18+ Pros And Cons Of Eating Meat (Explained)

There are a lot of arguments going around regarding eating meat and from both sides, for and against.

Meat contains high levels of protein, amino acids, and other micronutrients that are essential to the body.

Even some you can only find in meat exclusively. However, it does increase the risk of cardiovascular and other chronic diseases.

It is due to their other contents such as saturated fat or unwanted hormone-like hosts causing diseases.

However, moderation and some mindful eating can certainly put a meat-based diet on the positive side of healthy living.

If you are someone who is reconsidering whether you should have meat in your diet or not, it is necessary to go through every argument on the table.

More than that, you must go through the facts and statistics related to it as well.

Overall, the best strategy is to see through the pros and cons of eating meat and decide for yourself.

Table of Contents

Pros Of Eating Meat

Meat Has Abundance Of High-Quality Protein

Eating meat provides high-quality protein to your body with the type of amino acid that the human body cannot produce naturally.

More importantly, these amino acids are not available in any type or form of food other than meat.

Animal protein is the key to increase muscle mass, and it is detrimental for body-builders or any fitness enthusiasts.

Not just that, there is research which shows the consumption of animal protein is also largely associated with bone density in older people.

So, consuming high-quality protein from meat helps older people increase bone density and hence helps in lowering the risk of getting fractures.

Meat is integral for any mass-gaining bodybuilding regime due to its high-quality and high-quantity protein along with the long strips of amino acids that are only to be found in meat.

Meat Does Not Necessarily Increase The Risk Of Cardiovascular Problems As Stated

One of the claims which are sold as a downside of eating meat isn’t necessarily true. It is more of a myth or just a diverted fact.

As you know, the claim is about how eating meat contributes to increasing the chances of cardiovascular diseases or Diabetes.

This comes from the fact that meat contains high quality of saturated fat but the thing is, over the recent years, these claims have been debunked quite a few times.

According to the last few years of study conducted in Harvard on a million subjects, there was no proof of any association between unprocessed meat and cardiovascular diseases or diabetes for that matter.

However, this claim can be true for processed meat but processed meat is a totally different thing for this analysis.

Eating Meat Makes Your Immune System Strong

One of the major benefits of eating meat strengthens your immune system, protecting you from common diseases, allergies, and flu.

Meat provides essential nutrients and micronutrients to your body, empowering it to fight against diseases.

It also makes you strong and energetic on a daily basis. In a way, it impacts your mind to be stronger and more focused on your goals.

Eating Meat Is Behind The Human Evolution

What you need to consider is that meat is something that humans have been consuming since the stone age.

With growing technology and food options, now we have the luxury to choose the food to a greater extent but that wasn’t the case at those times.

For thousands and thousands of years, humans have consumed meat which has made our digestive system highly equipped to process animal protein and fat along with absorbing the nutrients.

So, humans are naturally omniverse where we can function on both animal and plant food, and that’s always has been the case.

So, meat is certainly behind the evolution of the most dominant species on the planet.

Eating Meat Improves Brain Health

Meat consumption isn’t only beneficial for your body but also your mind. It boosts brain health in the long run.

White Meat constituents require nutrients that fuel the amino fatty acids in your body.

If you are consuming unprocessed organic meat, it contains about 47% of omega 3 acid which helps boost memory health and brainpower.

Eating Meat Fuels Your Day Better

Since our body is equipped to process meat and break it down to the required nutrients to absorb further, it gives you immense energy.

The high content of protein in the meat without having to consume high carbohydrates gives you the most raw form of energy.

Not just does it builds your body regaining muscle mass but providing you with high energy to do work all day.

The best part is, with high nutritious value, it doesn’t over-burden your stomach or make you slow and sleepy.

Cons Of Eating Meat

Eating Meat Put You At Risk Of Consuming Harmful Hormones

There are long lines of research stating that hormones are found in red meat which increases the risk of breast cancer.

Meat might consume harmful hormones that are damaging to your body. It exposes your body to these hormones which come along with animal meat.

Another study also states that these hormone-like hosts increase the risk of cancer in people.

This happens as these hormones attach themselves to some particular hormone receptors in your body creating tumors.

Eating Meat Might Cause Chronic Diseases

Meat intake participates and is known to be the common link found in the people who have diseases ranging from heart problems or cancer.

Consuming meat suggests heightening the risk of various chronic diseases in person.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Agency For Research On Cancer (IARC), red meat might be carcinogenic, which means cancer-causing.

Processed meat is also found to be the culprit behind cancer and other health problems as well.

The World Cancer Research Fund also reports finding evidence about red meat and processed meat causing colorectal cancer. Rich diets of red meat also partake in increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Meat Consumption Is Not Ethical

One of the largest cons of eating meat falls on the ethical side which meat-eaters consider debatable.

However, it is no brainer that killing animals who are sentient beings just like us, feel pain and everything, just to eat cannot be ethical.

Even though the fact thrown is how meat-eating is traditional and evolutionary for human beings, happening for ages.

But the fact that it is not for our survival and hence we can choose not to eat makes it an ethical decision, personal but still ethical.

So eating meat might stain your conscience of guilt and morally on the wrong side.

Eating Meat Can Cause Weight Gain

This should not be surprising. Eating meat increases muscle mass and has high protein and amino acids.

But not to forget, it also has a high-calorie count due to which if you are eating meat compared to other food, you are consuming more calories than you are probably losing.

And hence, eating meat simply increases the chances of weight gain.

Especially for people who are trying to lose weight or maintain weight, they have to be very careful with meat in their diet.

Eating meat will definitely put more weight on you if you are living a sedentary lifestyle.

This happens because all the unused energy which is not spent on any activity is stored in cells making you fat.

Not just that, getting fat on your body comes with a lot of risk of getting cardiovascular diseases and other health troubles as well.

Eating Meat Can Cause Erectile Dysfunction

The common reason found to be behind the erectile dysfunction in men is a higher intake of meat.

It also results in high cholesterol and leads to obesity and even prostate cancer.

Most of these are seen as common amongst men who are suffering from erectile dysfunction.

Eating Meat Might Decrease Your Life Expectancy

If you are a regular consumer of meat, it somewhat contributes to decreasing your life expectancy.

According to research, the leading cause of death in people around the world, known to be their diets that are high in calories, saturated and trans fat along with high cholesterol levels.

And eating meat certainly develops these conditions in your body.

Eating Meat Is Devastating For Environment

Taking a chapter from the vegan movement in the world where they clearly demonstrate how meat-eating is destroying the planet.

When you eat meat, you can contribute to the ecosystem of livestock and animal farming which dramatically increases the CO2 emission in the environment

The byproduct of raising animals is Methane gas which has a large carbon footprint on the environment, and the same for red meat-eaters.

When the demand for meat reduces, the livestock and animal farming will reduce, and hence the CO2 emission and methane gas in the environment as well.

What you need to understand is that eating meat will leave such an environmental toll on the planet that future generations will have to face the consequences.

The large-scale meat industry is behind the problems such as food shortages, water scarcity, pollution, greenhouse gases emission, and whatnot.