We have always mistakenly thought that "eating meat is necessary for health". In 1950s, scientists planned meat protein as "the first category" and vegetarian food as "the second category". But this classification has been completely overturned. Because vegetarian protein and meat protein are completely equal in nutritional utility. This distinction no longer exists.
Vegetarian food is extremely rich in protein, with about 8% to 12% in wheat and cereals, and 40% in soybeans, which is twice as much as meat (even the thinnest steak can only use protein for 20%). Many nuts, seeds and beans account for 30% of protein. The protein we need is mainly composed of eight amino acids. Meat is considered superior because it contains eight kinds of amino acids. What meat eaters usually don't understand is that meat is not the only complete source of protein-such as soybeans and milk, but also complete protein. In other words, they can properly supply the eight amino acids we need.
A noteworthy fact is that protein can be easily obtained by eating two non-meat foods (such as rice and beans) at the same time. With such a high-quality combination, the value of protein far exceeds that of a single food. Poor people all over the world seem to unconsciously eat rice with tofu or beans, or corn with beans.
1972, Dr. Frederick Starr of Harvard University conducted extensive research on vegetarians (including adult men and women, pregnant women and adolescents). ) He found that their intake of protein was twice the basic daily requirement of each person. 1954, scientists made a detailed study in Harvard, and found that by arbitrarily combining vegetables, grains and other agricultural products, enough protein can be obtained. No matter what combination is used, each kind of protein can exert its benefits. Scientists then concluded that eating all kinds of vegetarian food, including protein, is enough to meet human needs.
From newspapers, we often see that people in poor countries are malnourished because they lack protein and face hunger and death. But scientists found that these people are malnourished not because they don't eat meat, but because they don't eat enough food. If you only eat or only eat potatoes (few people eat them), it will naturally make a person malnourished or die early. In contrast, anywhere in the world, if a vegetarian can get proper calories and enough vegetables, grains and beans, he can become a healthy, strong and energetic person.
In the past, we always thought that it would be unhealthy not to eat meat. But now it turns out that the opposite is true.
Relationship between meat and world famine
If we feed the poor who are chronically short of food and malnourished with grain, we will easily feed them.
Hefo's nutritionist Jane? Meyer believes that as long as the meat production is reduced by 10%, the saved food can supply 60 million people.
Twenty years ago, the average American ate 50 pounds of meat a year. Beef alone will be eaten this year 129 Jin. Because Americans are obsessed with "meat", most people eat twice as much protein as they need. We should know that the solution to the so-called "food shortage" should be that we must make rational use of the world's food resources.
More and more scientists and economists advocate vegetarianism to solve the food problem on the earth. They say meat is the main cause of this problem. What is the relationship between vegetarianism and food shortage?
The answer is simple: meat is the most uneconomical and inefficient food. A pound of meat rich in protein costs 20 times as much as the same weight of plants rich in protein. Of the meat we eat, only 10% of protein and heat are absorbed to nourish our bodies, and the remaining 90% are excreted.
When a large area of land is to be used to produce food, it will be more beneficial if we use it to grow grains, soybeans and other beans for direct human consumption. For example, an acre of land is used to raise cattle, and only one catty of protein can be produced; But if the same land is used to grow soybeans, it will produce 17 pounds of protein. In other words, if we eat meat, we must use 17 times more land than growing soybeans to get the same result. More importantly, soybeans are more nutritious and less fat, and will not be poisoned by meat.
Raising animals to eat wastes not only land but also water. Studies show that the water used for raising animals is eight times that used for growing vegetables and grains.
This means that when millions of people around the world suffer from famine, a few people are wasting a lot of land, water and grain in exchange for meat, and the meat they eat gradually destroys their bodies. On average, Americans eat more than one metric ton of grain (raised meat animals) every year, while people in other parts of the world only eat 400 pounds of grain.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Edward Han, once said that the diet of rich countries is the main cause of famine in other regions, and the United Nations strongly recommended that these countries reduce meat consumption.
