Dangers of Consuming Too Much Meat

Things you did not know about meat consumption

Is eating meat bad? The simple answer is yes. Well, many of you may only eat “a little” meat and cut back your meat consumption, the fact remains that eating any kind of meat, including “white meat”, processed or not, poses several serious long-term issues to your health.

A serious threat that eating meat poses is that it significantly increases your risk of cancer. Processed meats which include sausages, hot dogs, and bacon, is classified under Group 1 according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Foods given the Group 1 classification is carcinogenic to humans, which means it has the potential to cause cancer. While “red meat” such as pork, beef, and lamb are classified under Group 2, which means they are probably carcinogenic to humans.   

The World Health Organization has declared that eating processed meats increases your chances of colon or rectum cancer by 18%. A vast array of studies conducted by different universities and institutions around the world have also found that eating large portions of chicken, cows, and other animals frequently also promote cancer in different forms.

Eating meat also increases your chances of diabetes and heart diseases. Meat, eggs, and dairy products all contain cholesterol and saturated fat which increases your chances of getting strokes, heart attacks, and diabetes. This is the reason why Bill Clinton chose to go vegan.

Not only that, but you also have a higher risk of getting food poisoning. The number one food that causes the most outbreaks of food poisoning, is beef. You can get food poisoning by consuming contaminated animal meat. Animal products are often tainted with fecal contamination during slaughter or processing which increases your chances of getting food poisoning.

Another danger of consuming meat, and one that not many are aware of, is that it might contribute to erectile dysfunction in men. Medical evidence has shown that impotence can not only be caused by anxiety, but by eating meat as well.

Meat, eggs, and dairy products slow the flow of blood to not only just the heart but to other organs in the body as well as they clog up the arteries. One way to prevent artery blockage is to eat a diet high in fiber which includes fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. A study has also proven that men who regularly exercise and eats a diet rich in flavonoids reduce their risk of erectile dysfunction by over 20%.

Another threat of consuming meat is that it makes your body more resistant to antibiotics. This is because factory farms use the antibiotics that we depend on to treat human illnesses are used to promote growth in animals and to keep them alive while they are kept in terrible and inhumane living conditions that would otherwise kill them. As a result, factory farms are now a breeding ground for antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Not only does eating meat affect our health, but it also affects the environment. When land is used to raise animals instead of crops, deforestation occurs as trees will have to be cut down in order to provide space for grazing or factory farms. Over 260 million acres of forest have been cleared to make room for factory farming. This releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, causing the rate of global warming to increase by 50%.

Another effect factory farming has on the environment is air pollution. At least 37% of methane emissions result from factory farming as animals such as cows and sheep release methane during the natural digestion process. Not only that, but factory farming also releases other harmful compounds such as ammonia that can cause immediate negative health effects in humans if exposed for long periods of time.

So what next? How can you prevent these dangers from happening? Some argue that veganism is the only solution. However, there are other approaches.

In recent years, various campaigns are trying to encourage meat-eaters to cut down the amount of meat they eat to once a week. If this was adopted on a large scale, it would make a huge difference in reducing not only the environmental impacts but also reduces the health risks mentioned above.

Next time, think twice before you order a steak or a burger. Not only are you doing what you can to preserve our planet, but you are also saving yourself from long-term diseases!