素食與健康 Health & Vegetarianism（4）／嚴國銘

從素食金字塔圖示可知，人們可從蔬果、全穀類、豆類、堅果和植物油等素食中獲得足夠的營養。


即使一般的食物金字塔也建議人們多吃穀類和蔬果，少吃肉。


除了健康，筆者最後在此也略談其他相關議題。1961年，美國開始從中美洲進口牛肉，而那時中美洲仍有130平方英哩的雨林。為了養牛，就必須開墾森林種牧草。才二十五年，雨林就僅存八十平方英哩。此外，由於開墾森林，造成了每年一萬種生物滅絕，而平均每一小時就一種滅絕。雨林的原住民也因生存環境遭破壞，而死於飢餓。

此外，讀者文摘也指出90 %的蛋白質，在從植物轉動物性蛋白質的過程中會被浪費掉。(以一百公斤的黃豆餵動物，只能得到十二公斤的豬肉或十公斤的牛肉。)這些養份被轉換成各種動物性的廢物(如尿酸和乳酸)和排泄物。其每天所產生兩千億的動物排泄物，超過美國人的二十倍。這些排泄物造成嚴重的河川污染，甚至造成水質優氧化。

美國食物發展政策學會也指出，每天有四萬名兒童死於飢餓，亦即每兩秒鐘就有一位兒童餓死。世界上有一半的人口（約三十億人）處於挨餓狀態。當這麼多人死於飢餓，美國人卻以85%的食物餵食家畜。在大陸，平均每人僅消耗195公斤的穀物，因73%的食物是由人們直接食用，而美國人一年卻消耗667公斤，因只有15%的食物由人們直接食用。

人們可從〈meet your meat〉網站　(www.meetyourmeat.com)　上得知更多事實真相。別把影片關掉只因畫面太慘忍，因為這些事實絕不因閉上眼睛或摀住耳朵就消失。反之，試著想想在影片中所呈現的一切，您便會對這些無辜、無助的動物產生較強的同情心。

當筆者告訴美國朋友有關肉類可能造成癌症的原因，如農夫用荷爾蒙和抗生素餵動物，還有美國健康部允許長癌的動物身上的肉仍可販賣，仍有朋友回答說他寧可死，也不願不吃肉。然而，當與另一位家庭正遭受癌症之苦的朋友談及此事，她僅回答：「一切都太晚了。」人們造成動物的痛苦，而動物造成人們重大疾病，因此，筆者誓盡最大力量，停止此惡性循環。

參考資料

一、持齋真諦，李輔人著，輔仁出版社
二、英文傳題參考手冊—基礎篇，祟德學院英語庫，光慧文化事業股份有限公司
三、營養免疫學，陳昭妃著，丞燕健康文庫
四、新世紀飲食，約翰．羅彬斯著，琉璃光出版社
五、晨鐘 正一善書出版社 （全文完）


Health & Vegetarianism (Part 4)

In the following picture, vegetarian food pyramid shows that people may absorb enough nutrients from balanced vegetarian diet mainly based on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, and plant oils.
Even normal food pyramid suggests people to eat more grains and vegetables, and less meat.


Finally, besides health, I would like to discuss some other important issues. In 1961, America started to export beef from Central America, and Central America had 130 square miles of rain forest. For raising bulls, it is necessary to deforest for growing grass. In just 25 years, there were only less than 80 square miles of rain forest left. Besides, every year, there are 10 thousand of species extinct, about one species per hour, because of the deforestation. Also, many rain forest natives die from hunger because their living environment was destroyed.
Also, Reader Digest reports on Average, 90 % of protein may be wasted during the process of conversion from plant to animal protein. (If you use 100 kg of soy bean to feed animals, you may only get 12 kg of pork or 10 kg of beef) These nutrients were converted into all kinds of animal waste (such as uric acid and lactic acid) and excrement. Everyday, twenty billion pounds of animal excrement is produced, and it is twenty times more than the American waste. They cause serious pollution in our
rivers and make them become eutrophicated.
The Institute for Food and Development Policy (better known as food first) also states that 40 thousand children die from hunger everyday, and it means every two seconds, one child die from hunger, and half of world population (about 3 billion people) suffer in hunger. While many people die from hunger, the U.S. uses 85% of food to feed farm animals. In China, averagely every people consume 195kg of grain, and 73% is for people to eat directly. Americans consume 667 kg, and only 15% is eaten directly.
People may know more truth from the website:“meet your meat” (www.meetyourmeat.com), and don’t turn the video off when the image is too cruel, because the fact never disappears just because you close your eyes and cover your ears. Instead, try to visualize what, you may have seen in the video so that you may have a stronger sympathy for these innocent and helpless animals.
When I told my friends some factors that meat may cause cancers, such as farmers feed hormone and antibiotics to animals and Department of Health allow meat from animals that have cancer, some of them replied to me that they prefer to die rather than living without eating meat. However, when talking to some of my classmates whose family is suffering from cancer, that’s really not too hard for her. When I tried to give her some advice for her family, she said: “Everything is too late.” People cause animal suffering, and animals cause people serious illness. I swear I will try my best to stop this vicious circle.
（The End）
（在此特別致謝Betty ko及張嘉琪為此文英文校稿）