Many scientists believe that the main way to solve the global food crisis is to change the habit of eating meat and become a vegetarian. "If we are all vegetarians, we can make hunger disappear from the world." Children can get good nutrition from birth to growth and live a healthier and happier life. Animals can grow freely and naturally in the wild, without being forced to breed in large quantities like slaves, and then fatten up and wait to be slaughtered; Hungry people can have enough food to eat (Pinggu family: the basic protein of vegetables)
"The earth can supply everyone's needs, but it can't satisfy everyone's greed." (Gandhi)
Because many scientists believe that the demand for food in the future can only be met by plant protein, many western countries have invested in developing sweet plant protein foods made of soybeans and flour. However, in this respect, China people have long been highly developed. It has been thousands of years since they ate tofu and other bean products to get high-quality protein.
Vegetarian food will be the food of the future; If we want to save natural resources. And more importantly, to save the precious lives of human beings all over the world, we will definitely adopt this food. The concept of vegetarianism will naturally be accepted by more and more people; When people realize the more benefits of vegetarianism, they will feel the bitter fruit brought by the pursuit of meat more and more, and realize that the production of meat is the initiator of the world food crisis.
hungry
There is a widely accepted myth about world hunger, that is, the world has no ability to feed all people. "Because there is not enough food, the number of hungry people will double rapidly; If we want to solve this disaster, we must actively control population growth. "
However, more and more scientists, economists and agricultural experts strongly object: "This is a wrong myth", and they say: "In fact, there is enough food in our environment". If there is a shortage, "it is because of the waste of resources and improper distribution." According to Buckminster? According to Mr. Fuller, according to the living standard of the American middle class, at present, everyone on our planet can have enough resources to eat, wear, live and receive education. According to a recent study by the Food Development Policy Research Institute, there is no country in the world that cannot feed its population on its own resources. They say there is no connection between land and hunger; India is usually regarded as a typical example of overpopulation. However, on every acre of land developed, the population is twice that of India, but there is no famine. The population per mu in Bangladesh is half that in Taiwan Province Province, but there has never been a famine in Taiwan Province Province, and Bangladesh ranks first in the world. In fact, "the most densely populated countries in the world today are not India and Bangladesh, but the Netherlands and Japan." Obviously, population density is not the cause of hunger. Of course, there should still be a limit to the population that the world can feed, which is currently set at 40 billion (currently there are 6 billion). At present, half of the world's population is starving all the year round, and half of them are starving to death. If there is enough food, where are they?
Let me see who is controlling food, and how do they control it? The food industry is the largest industry in the world at present-the annual turnover is as high as150 billion US dollars (higher than the automobile, steel or oil industries). It is a huge international group controlled by a few people, and they even have considerable influence in politics. In other words, only a few people control the food that billions of people eat. How did this happen?
One way for this huge company to control the market is to gradually monopolize all aspects of the food industry system. For example, a large company can produce agricultural machinery, feed, fertilizer, fuel and food additives. You can buy supermarket chains, control the wholesale market and do food processing. A small farmer can't compete with them, because they can deliberately lower the price, force the small farmer to give up, and then increase the value to make up for the previous losses. So we can find that after World War II, "the cultivated land in the United States has been reduced by half. About 1000 independent farmers give up their farmland every week. " However, according to a recent study by the United States Department of Agriculture, independent farmers have lower prices and better harvests than large-scale production enterprises.
Economic strength: For example, less than one tenth of companies in the United States 1% own more than 50% of assets. In other words, 90% of the grain market is controlled by only six big companies.
Decision-making power: agricultural companies decide what crops to produce, how much to produce, how high the quality is, and at what price to sell. They have the ability to curb production or store food, causing shortages (to raise prices).
People in charge of this business in government departments often accept orders from agricultural companies. Even the leaders in the government will be influenced by their decisions.
Large international companies are extremely successful in obtaining maximum profits and wealth. Their main policy is not to have too much supply in order to raise the price as much as possible. In the case of shortage, the price rises the fastest.
Big companies are buying more and more land. Surveys in 83 countries show that about 3% landlords control about 80% of the land.
Although this means that a few people have gained great benefits, it has caused harm to most people. In fact, there is no "lack of cultivated land" or "lack of food". If our goal is to use land to meet human needs, this goal should be easy to achieve.