"There are many reasons to abstain from real animal products. Here are fifty of the best ones, all abstracted from The Lumen Book. Written primarily for older children, many adults have written me over the years to tell me how much they learned from it and enjoyed it. I hope you do, too."
-- G.J. Caton, Founder, Lumen Foods

Environmental / Ecological

1. Conservation of Fossil Fuel. It takes 78 calories of fossil fuel to produce 1 calorie of beef protein; 35 calories for 1 calorie of pork; 22 calories for 1 calorie of poultry; but just 1 calorie of fossil fuel for 1 calorie of soybeans. By eating plant foods instead of animal foods, I help conserve our non-renewable sources of energy.
   
2. Water Conservation. It takes 3 to 15 times are much water to produce animal protein as it does plant protein. As a vegetarian I contribute to water conservation.
   
3. Efficient Use of Grains. It takes up to 16 pounds of soybeans and grains to produce 1 pound of beef and between 3 and 6 pounds to produce 1 pound of pork, turkey and egg. By eating grain foods directly, I make the food supply more efficient and that contributes to the environment.
   
4. Soil Conservation. When grains and legumes are used more efficiently, our precious topsoil is automatically made more efficient in its use. We use less agricultural resources to provide for the same number of people.
   
5. Saving Our Forests. Tropical forests in Brazil and other tropic regions are destroyed daily, in part, to create more acreage to raise livestock. By not supporting the meat industry I directly reduce the demand to pillage these irreplaceable treasures of nature. Since the forest land "filters" our air supply and contains botanical sources for new medicines, this destruction is in many ways irreversible.
   
6. Aesthetics. Decaying animal parts, whether in a freezer case or served in public restaurants can never be as aestheically pleasing to the senses as the same foods made from wholesome vegetable sources. Only habit can allow one not to perceive this; a change in diet makes this self-evident.
   

   Personal Health

7. No Deficiencies. There is no nutrient necessary for optimal human functioning which cannot be obtained from plant food.
   
8. High Fat Plus Cholesterol. Animal foods are higher in fat than most plant foods, particularly saturated fats. They contain cholesterol; plants do not.
   
9. Carbohydrate Deficient. Meat is deficient in carbohydrates, particularly the starches, which are so essential to proper health.
   
10. Vitamin Deficient. Except for the B-complex, meat is largely deficient in vitamins.
    
11. Agricultural Chemicals. Being higher on the food chain, animal foods contain fat higher concentration of agricultural chemicals than plant foods, including pesticides, herbicides, etc.
    
12. Exposure to Livestock Drugs. There are 20,000 different drugs, including sterols, antibiotics, growth hormones, and other veterinary pharmaceuticals that are given to livestock animals. I consume these drugs when I consume animal foods. The dangers therein, particularly in secondary consumption of antibiotics, have been well documented.
    
13. Pathogenic Micro-Organisms. There are a host of bacteria and viruses, some quite dangerous, that are common to animals. When I eat meat, I eat the organisms present in the meat. Micro-organisms are present in plant foods, too, but ther number and potential danger to human health is by no means comparable. This is because animals are so close to us both anatomically and physiologically.
    
14. Worms and Other Parasites. Also common to animals. The same argument applies here as that for Pathogenic Micro-Organisms.
    
15. Shelf-Life Differential. Plant foods "last" longer than animal foods. Try this experiment: leave out a head of lettuce and a pound of hamburger for one full day. Which one will make you sick?
    
16. Organoleptic Indications of Pathogens. Plant foods tend to give tell-tale signs of "going bad" much sooner than animal foods. Did you ever hear of somebody getting sick from "bad broccoli"?
17. Heart Disease. Meat-eating increases the risk of heart disease, the No. 1 killer in the U.S. The correlation is an epidemiological fact.
    
