Why You Really Never Needed Meat in the First Place

If you grew up eating the standard American diet (S.A.D.), chances are you ate plenty of chicken, beef, milk, and cheese. But new research indicates that eating meat, dairy, and other animal products isn’t needed for good health. Instead, meat consumption in America has been part of a much larger movement to subsidize ‘monocrops’ like corn and soy as well as factory farms with the ultimate goal of yielding profit, not promoting health.

The Hidden Truth Behind Farming and Government Subsidies

Michael Pollan discusses in his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma how much of his research with the American food industry revolved around crops like corn and soy. Not only are these crops morphed into crazy ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, and soy lecithin, but they’re also the primary feed used for cattle and poultry in the United States.

That might sound all fine and dandy, except for one cardinal rule: cows are biologically designed to consume grass, not corn and soy. In fact, when fed corn and soy, they develop a host of health problems that are temporarily attenuated with antibiotics and other medications. Overconsumption of antibiotics leads to drug-resistant bacteria like the infamous E-coli 0157 which when contracted can be fatal.

If this paradigm is so flawed, why are farmers and ranchers adhering to it? Simply put, the government encourages this type of farming. They subsidize farmers to grow as much corn, soy, and wheat possible for as little money as possible. These GMO-ridden crops are then fed to cattle and other livestock. And to top everything off, this animal protein is marketed as essential for a healthy lifestyle. Michael Moss’ Salt, Sugar, and Fat documents how the emphasis on dairy in this country was actually a campaign run by the Regan administration in attempt to mitigate the astounding levels of dairy products farmers were producing because of subsidization policies from the Second World War. In other words, animal protein/product consumption has a long and intertwined relationship with Washington. These policies have detrimentally affected the health of many Americans, for the overconsumption of meat has certainly contributed to the staggering amounts of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity in this nation.

The Real Deal on Protein

Let’s take a minute to unpack this whole ‘protein argument’ we’ve heard time and time again. Surely you’ve heard how protein is essential to any healthy diet and how meat is one of the primary sources of protein. This is true, and we definitely do need protein to be healthy. But maybe not as much as we once thought. Moreover, if we acknowledge the government’s incredible influence in this dietary requirement, we find ourselves eating other sources of protein that are just as healthy — and actually healthier.

Protein ultimately comes down to amino acids. Some amino acids are non-essential, meaning your body has the biology to produce them independently. It’s when we get to essential amino acids that the body needs from outside food sources where things get tricky. Most dietary recommendations argue that getting these essential amino acids from meat is best. But we’ve learned about other vegan sources of amino acids that don’t come from animal products. Everything—even fruits and vegetables—contains these amino acids. So technically, if you’re eating enough healthy fruits, veggies, whole grains, and healthy fats, you should be meeting your amino acid quota and therefore your protein quota.

Feeding Vegan Children, Teenagers, and Beyond

Perhaps one of the biggest obstacles in ending America’s dependence on animal proteins is the controversy many face when feeding their children or teenagers a plant-based vegan/vegetarian diet. Instead of teaching a new generation about a plant-based diet, we often criticize and disapprove of their dietary choices.

Although initial studies show that children on vegan diets don’t grow as much as children fed conventional formula and animal products, usually the vegan children maintain much better health over the course of their lives and face smaller risks for heart disease, diabetes, and other ailments related to obesity. We also can’t deny how children fed a diet with animal products might be experiencing inflated growth. In other words, it’s not that the vegan children are smaller; the S.A.D.-fed children are getting bigger.

The teenage years is another period of important growth where more controversy is faced. But all it takes is a little planning to feed a healthy vegan teen. Many people worry about protein consumption during this crucial growing period. However, there are plenty of plant-protein sources besides tofu, seitan, and tempeh that all provide plenty of nourishment like whole-grains, legumes, and even various leafy greens.

We simply don’t need the meat we’ve been told we do. Our dependence on animal meat as a source of protein is highly overrated and there are plenty of alternatives that are far superior for our bodies and the environment.

We also highly recommend downloading our Food Monster App, which is available for both Android and iPhone, and can also be found on Instagram and Facebook. The app has more than 8,000 plant-based, allergy-friendly recipes, and subscribers gain access to ten new recipes per day. Check it out!

Image source: Calliope/Flickr