Vegetarian: “a person who does not eat or believe in eating meat, fish, poultry, or, in some cases, any food derived from animals, such as eggs or cheese, but eats vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, etc. .” Not being a vegetarian means eating meat. “This means that pets must be raised.” This contributes to “ecological problems, such as rising temperatures, depletion of the earth's resources,” including water supplies. We should also consider feeding people instead of feeding animals. Eating meat also has healthy consequences. Being vegetarian is healthier for you. Below I will explain why I think you should consider becoming a vegetarian, if not for the environment but for yourself. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Tropical forests are being destroyed every day, to create more farmland to raise animals. By not supporting the meat industry, we are not destroying the irreplaceable forests that filter our air and contain plants for new medicines. “Approximately 70% of all grain produced in the United States is fed to animals raised for slaughter.” “The seven billion farm animals in the United States consume five times the amount of grain consumed directly by the American population.” “If all the grain currently fed to livestock were consumed directly by people, the number of people who could be fed would be nearly 800 million,” says David Pimentel, a professor of ecology at Cornell University. Being a vegetarian has no negative health benefits compared to a diet that includes meat. “There is no nutrient necessary for humans that cannot be obtained from plant foods.” Being a meat eater actually has more negative health consequences. For example, “animal foods are higher in fat than most plant foods, especially saturated fat. Plants do not contain cholesterol." “Meat is deficient in carbohydrates, particularly starches, so essential for good health. Except for the B complex, meat is largely deficient in vitamins. Additionally, animal foods contain higher concentrations of agricultural chemicals than plant foods, including pesticides and herbicides. We also ingest livestock medications when we eat meat. “There are over 20,000 different drugs, including sterols, antibiotics, growth hormones and other veterinary drugs that are administered to farm animals.” These drugs are consumed by us when foods of animal origin are consumed. There are also “a number of bacteria and viruses, some quite dangerous, common to animals”. When we eat meat, we consume these organisms. "Microorganisms are also present in plant foods", but their danger to human health is not as serious as that contained in meat. “Meat consumption may also be linked to disease and other health problems. Meat consumption increases the risk of heart disease. Being a vegetarian may help in cancer prevention.” Of all the natural cancer prevention substances found: vitamin C, B-17, hydroquinones, beta carotene, NDGA, none were found to be of animal origin." On the contrary, most meats, once cooked, produce "benzenes and other carcinogenic compounds". Cancer is easier to safe than sorry. For example, “soybeans contain a protease inhibitor, a powerful anti-tumor compound”. “It is not found in useful quantities in foods of animal origin”.”..