Check Please!

The tab is coming due for the way we eat. It will not be pleasant.

Photo: UnSplash

Sooner than later we are going to be presented with a check for the meals we eat. This tab will be neither pleasant, nor unpredicted, nor unexpected, nor inexpensive. This edition of passing thoughts lists numerous reasons — all offered with verifiable data, none offered with judgment — why, before that onerous check comes due, we need to embrace plant-based meals. Don’t order dessert just yet, you may not enjoy it.

If you’re moving the cursor toward your delete button, or scrolling onto something you’d prefer to invest your time in, please stop. I ask you to read this piece with an open mind, an open heart, and with your health and that of your loved ones and the environment top of mind. I don’t preach about this, but what we eat determines so much of what happens to us that I simply must share what I’ve learned.

"There are two kinds of cardiologists: Vegans, and those who haven't read the data." — Dr. Kim Williams, President of the American College of Cardiology 2015-2016, Head of Cardiology dept. At Rush University Medical Center.

Disclosure: I’ve eaten plant-based for only 6 years. I once LOVED my blue cheese, filet mignon, tuna steaks, lobster tails, fried chicken, eggs and bacon, all foods listed as part of the appropriately named SAD, or Standard American Diet. Just six years ago I was a dedicated carnivore. I believed animals roamed the earth for our consumption. That the only source of good protein was meat. That those nut cases eating only plants were fooling themselves, protein deprived, led astray by fringe groups who likely hugged trees and had phone numbers for cat shrinks on their contacts list. I was equally scornful. I’d look at the green, leafy, veggie-filled meals those wackadoodles ate and I’d sneer, “that’s what real food eats!”

I understand. I get it. Until I had a personal health crisis, weighing fifty pounds more than I do now, my BMI borderline obese at 27.7, sporting an unattractive belly bulge, short of breath much of the time, oblivious to the animal cruelty aspect of the SAD, before I woke up and did the research I agreed with the accepted meal plan, the SAD. Real food for me was meat, fish, eggs, fats, pork, cheeses, any exotic animal protein I could find. My heart attack seven years ago led me to this place. Now? I weigh fifty pounds less. My BMI is at mid-scale-healthy 22.0. From taking 7 drugs a day after the heart attack, I now take 1. The belly bulge is gone. I sleep better. I no longer snore, which my wife heartily appreciates. I have much more energy. At age 76 I can take stairs two at a time. Coincidence? No, it’s the food!

If you’re still reading, thank you. The research is clear about the benefits that eating plant-based meals deliver. An itemized list includes the following:

• Improved health, especially cardiac health.

• Weight loss/management.

• Chronic disease prevention.

• Gut health/Lowered chemical exposure.

• Environmental health/Recovery.

• Cost savings.

• Recognition of externalities.

• Decreased/eliminated animal cruelty.

• Reduced/eliminated exposure to zoonotic diseases.

• Because it’s the right thing to do.

Improved health: As Dr. Williams inferred in the quote above, anyone who’s read the peer-reviewed literature has started eating plant-based. The research results are overwhelming; eating the SAD causes numerous chronic illnesses and wreaks havoc on populations. Plant-based meals, especially those prepared with unprocessed foods, are naturally low in saturated fats and cholesterol which can clog arteries and contribute to heart disease. Also, plant-based meals are rich in fiber, antioxidants, and healthy fats, all of which help protect the heart.

Weight loss/Management: At the start of the plant-based meal plan, I weighed 185 pounds, (83.9 kilos). After 3 months, (three months!), I weighed 149. Humans have a set point for beneficial weight. When we surpass this weight, by eating the SAD among other reasons, it resets upward. When this happens our common response is to diet. But diets rarely work, because our bodies insist on returning to the new set point.

Disease prevention: Scientists agree that most illness has its origin in inflammation, and several common foods in the SAD are proven to cause it. Many chronic health conditions, and several acute ones such as various cancers are driven by inflammation. Many SAD foods such as cow’s milk, eggs, red meat, cheeses, other dairy products, and fried foods are highly inflammatory. According to the MD Andersen Cancer Center, Plant-based meals are packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that can help protect against chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and certain cancers. Recent research is showing that the SAD may be a major contributor to dementias, including Alzheimer’s Disease.

Gut health/Chemical exposure: Plant-based foods are commonly high in fiber, which supports a healthy gut microbiome and overall digestive health. Average American foods contain a significant number of chemicals, including both intentional additives and unintentional contaminants. Estimates are that more than 10,000 chemical additives are allowed in U.S. food, many not reviewed for safety by the FDA. In addition, 12,000 potentially harmful substances may enter the food supply through packaging, processing methods, or pesticide residues.

Environmental Health/Recovery: Growing plant-based foods generally requires less water and land area than does animal agriculture. Animal waste products contaminate waterways and ecosystems, and add to greenhouse gas emissions — especially methane and nitrous oxide. Plant-based eating helps protect wildlife habitats, supports greater biodiversity, and produces a much smaller carbon footprint, thus a more sustainable choice for the planet.

