The Herbivore Way Being a vegan means eliminating the consumption or use of animal products, including dairy. One might think that without any meat or dairy in the diet, the human body would suffer. However, a plant based diet has many beneficial health effects on the body. The vegan diet lowers the risk of many health problems, such as diabetes and heart disease, that a carnivorous or omnivorous diet does not. Along with lowering these health risks, a vegan diet can reduce the exposure to chemicals that are harmful to the body. Not only can a vegan diet do positive things to the body, but it can also do positive things for the economy, according to Michael Pollan, a writer for New York Times Magazine, and the environment. Michael Pollan,
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The U.S. spends between $197 billion and $289 billion each year on meat. (Davis) By eliminating the animal products we consume, the economy could benefit by saving up to $250 billion. Spending the amount of money that we do on meat and dairy products for non-vegan diets is a problem, but another problem is costs associated with medical factors. The U.S spends about $2 trillion on healthcare each year. Treating chronic diseases rather than preventing them by eating healthier accounts for three quarters of that money. Americans eat the meat and other animal products and sometimes it causes harm to the body. This harm needs to get treated, so our economy pays for those treatments. However, we could eliminate the spending and health problems by choosing a plant based diet. By choosing a vegan diet, the U.S. could either save money or use the money in other areas that need it more. A non-vegan diet has done harm to our environment for years. Land gets destroyed every year in order to make room for livestock production. The Amazon rainforest is a prime example. A lot of the rainforest has been destroyed to make room for the animals that we consume. More than 20% of the oxygen we consume is produced by the Amazon rainforest. (YourDailyVegan.com) Not only does the destruction of land hurt the environment, but it ultimately hurts our bodies in the
The U.S. spends between $197 billion and $289 billion each year on meat. (Davis) By eliminating the animal products we consume, the economy could benefit by saving up to $250 billion. Spending the amount of money that we do on meat and dairy products for non-vegan diets is a problem, but another problem is costs associated with medical factors. The U.S spends about $2 trillion on healthcare each year. Treating chronic diseases rather than preventing them by eating healthier accounts for three quarters of that money. Americans eat the meat and other animal products and sometimes it causes harm to the body. This harm needs to get treated, so our economy pays for those treatments. However, we could eliminate the spending and health problems by choosing a plant based diet. By choosing a vegan diet, the U.S. could either save money or use the money in other areas that need it more. A non-vegan diet has done harm to our environment for years. Land gets destroyed every year in order to make room for livestock production. The Amazon rainforest is a prime example. A lot of the rainforest has been destroyed to make room for the animals that we consume. More than 20% of the oxygen we consume is produced by the Amazon rainforest. (YourDailyVegan.com) Not only does the destruction of land hurt the environment, but it ultimately hurts our bodies in the