Greetings! Today we will give you some reasons to choose vegetarianism.
Reasons to Choose Vegetarianism
(1) Avoid Excess Protein
Those who eat meat are almost surely getting too much protein, as has already been made plain. Americans eat much more protein than is needed. Therefore . The need is for a balanced ration. The meat “substitutes” are useful in satisfying the appetite and in preparing attractive and tasty foods when meat is discarded, but when used, other heavy protein foods should be omitted so as to avoid excess.
(2) Animal Tissue Wastes
Meats all contain the poisonous wastes of the cells, which are on the way to the lungs, skin, and kidneys for elimination. A major problem in the human body is to eliminate its own wastes, and when the wastes of animals are added, they become a menace. Meat extracts and broths contain practically no food value and are heavily loaded with wastes similar to uric acid.
“Dogs fed with extracts of meat die more rapidly than dogs which receive nothing at all. A person in health may use extracts of meat in small quantities, but it is necessary to prohibit meat extract for invalids.”
(3) Meat Stimulates
The toxic substances in meat are stimulating. A half pound of meat contains one and a half times the nerve stimulant found in one ounce of dry tea. The reason the meat-eater misses his meat and feels weak when he does not get it is not because it gave him strength but because he did not get his accustomed stimulant——the same reason the coffee drinker misses his coffee.
(4) Meat is Acid-forming
Meat is highly acid-forming. The harm resulting from acidosis has been explained in a previous chapter. A balanced ration does not call for meat and has no room for it.
(5) Lacks Minerals and Vitamins
Meat is lacking in minerals and vitamins and so contributes to deficiency diseases.
(6) Hyperacidity
Meat contributes to hyperacidity of the stomach. This was explained in a previous chapter.
(7) Meat is Constipating
Oysters, fish, fowl, and meats of all kinds putrefy rapidly and contribute to constipation.
(8) Degenerates Vital Organs
This has been explained in the previous chapter.
(9) Loads of bacteria
Microscopic count has been made of the bacteria to be found in meats of various kinds so that people may know what they are getting when they eat meat.
Bacteria per Gram
Beefsteak……………………….1,500,000
Corned Beef………….. ……..31,000,000
Hamburger steak……………..75,000,000
Pork Liver……………………..95,000,000
Limburger Cheese……. ……18,000,000
It is interesting to compare the above figures with the number of bacteria found in manure.
Bacteria per Gram
Oyster juice………………. …3,400,000
Fresh droppings of calf……15,000,000
Fresh droppings of goat…..20,000,000
Fresh droppings of horse…25,000,000
Perhaps a deeper impression can be made by looking at a table giving he number of putrefactive bacteria in each ounce of food.
When Purchased Putrefactive Bacteria at Room Temperature
Small Sausage…………….19,800,000,000 19,200,000,000
Roast beef…………………16,800,000,000 22,500,000,000
Round steak……………….16,800,000,000 25,200,000,000
Large Sausage….…………12,600,000,000 14,700,000,000
Sirloin steak………………. 16,800,000,000 …………………
Tenderloin (rare)…………… 5,040,000,000 …………………
Hamburger steak……………3,870,000,000 21,000,000,000
Pork………………………… 3,781,000,000 31,000,000,000
Smoked ham………………. 1,293,600,000 22,500,000,000
Porterhouse steak…………… 900,000,000 21,000,000,000
Tenderloin (well done)………756,000,000
If we multiply these figures by sixteen we get these foods by the pound, the way most people buy them. The farther we proceed in this study the less interesting it becomes.
Oysters seem to be a very good source of bacteria, as this report shows:
“A few years ago a paper by Hindman and Goodrich, of the University of Washington, published the results of an extended study of bacteria of oysters and oyster juice, which showed from 100,000,000 to 200,000,000 bacteria to the teaspoonful of juice. These bacteria were not of the innocent kind such as those which produce sour milk, but were gas producing organisms of the sort which cause putrefaction. These pernicious organisms were found in great abundance, in one series in twenty-three out of twenty-four specimens. In another series the gas-producing organisms were found in all but one of twenty-two specimens.”
If two colon germs are found in a glass of water, it is condemned as unsanitary because they can multiply to be millions tomorrow.
The standard for certified milk is 1,000,000 to the glassful.
If the law concerning water were applied to milk it would require all milk to be thoroughly sterilized; and if it were applied to meat, it would utterly destroy the meat business.
Note this powerful quote:
“In order to strengthen in them the moral perceptions, the love of spiritual things, we must regulate the manner of our living, dispense with animal food, and use grains, vegetables, and fruits, as articles of diet.” SA 66.1
Don’t forget to come back next week for more lessons in the School of Health! In next week’s class, we shall look into more reasons to choose vegetarianism. God bless!