Education – Texas Veg Foundation

Health

Texas has a health problem. We’re ranked 30th in cardiovascular deaths, 33rd in diabetes, 29th in high blood pressure, 45th in high cholesterol, and 40th in obesity.
9.3 percent of Texans have been diagnosed with diabetes, and another 440,000 have yet to be diagnosed.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Texas, and the rest of the nation.
The good news is that a plant-based diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains helps with all of these conditions.
“In prospective studies of adults, compared to non-vegetarian eating patterns, vegetarian-style eating patterns have been associated with improved health outcomes—lower levels of obesity, a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, and lower total mortality. Several clinical trials have documented that vegetarian eating patterns lower blood pressure.”—2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans by the US Department of Agriculture

Environment

All that cattle comes at a high cost for the environment, including about 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, 55 percent of erosion and sediment, 37 percent of pesticide use, 50 percent of antibiotic use, and a third of the loads of nitrogen and phosphorus into freshwater resources in the United States, much of that concentrated in Texas
You can see the enormous amount of waste all these cattle produce in the aerial photograph of a Texas cattle feedlot at the top of this section. ¹ These waste lagoons endanger nearby water sources.
As recent as December 2012, meatpackers in Dallas were charged with dumping pig blood into the Trinity river.

Compassion

These same factory farms that have such a heavy toll on our environment and on our health also place animals in unacceptable conditions of crowding that don’t allow animals to walk, stretch their limbs, or even turn around.

Making a Difference

You can make a difference—for your health, for the environment, for the animals—by eating fewer animal products. It all starts with your next meal.