“Meat. To eat or not to eat” Although no one was hesitating over a choice, the topic turned out to be controversial. There were no vegetarians at our meeting not to speak of vegans and on the contrary there were many boys. And as you know boys are usually thought to like meat. But even those good-eaters who were sure one cannot live without eating animal’s flesh got involved into the discussion. We have discussed reasons why people should and shouldn’t eat meat and here are some of our ideas.
People should eat meat because:
1) Your health: prevent disease. Meat-eating has been linked with cancer, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, kidney stones, and many other devastating diseases. By eliminating meat from your diet you can take a crucial step towards a long life of health and happiness.
2) Increased energy and endurance: A vegetarian diet improves your stamina, concentration, and sense of well-being. In one study, athletes who switched to a vegetarian diet improved their endurance to almost 3 times as much as those who remained carnivorous.
3) Avoid toxic food contaminants: Flesh foods are loaded with dangerous poisons and contaminants such as hormones, herbicides and pesticides, and antibiotics. As these toxins are all fat-soluble, they concentrate in the fatty flesh of the animals. Not to mention the viruses, bacteria and parasites such as salmonella, trichinella and other worms, and toxoplasmosis parasites.
4) Humans are by design vegetarian: our flat teeth are perfect for grinding grains and vegetables, not for tearing apart animal flesh. Similarly, our hands are designed for gathering, not for flesh-ripping. Our saliva contains the enzyme alpha-amylase, the sole purpose of which is to digest the complex carbohydrates in plant foods. (This enzyme is not found in the saliva of carnivores.) Basically we have all the right apparatus to consume vegetarian products, and none of the right apparatus for flesh foods.
5) Care for the environment: by improperly using animals for food, we are eating ourselves off the planet. The raising of animals specifically to kill them and eat them has resulted in incredible waste and devastation of our precious resources. Just one example of the consequences is the fact that due to plundering our farmlands to fatten animals for slaughter, over 4 million acres of cropland are being lost to erosion in this country every year.
6) Help end world hunger: every day forty thousand children on this planet needlessly starve to death. According to the Department of Agriculture statistics, one acre of land can grow 20,000 pounds of potatoes. That same acre of land, when used to grow cattlefeed, can produce less than 165 pounds of edible cow flesh.
7) Become a more peaceful person: when we consume animal flesh products we are necessarily at odds with nature and our fellow living beings. Consumption of flesh foods has been scientifically linked with violent and aggressive behavior.
8) Have compassion for animals: animals who are raised for slaughter needlessly experience incredible suffering throughout their life and death. Many people try not to think of the torturous experiences of the animal whose flesh ended up in their hamburger or on their dinner table. But if it is distasteful to think about, consider what it is like to experience it.
9) Vegetarianism is moral and ethical: give the devastating consequences of meat eating on an individual, social and ecological level, as thinking, caring beings we should choose vegetarianism. Many great philosophers such as Plato, Socrates, Leo Tolstoy, and George Bernard Shaw have taught the morality of vegetarianism.
10) Animals are God's property and have a right to life: the living beings temporarily encaged in animal bodies are not here for us to harm and exploit. We are meant to act as caretakers and protectors of animals and the planet, not exploiters and killers. Many world religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Seventh Day Adventists, Mormons, and Jainists all teach that eating animal flesh is wrong.
FIVE REASONS TO EAT MEAT:
1) It tastes good
2) It makes you feel good
3) It's a great American tradition
4) It supports the nation's farmers
5) Your parents did it
Oh, sorry ... those are five reasons to smoke cigarettes. Meat is more complicated.
1. Studies indicate that, if our ancestors had not eaten red meats, the brain of humans would be 1/4 of its present size! During human evolution, our adaptation to red meat and the vital protein and fats it provides, is one of the KEY reasons behind the rapid growth in our intelligence and brain capacity. Without meat we still would be living in the trees eating bananas!
2. In regions where people have the longest lifespan, the diet is based almost exclusively on meat of ruminant animals and cultured dairy products.
3. Protein in beef and lamb provides plenty of building blocks for our body, ensuring strong lean muscles and healthy hormones.
4. Red meat is an excellent source of vital minerals like zinc, iron, and magnesium. In meat, these minerals exist in form that is much easier for the body to absorb compared to the minerals in grains and pulses.
5. Vitamin B12, which can be obtained ONLY from animal sources and which is abundant in beef, is crucial for a healthy nervous system and blood.
6. The carnitine in red meat is essential for balanced and steady functioning of the eart.
7. Beef and lamb fat is rich in linoleic and palmiotelic acids, which have strong anticancer effects and fight viruses and other pathogens.
Also I’d like to note that every time we vote for the best speaker of the discussion and that person who will be the most talkative during the term will have a prize from me!
This time the winner is Max Iarmak! My congratulations, Max. You were really active and prolific!
And next time we will talk about begging. Do you give money to beggars? Do you think you should? Is it poverty or business? This is something we can see every day on the way home from work, doing shopping on Khreshatik Street, going through an underground passage. What do you think or feel every time you see a person begging for money?
I will be happy to hear YOUR opinion!
See you on Thursday!
Vocabulary:
To beg - жебракувати
Begging - жебрацтво
Beggar - жебрак
To donate money - давати гроші, жертвувати
Homeless - бездомний
Welfare - соціальне забезпечення, благодійність
Desperate - безнадійний, безвихідний
Down-and-out - зубожілий, що опустився, викинутий за борт
Predicament - скрутне становище
Compassionate - повний співчуття, співчуття
The milk of human kindness - співчуття, доброта, сердечність (шекспірівський вислів)
Take pity on - поспівчувати, проявити співчуття
Panhandle - жебрацтво
Cadge - жебракувати, клянчити
Take-home pay - чиста зарплата
Unemployment benefit, dole, unemployment relief - допомога по безробіттю
Pilferer, filcher; swindler - шахрай
Cheat, trick, swindle - обманювати, шахраювати
To give a wide berth to - обходити стороною
М. ПЛОЩА УКРАЇНСЬКИХ ГЕРОЇВ,
