Best way to go green: go vegetarian!

I just did my research paper for Environmental Science on the effects of being vegetarian on the environment, but little did I know that researchers have been saying that it's probably the number one best way to down-size one's carbon footprint, besides all the great personal benefits and ethical reasons for being a vegetarian.

Here's what I found out:

Vegetarianism is the number one answer to our current environmental problems:
- The livestock industry causes more greenhouse emissions and general environmental pollution than any other factor.
- 18% of global warming emissions come from raising chickens, pigs, cattle, and other livestock - this is more than from all the world’s transportation which ranks at 13%.
- January 7, 2007: the United Nations published a report stating: "The livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global."
- The U.S. ranks the highest in world consumption of meat, and not coincidentally is responsible for 25% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. The average person in the U.S. consumes 123 kg of meat a year, versus Germany that comes in second place, still with far less at 86 kg a year, and the developing world averaging 24 kg a year.
- Refraining from monetary and ideological support of the livestock industry tremendously down-sizes one's carbon footprint.

Vegetarians are healthier:
- Vegetarians have half the chance of developing heart disease as meat-eaters.
- Vegetarians have 40% of the cancer rate of meat-eaters.
- Meat-eaters have nine-times the risk of becoming obese than vegans do.
- Vegetarians have stronger immune systems, lesser chance of getting Alzheimer's, asthma, and osteoporosis, and for males, a lesser chance of impotence.
- On average, vegetarians live 6-10 years longer than meat-eaters.
- Even some scientists have produced research showing that vegetarian children tend to grow taller and have higher IQs than meat-eating children!
- Despite myths saying otherwise, a well-varied vegetarian diet provides for all nutrients we need, and actually is cheaper than eating meat. All diets need protein, calcium, iron, and vitamin B12.
- Most Americans have at least twice the amount of protein needed, which, especially in the case of too much animal protein, increases the risk of osteoporosis and kidney disease.

Vegetarianism respects animal life:
- Many religions take this into consideration: Hare Krishna, Seventh Day Adventists. Pope John Paul II once said that he strongly recommended that Catholics not go to bullfights.
- As humans, we've evolved to be the rulers of the earth: let's not be tyrannical, but show compassion.

Vegetarianism respects human life (my personal strongest reason for being a vegetarian):
- Why are we in developed countries, feasting on meat when there are children in Africa, Asia, and Latin America starving? These people would love to have just a little bit of the grains we feed everyday to animals!
- According to PETA's website, "We feed so much grain to animals to fatten them for consumption that if we all became vegetarians, we could produce enough food to feed everyone on Earth. In the U.S., animals raised for food are fed 70 percent of the corn, wheat, and other grains that we grow. The world’s cattle consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people—more than the entire human population."
(I know a lot of y'all out there don't like PETA, but they have a point!)

Albert Einstein said, “Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.” With such strong evidence of the health, moral, and direct environmental benefits of being a vegetarian, plus the blessing of arguably one of the greatest geniuses to ever live, why are you NOT a vegetarian?