A similar pattern is evident for breast, cervical, uterine, ovarian, prostate, and lung cancers. Low-fat diets, particularly those without saturated fat, have been instrumental in allowing many diabetics to dispense with their pills, shots, and pumps. A study of more than 25,000 people over age 21 found that vegetarians have a much lower risk of getting diabetes than meat-eaters. A South African study found not a single case of rheumatoid arthritis in a community of 800 people who ate no meat or dairy products. In addition to the problems associated with too much fat, cholesterol, and protein, consumers of animal products take in far greater amounts of residual agricultural chemicals, industrial pollutants, antibiotics, and hormones than do vegetarians.
Fish is another source of dangerous residues.
Vegetarian Ethics Human beings must consider what impact our actions have on the lives of others. We do not need to eat meat, drink cow's or goat's milk, or eat eggs to live. Ecological Arguments More than four million acres of cropland are lost to erosion in the United States every year. Between 1960 and 1985, nearly 40 percent of all Central American rain forests were destroyed to create pasture for beef cattle. The forests also provide ingredients for many medicines used to treat and cure human illnesses, and these resources have yet to be explored for their full potential.