generations do not live in hunger.
a. Sub Point: Having a diet with fewer animal products allow
current generation to take care of the environment and will also ensure the
future generations have access to foods (Launchbaugh, 2006).
i.
The less meat people eat, the less land is used to captive livestock, and thus slow down deforestation
(Elferink, 2008) .
ii.
In addition, wild lives
are not destroyed to give us meat which guarantee biodiversity (Elferink, 2008)
b. Sub Point: Eating less meat also largely benefits our health.
i.
Reducing our meat consumption decreases
the risk of getting diabetes, heart problems and many different kinds of cancer(Park, Murphy, Wilkens, Henderson, & Kolonel, 2007) .
ii.
It also allows you to lower your
saturated fats intake and could automatically reduce your blood pressure (Park, Murphy, Wilkens, Henderson, & Kolonel, 2007) .
iii.
Through taking less meat, we will turn
our attention into plant proteins meaning we increase the number of vegetables
and beans we take.
a) These foods give more
energy levels and also helps our skin grow well(Horowitz,2006)
Conclusion
Logical Closure: Eating less meat is the only solution to the
problems brought up by meqat consumption to both our health and environment.
Phychological Closure: It is now evident
that if we eat less meat we will not only help our own bodies but our
environment. It is advisable we all work towards ensuring that we take the
right amount of meat, this can happen only through reducing what we take at
current.
Clincher:Want to be
healthier? Want to protect our environment? Eat less meat!
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