Americans eat an average of 52.3 pounds of beef, 57.4 pounds of chicken, and 43.5 pounds of pork, per person.Vegetarians, about 5% of the US population, do not eat meat (including poultry and seafood). The USDA includes meat as part of a balanced diet, but it also states that a vegetarian diet can meet “the recommended dietary allowances for nutrients.”Should people become vegetarian? This nonpartisan book presents sourced facts, studies, and pro and con arguments and quotes related to vegetarianism.Many proponents of vegetarianism say that eating meat harms health, wastes resources, causes deforestation, and creates pollution. They often argue that killing animals for food is cruel and unethical since non-animal food sources are plentiful.Many opponents of a vegetarian diet say that meat consumption is healthful and humane, and that producing vegetables causes many of the same environmental problems as producing meat.They also argue that humans have been eating and enjoying meat for 2.3 million years.ProCon.org, a 510(c)(3) nonprofit public charity, presents the pros and cons of dozens of controversial issues in order to promote critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship.
