Governments Around the Globe Ban Meat

Ban Meat - YES!!!!

Great work EU and British governments and the leaders in the US

Well for starters at least treat the animals humanely. How can they keep their immune systems healthy if we treat them poorly? And then we consume that???

According to Doreen Virtue in regards to Life Force...

What beautiful and benevolant messages of love and hope.

There is a beautiful passage in an 'Autobiography of a Yogi' where they talk about the feelings of everything, even plants. Back then (so, it was early 1900's), a scientist did a test where he would put a foreign object next to a plants leaf. They were able to see each individual cell of that leaf behalf very erratically, some would even die.

They would then touch the leaf, promoting love and happiness. The leaf's cell were almost dancing with joy.

We must be aware that we are all part of the universe. And any action that we take has an equal reaction. The act of making the choice not to kill an animal is - well, our Earthly languages can not describe it. That choice is filled with so much love, beauty, happiness, joy and magnificence it radiates for the whole universe to listen.

The headline is misleading here- governments are not banning meat. (though some have banned imports, which happens from time to time)

Jordan is right.  Even the EU hasn't banned meat.  It merely passed a law prohibiting the sale of seal products.   I did a story on this. Unfortunately I.m having trouble linking it here.  This effectively bans the sale of seal products, not a wholesale ban of all meats.  We should not confuse factory farms with well managed family operations.

Animal Husbandry is the issue here.  I respect the right for people to be vegetarians if they so choose, but that is not realistic for all of us.

This is a good post for generating debate, however you must consider the unintended consequences of banning meat production.  The EU has banned seal meat, but Norway still hunts whales.  The North Sea is nearly seived clean of fish. The EU is talking about banning battery chickens but not insisting pigs be treated in a humane manner.  No meat production, no leather, no manure for gardens.  I am against all these meat factories which endanger everybody's health.  I am for farms on which meat animals have a place.  It is for everyone to remember that vegetarianism is not necessarily a green solution.  A field of corn displaces wildlife.  A rice paddy is an artificial construct denying  wild plants and animals habitat.  We can't say that we are more humane because we choose to kill off the natural world in an indirect manner.  Every human being must shoulder some responsibilty for that.

It is true Barbara that a vegetarian diet also has an impact on the Earth.  However, please keep in mind that meat-based diets require 10-20 times as much land as a plant-based diet and nearly half of the world's grains, corn and soybeans are fed to animals.  Grain currently fed to livestock is enough to feed 2 billion people.  1/3 of the world's cereal harvest and over 90% of soya is used to feed animals.  If everyone adopted a vegetarian diet and no food was wasted, current food production would theotretically feed 10 billion people, more than the projected population for teh year 2050.

And to those who continue to believe that we cannot get all of the nutrients that we need (protein and iron for example) from vegetable sources, I urge you to do your research.  In my decision to go vegetarian, I also had my doubts.  However, the research that I did demonstrated that we can get everything that we need from a plant-based diet, and I have never felt healthier and more full of energy.

As for high-performance athletes and labourers, they too can get enough of what they need.  To give you an example: Carl Lewis (US 9-time Olympic Gold medalist), Murray Rose (Australian swimmer, 4-time olympic gold medalist), Prince Fielder (US baseball player), Greg Chapell (ex-Australian cricketer), Peter Brock (former Australian race-car driver) are all vegetarian.  

The Australian recommended dietry intake for iron for a man 19 years and over is 8mg.  1 cup of soybeans provides about 8.8mg of iron and 1 cup of spinach, lentils or quinoa will provide a bit over 6mg.  Many fruits, vegetables, nuts, breads, pasta all have some iron in it so it is very easy to ensure that you are getting your daily requirement. 

Contrary to popular belief, we do not need large amounts of protein.  Getting the recommended intake is enough and there does not appear to be any health benefits of having more protein in your system.  Nearly all vegetables, beans, grains, nuts, and seeds contain some, and often much, protein. Fruits, sugars, fats, and alcohol do not provide much protein, so of course a diet based only on these foods would have a good chance of being too low in protein.  

Its just a matter of eating a healthy diet.  But I think the majority of the western world would benefit from tweaking thier diet, at least a little bit.  

It seems I have written my own little story here, rather than a simple comment, but as you said Lilhoody, this particular issue does get quite heated!  I am certainly sick of feeling the need to defend the vegetarian diet to people (such as many of my family and friends) who have not done an ounce of research on the subject. 

Do not forget though that the EU imports meat form South America, North America and Australia because it does no longer produce as much and because its own meat production is becoming to expensive due to all the well fair restriction. However the demand is still high and why now the imports wish causes another problem. Transport, Pollution and large scale farming in the Americas. 

The goal is good, yet the way to get there is not easy. 

The UN has been calling for an end to Fish and Meat consumption for over a decade now. It is the only way to restore our environment and especially our oceans.

The problem still is Protein supply for some, since not all people work in air conditioned offices. But rather hard physical work and long hours, those can not live on a vegetarian diet alone. 

Never the less our meat consumption has to be drastically reduced since we do consume far more then we would require to live.

We could reduce our meat consumption by 95% in the western countries with out any problem nor damage to health or well being, it would even be healthier for most, other then the Physical hard labourer.

Protein yes, and also iron, which many of us low on, especially women.

I notice in NS, last week our major grocery chain Superstore, now offers "Free From" meats, which is free from hormones, and antibiotics and animals are grain fed. People complain that it is too expensive. I don't think so. Being sick is more expensive. See my story here.  Hope I didn't go off topic too much.

Interesting post. Thanks for this.

This is great actually - thanks for this piece.

Thank you all - its great to discuss topics that people feel so passionately about.

It almost seems that leading a vegetarian, plant based diet causes much debate around the world. It seems equivalent to discussing religion at the turn of the century, to discussing politics and war (though still today) in the middle of the century - to what seems like discussing vegetarianism today.

No one has banned meat...this article is misleading.