Red meat could be the most dangerous type of meat in our diet. Many nutritionists advise limiting red meat intake to less than 3oz a day and eating more fish and poultry. This is because meat contains high level of saturated-fat and this could lead to increased levels of blood cholesterol, and an increased risk of coronary heart disease and strokes. Furthermore, this would depend on how much red meat has been eaten; a low intake of red meat can be beneficial in lowering the risk of nutrient deficiencies. However, whilst fish and poultry are the alternatives of red meat, we also have to be aware of bird flu, and disease such as H5N1 which could be found in poultries. Also, fish sometimes contain mercury, lead and arsenic, which could be a threat to human bodies. On the other hand, due to the development of high technology, there are foods that which contains a rich variety of micro protein but made out of flours instead. These foods give a meat taste and are considered to be healthy, an example would include Quorn. Hence, they could be suggested to act as a healthy substitute of meat.
“Belching, flatulent livestock emit 16% of the world’s annual production of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas,” from State of the World 2004. For the environmental issue, meat eating could raise global warming. This is because cow farms produce a large amount of methane, which could eliminate the rising temperature of the earth. Also, producing a pound of beef uses 40 times more fossil fuels to produce a pound of soybeans. This shows that meat eating could raise the consumption of our natural resources. In addition, eating meat could cause opportunity costs as the land could be used to plant vegetables but it is now sacrificed for raising the animals. Also, the excretion of the animals could cause problems. This does not only include the smell of it, the disposal of it is also challenging. Alternatively, the excretions could be used as fertilizers for plants and this could bring up business opportunities for the meat producers, since the excretions could be sold to other farmers whom plant vegetables.
Increasing consumption of meat could create multiplier effects, since the producers of meat would increase due to profit motivation. The government could receive higher tax levels via the meat market, i.e. the VATs and the corporation tax. However if there is an external shock such as Food and Mouth disease, the demand of meat would fall and the producers would contribute less taxes to the government since their profit margin would reduce. On the other hand, this would depend on the state of the economies and how serious the disease is. Meat eating could also contribute to the low unemployment rate, as meat producers would employ workers to keep the industry running. If meat eating becomes unpopular, the unemployment rate could be altered and this would depend on how much the demand of meat has been decreased. Also, in some religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, meat eating is forbidden, this suggests that meat eating is againsting their moral standards in some extents. However, different cultures have different believes and hence wrongdoings should not be justified.
Overall, it seems likely that disadvantages of meat eating override the advantages for individuals’ health. Meats still act an important part in human diet and the quantity intake should be carefully awared. For the society as a whole, meat eating is important especially while referring to the economic issue. Whilst there are several disadvantages of meat eating, the producers may well invest capital on research and development of the meat industry and hopefully the problems could be overcame and the meat market could still survive at a good state.