‘…the transition to a plant-based menu led to a reduction in carbon emissions of 36% and a cost savings of 59 cents per meal.’ From NYC Health + Hospitals

Cost savings long and short term: Plant-based foods are often more affordable, especially in terms of protein quality, than meat, poultry, and fish. While initial costs of plant-based food may appear to be higher than for the SAD, there are many hidden cost savings in the grocery budget due to plant-based eating. One benefit is decreased health care costs in the long-term, particularly for illnesses associated with obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, healthcare costs are now 17.6% of GDP in the U.S and climbing.

The UC Berkeley Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology estimated a pound of hamburger would cost $30 without subsidies.

Recognition of externalities. As consumers, we don’t commonly include the cost of externalities in our food. We don’t look for, and are not offered the cost of subsidies provided to certain industries that furnish food. According to a study at The Sutardja Center at UC Berkeley, the U.S. government spends $38 billion each year to subsidize the meat and dairy industries. This is why the quote above pegs the actual, unsubsidized cost of a pound of hamburger at $30.00. If the retail price included these hidden expenses a $5 Big Mac would cost $13. And consider this. Though the government recommends that citizens eat more vegetables and fruits, subsidies for those food items is $17 Million dollars per year, only 0.04 % of what the meat and dairy industries receive.

Decreased/eliminated animal cruelty. The animal food industry is replete with examples of systemic, inhumane, and cruel practices used to commodify animals for food and profit. One gruesome example is chick culling, the killing of newly hatched male chicks, which of course lay no eggs, so breeders have no use for them and no incentive to preserve them. Male chicks are fed live into grinders to become a food additive for the egg-laying females. The abuse of cattle in feedlots is well documented. Factory farming chickens for their meat is as inhumane as it gets. Those chickens are injected with antibiotics and growth hormones to move them to market faster. This practice may partly explain the obesity epidemic in humans who absorb those growth chemicals. Anyone claiming to be sensitive to animal cruelty who studies these inhumane practices will stop supporting this horrid, yet government supported factory farm industry. Lastly, why is this issue not broadcast? Because it’s illegal to do so!*

Reduced/Eliminated exposure to zoonotic diseases. This is as timely a reason as I can offer to stop eating animal protein. As this is written the H5N-1 ‘bird virus’ has proved to be ‘zoonotic,’ that is, the virus has made the leap from animals to humans. Recently, a man in Louisiana has died, the first victim of this new mega-virus with the potential to be worse than the virus that caused the recent pandemic. Giving up animal products can potentially insulate humans from contracting this deadly virus. A recent Atlantic Monthly piece details the invasive progress of the so-called Man- Eater Screwworm. This worm, C. hominivorax, (literally, man-eater), is a parasite that embeds itself in cattle, sheep, pigs, and yes, humans. C. hominivorax is marching north from Panama as this is written. These ‘zoonotic’ viruses and parasites can be effectively neutralized by avoiding exposure to animals that pose as breeders for them.

Because it’s the right thing to do. For many reasons, adopting a plant-based meal plan is timely, wise, intuitive, urgent, and simply the ethical decision. The science is clear: The consumption of SAD is causing numerous health concerns, driving healthcare costs ever upward, harming the planet’s resources, and is cruel to animals. As stated before, our rising consumption of animal protein, including meat, chicken, fish, especially those that are factory farmed, is not sustainable.

Here are the sobering numbers. The equivalent of one football field of the Amazon — the lungs of the earth — is stripped bare every hour as more people seek meat for protein. As this is written more than 24 Billion animals (and climbing) have been slaughtered for food thus far in 2025. Producing a pound of red meat requires 50 gallons of fresh water. Factory farming accounts for 15% of greenhouse gases (as much as the entire transportation segment), and plant-based eating, and plant protein, is much more efficient.

When the tab arrives for our delicious meals of meat, eggs, dairy, and other processed foods we’ll quickly discern that our eating habits and practices are simply not sustainable. It’s estimated that we’d need 3.5 earths to satisfy the growing need for animal protein. It’s past time we dropped the SAD, and discovered the amazing, healthy, delicious, sustainable, and benevolent meal plan that as humans we were designed to eat. Thanks for reading, and bon appetito!

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*Several states have passed so-called ‘ag-gag’ laws that ban unauthorized recording or photographing inside animal processing venues. For example, Iowa’s Ag-Gag law criminalizes recording in slaughterhouses and factory farms to prevent undercover investigations that expose animal cruelty, unsafe working conditions, or food safety violations. Kansas, Utah, North Carolina, and Kentucky have similar anti-whistleblower laws in place.

Resources:

How many earths would we need?

Atlantic Screwworm Piece:

Plantstrong Community:

National Institute of Health: Derek Sarno TEDx:

Chronic disease prevention:

Degradation of the environment

Environment & diet:

Sutardja Center at UC Berkely:

NYC Health & Hospitals Plant-Based meal plans

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine:

Global Nutrition Report:

Harvard Public Health processed foods:

Nutrition Facts .ORG

NIH Weight Management study

Ag-Gag Legislation, anti-whistleblower laws.

Animal Cruelty facts/figures

Cardiovascular Health UCLA study

MD Anderson Inflammation study