Besides the issues associated with fat and cholesterol, consumers of animal products take in far greater amounts of residual chemicals, pollutants, antibiotics, and hormones than vegetarians do. Illnesses such as pneumonia, childhood meningitis, gonorrhea, and salmonella can result from absorbing antibiotics in meat. Environmental and Humanitarian Concerns Raising animals for food is an inefficient way to feed the world's population. The U.S. livestock population consumes enough grain and soybeans to feed more than 5 times the U.S. human population. Forests are being destroyed to support grazing for livestock.
Rain forests are the primary oxygen source for the entire planet.
Also, the excrement of livestock flows unfiltered into our lakes and streams. If Americans reduced their meat consumption by 10 percent, it would free 12 million tons of grain annually for human consumption. That alone would adequately feed each of the 60 million people who starve to death each year.