By Gloria Semeraro
Gloria Semeraro is presently studying in the socio-health field. She has been advocating for a vegetarian lifestyle for the past 9 years, and she actively believes in the importance of protecting environment and animals from unjust treatment.
Her article contributes to the social sub-track of the blog's section - 'EcoVirAl'.
‘EcoVirAl’ is an acronym for the ‘Economic, EnVironmental, and SociAl’ dimensions of sustainable development. Professor Robert Goodland proposed such a categorization in three dimensions in 1995. The European Union adopted it in its definition of sustainable development.
‘EcoVirAl’ will publish blog articles on all those three dimensions. Each week focuses on one of them. The pieces are not fully-fledged scientific ones, but they retain a degree of technicality. The language of the articles is usually English, even if it is possible to publish in Italian too occasionally. In such a case, the editors will provide a translation.
Enjoy your reading!
Introduction.
The number of people who no longer consume meat is gradually rising, with 1.5 billion people doing so now. This is for a variety of reasons, ranging from ethical considerations to health and environmental problems. Whatever the cause, it is undeniable that going a day without eating meat is beneficial to the world and to all of us. The so-called 'Meatless Monday', which began in 2003 as a government-led health campaign in America and has the honour of being sponsored by Sir Paul, Mary, and Stella McCartney, is one of the numerous programs advocating this lifestyle.
Day-by-day effects.
Many statistics today are alarming and endangering the planet's health; suffice it to mention that meat production takes up around 83% of the world's agricultural land and accounts for 14 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions (2019 data). In addition, intensive animal farming consumes 41% of global cereal production. All of this must be balanced by the ethical component, which stems from the deplorable conditions in which animals live on intensive farms, where they are victims of maltreatment and suffer from deplorable sanitary conditions.
Let us now turn our attention to the beneficial effects on the human body of reducing meat consumption: to begin with, when you quit eating meat, you may lose weight, your intestinal function improves as a result of the increased fibre, legumes, and vegetable consumption, and your cholesterol levels decrease.
Antibiotic resistance, or the phenomenon by which some bacteria develop increased resistance to antibiotics, has become increasingly relevant in recent years in terms of health. This situation is caused by the widespread use of antibiotics in intensive livestock farming: the abuse of antibiotics for meat animals may jeopardize the effectiveness of antibiotics used to treat humans.
Nevertheless, the truth is that some facts are difficult to accept, and there are a variety of reasons for this. Some decisions appear to need drastic lifestyle adjustments, but if we all make small gestures for the greater benefit of our world, we can achieve considerable progress.
Conclusion.
It is crucial to remember that every time you buy or consume a product, you are making a decision that has an influence on the environment and may be able to make a difference.
Let us make the right decisions so that our children and future generations might have hope for a brighter future.
Written by Gloria Semeraro
Edited by Noemi Nardi
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References
"20 Remarkable Vegetarian Statistics for 2022" https://dealsonhealth.net/vegetarian-statistics
"L’impatto ambientale della carne: perché è importante ridurne il consumo" https://www.duegradi.eu/news/impatto-ambientale-carne/
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