18. Cancer Prevention. Of all the natural cancer prevention substances found: Vitamin C, B-17, hydroquinones, beta-carotene, NDGA -- none has been found to be animal-derived. Yet most meats, when cooked, produce an array of benzenes and other carcinogenic compounds. Cancer is infinitely easier to prevent than to cure. Soybeans, for one, contain protease inhibitor, a powerful anti-cancer compound. You won't find it in useful quantities in animal food.
19. Disease Inducing. The correlation between meat consumption and a wide range of degenerative diseases is well-founded and includes...
    
20. Osteoporosis. Strong correlation.
    
21. Kidney Stones and Gallstones. Strong correlation.
    
22. Diabetes. Strong correlation.
    
23. Senile Dementia. Meat-eaters are up to three times as likely to suffer from dementia in old age; in addition, there's a strong correlation with multiple sclerosis.
    
24. Arthritis. Strong correlation.
    
25. Gum Disease. Compelling correlation.
    
26. Acne. Aggravated by animal foods.
    
27. Obesity. Vegetarians tend to be thinner than meat-eaters, and studies contain it. Obesity is considered by many doctors to be a disease in itself.
    
28. Intestinal Toxemia. The condition of the intestinal flora is critical to overall health. Animal products putrefy in the colon.
    
29. Transit Time. Wholesome food travels quickly through the "G.I. tract," leaving little time to spoil and incite disease in the body. Animal products uniformly have longer transit times.
    
30. Fiber Deficient. Fiber absorbs unwanted, excess fats; cleans the intestines; provides bulk and aids in peristalsis. Plant food is high in fiber content; meat, poultry and dairy products have none.
    
31. Body Wastes. Food from animals contain their waste, including adrenaline, uric and lactic acid, etc. Before adding ketchup, the biggest contributors to the "flavor profile" of a hamburger are the leftover blood and urine.
    
32. Excess Protein. The average American eats 400% of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for protein. This causes excess nitrogen in the blood that creates a host of long-term health problems.
    
33. Longevity. To increase one's risk of getting degenerative disease means decreasing one's chance to live a naturally-long, healthy life. Huzas and other peoples with large centenarian populations maintain lifestyles that require little or no meat.
    
34. Well-Being. I just feel better since "giving up" meat and becoming a vegetarian.
    

    Personal Finance Personal Finance

35. Health Care Cost. Being healthier from a vegetarian diet means spending less on health care.
    
36. Food Costs. Vegetarian food tends to cost less than meat-based items.
    

    Ethics

    

37. Love of Animals. I love animals myself. I have no desire to kill them or cause them harm, just as I have no desire to have someone kill or harm me.
    
38. Stance Against Factory Farming. I cannot make a statement about the inhumanity of factory farming if I, myself, eat animals.
    
39. Respect for Sentient Life. I show gratitude to my Creator by eating as low on the food chain as possible.
    
40. "Economic Vote." I support the meat industry and the way they operate when I purchase and use their products. I do not wish to do this.
    
41. Small Sacrifice. The sacrifice I make is nothing compared to the poor animal's.
    
    

    Spirituality

42. God-Given Diet. Our hands, teeth, feet, intestinal tract... even our body chemistry is that of an herbivore. As it states in Genesis: "Behold I have given you every fruit of every seed... and to you it shall be for meat."
    
43. Reciprocity. As you sow, so shall you reap. If I partake of the slaughter of animals, I will have to repay my contribution to that act.
    
44. "Protecting the Temple." "Whatever affects the body has a corresponding effect on the mind and soul." (E.G. White)
    
45. I Believe in Non-Violence. There is nothing non-violent about the senseless slaughter of animals, when more nutritious protein foods are available in their stead.
    
46. World Peace. There can never be peace among men while men are declaring war on other highly developed life forms. This, too, is the Law of Return, and I prefer to contribute to World Peace.
    
47. Clear Conscience. I know I'm doing right. I feel good inside about my decision to remain "meatless."
    
48. Example. To live in this way is to project the underlying spiritual values to those around me.
    
49. Easy Substitutes. There is now a vegetable-based substitute for every meat product imaginable, which brings us to...
    
50. The Whole Earth Vegetarian Catalogue!
    

Lumen Foods home page Whole Earth Vegetarian Catalogue