Let us now embark on the environmental factor. Before we do so, in my opinion we need to first work out what is the number of animals needed to satisfy the meat eating craving of the man. For the sake of simplicity let us assume that man consumes only beef.

With this assumption, let us try and figure out by first principles, the number of cows, needed to satisfy the meat eating appetite of the human population.

At the time of writing this, as per the World Population Clock maintained by the US Census Bureau, the current human population of the world is 6,773,600,879

It is estimated that about 2.8% of the population in the US is vegetarian. If again for the sake of simplicity I assume that that is true of the world at large, then it would mean that about 97% of the world population eats meat. Furthermore, for the sake of being highly conservative, let us assume that this estimate is 100% in error, then it would mean that 6% of the world population is vegetarian and 94% eats meat.

Also the population of India at the time of writing is 1,142, 727,275

It is estimated that between 20-42% of the Indian population is vegetarian. Again to be highly conservative, let us assume the higher number as the percentage of Indians who are vegetarians – that is 42%.

With the above, the number of meat eaters in the world work out to be 5,955,803,007

The details are as below:

It is a well known fact that The Recommended Dietary Allowance or RDA (sometimes referred to as Recommended Daily Allowance) is defined as “the average daily dietary intake level that is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (approximately 98 percent) healthy individuals”.

The RDA can be broadly classified as being applicable into two age categories – new born to 15 years being one and more than 15 years being the other.

For the purpose of arriving at the meat requirement to support the meat consuming population of the world, we assume that the protein requirement for the children (less than 15 years) is 20 gm. And the protein requirement for the adults is 50 grams. This is as per the RDA.

According to the 2006 CIA World Fact book, around 27% of the world’s population is less than 15 years of age. Thus Non Vegetarian population greater than 15 years of age works out to be 4,347,736,195.

It is well known fact that per gram of protein and carbohydrates produce 4 calories each of energy and each gram of fat is equal to 9 calories. Thus RDA requirement of 50 grams protein works out to be equal to 200 calories or 10 percent of the RDA calories. (Most fitness enthusiasts and doctors would tell you that 50 grams of protein is low, but I have still taken a very conservative estimate of 50 gms as per the RDA)

I understand that 4 oz. or 128 grams of beef gives 220 calories. Thus to get 200 calories of energy you therefore require 116 grams of meat.

With the above assumptions and facts, the total requirement of beef to support the non-vegetarians in the world would be 578,308,472 kg! And this number is arrived thus:

Now to calculate the number of cattle that will produce this meat, we need to know how much meat is available per beef cattle. This number is 516lbs or 234.55 KG. (The same source also mentions much lower meat per cattle, but I have taken a number which is higher by almost 50% – to be highly conservative in my calculations)

Thus the total number of cattle that is required PER DAY for the meat eating populace would be 2,465,608!

(Two and a Half Million !!)

And assuming that the beef cattle is slaughtered, on an average, at the ripe old age of 2 years, at any given point of time you would require to raise 1,799,894,200 cattle. 

That is a staggering 1.8 Billion bovine.

What kind of natural resources will be required to sustain such a large number of ARTIFICAILLY raised cattle – your guess is as good as mine.

But we shall discuss that in the next few days.

I have done a fair amount of research on the internet and otherwise and summary of all comments that I have read or heard are:

1.     More and more people are dying from diseases that are directly tied to their eating habits. Studies have shown that a vegetarian diet is healthier than a non-vegetarian diet.

2.     Vegetarians live longer than non-vegetarians.

3.     You will save yourself from cancer, cardiovascular diseases and other dreadful troubles.

4.     You will be more fit and slim and fit into your old jeans.

5.     Your body will be cleaner and have lesser toxins.

6.     The bones live last longer.

7.     Net, net – You will be generally healthier.

All of the above may be true. Or it may not be true at all. Scientists and researchers have this uncanny habit of coming up with contradictory findings every now and then. For a long time fat was all bad, then it became good and now only certain kind of fat is good and all else is trash. Similarly, sometimes proteins are good and some other times they are bad. There was also a time when all carb diet was supposed to be good and now it is not so.

Every second day I read about the ill effects of caffeine. Every second day, because in the intervening days I read about the benefits of caffeine!

The point that I am driving at is such research needs to be taken with a bagful of salt. You never know, just when you become a vegetarian, the same researchers may come up and talk about the benefits of meat in your diet.

The first questions that we need to ask is – why do vegetarians also get cancer? My grandparents from both sides were hard core vegetarians – they did not sit with you if they got to know that you ate meat. Yet all four of them died of cancer!

Does a vegetarian person not get afflicted by diabetes? Are they immune to heart diseases? The answer is a clear no.  A vegetarian is equally likely to suffer from some disease or the other – if a person is born then he will die one day and that death if not accidental will be most likely due to a disease.

Ah! I can hear some protests. I can hear someone saying, “Next you will tell that smoking too is not bad”. Well, my answer to that will be evident a little later.

In my opinion, it is not the meat diet that makes you unhealthy. It is excess of DIET that makes you unhealthy and susceptible to cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and what have you. 

Sometime back I read that most people die of overeating than under eating (excluding cases of starvation, and we will come to the causes of famine and starvation in later articles).

We all know that every person has a basic energy requirement to take care of their daily tasks and this in calorie terms works out to anything between 2000 to 3000 calories for an average man depending on his age, weight, height and activity level. The food that we eat and the beverages that we drink provide this energy. The amount of energy that we get from our diet is a function of how much and what we eat. And if you overeat and overdrink, then you will end up with calories that are far “over” than what you need. Result will be health problems of the kind listed earlier.

Now you body will not condone you the overeating just because you do not eat meat.  And likewise, you body will not punish you if you do not overeat just because your diet consists of meat.

The trick to a healthy life according to me is in eating the right quantity – no overeating. Unfortunately we humans are hungry and greedy – we are the only animal in the world that overeats.

In case of a non-vegetarian diet the overeating can cause higher damage because of the higher fat content – especially if you eat red meat. Therefore, overeating will be more harmful for a meat eater than to a plant eater. And because a majority of populace overeats, the meat eater pays a higher price.

So, the question that needs to be asked in the end is – If a meat eater eats in a restrained manner, that is, he does not overeat, then is meat eating justified?

My answer to that is NO.

Why?

I’ll take that up in my future posts under what I call the positive reasons for being a vegetarian.

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