The Importance Of The Modern American Diet

One in three people in the United States will have diabetes in their lifetimes. Over forty percent of Americans are obese (Forks). Everything points towards our diet playing a huge role in our health. Researchers have shown “if we eliminate or reduce refined processed and animal based foods we can prevent and in some cases reverse health problems by changing our diets to a whole-food plant-based diet” (Forks). The modern American diet is taking a toll on our health and our environment. Because of the increase of unhealthy processed foods, the amount of hidden sugar found in foods, and the demand for animal foods, the modern American diet is eating us alive and a whole-food plant-based diet is the answer to better health in Americans. First, …show more content…
Americans consume two-hundred pounds of meat per person per year (Forks). This extremely high consumption of meats is hosting our diseases that are becoming a part of our everyday lives. Obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer are all increasing rapidly. Some red meats are high in saturated fat. When we consume this fat, it raises our blood cholesterol increasing our risks for heart disease (Forks). In the movie, Forks over Knives, individuals were asked what is the importance of meat? Everyone answered: Protein. But most of us forget that protein isn’t just found in meat but also plants. We don’t need meat to survive but instead we can replace meat with …show more content…
The impact is greater than that of power plants. With this high of demand for animal food, the world isn’t ready nor will it ever be. “Two acres of rainforest are cleared each minute to raise cattle or crops to feed them and thirty-five thousand miles of American rivers are polluted with animal waste” (Forks). We will soon be faced with the reality that natural resources are limited. The amount of water and land it takes to produce animal products versus the amount needed to produce the exact same amount of vegetable products is 5:1 (Forks). It takes five times more land to produce animal products than it does vegetables. A whole-food plant-based diet would cut out the consumption of meat completely and could potentially reverse all of these health problems. We could produce and sustain vegetables without having to cut down all our rain forests along with the life it holds. If people changed their diets to a whole-food plant-based diet, we would not only be saving our selves but also our