Meat unbalances diet by introducing excessive amounts of fat, cholesterol, pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics. Nations that don't get enough meat suffer from malnutrition. The best indicators of malnutrition are poor health and short life expectancy. On the other hand, the risk of contracting these diseases for U.S. vegetarians is one-third of that for the general U.S. population. Unlike other, however, we do avoid the excess protein from meat and other animal products which are laced with fat, cholesterol, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and similar harmful ingredients and place an unnecessary burden on the consumer's digestive system, liver, and kidneys.
Plant protein is of inferior quality.
However, we now know that approximately 80 percent of our protein intake is used to build the 14 non-essential amino acids, it needs from plant protein and to form the protein molecules needed by our own bodies. Vegetarianism may be O.K. for adults, but children need meat. Meat is rich in protein and iron, but is also contains saturated fat and cholesterol and depletes calcium from the bones. And meat contains pesticides, supplemental growth hormones injected to make cows grow faster, and natural hormones produced by the animal. Vegetarianism may be O.K. for people, but our pets need meat.