I stopped eating beef 5 years ago, following a trip to Costa Rica just days after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Our daughter had been urging us to give up red meat for more than a decade, but a lecture and slide show on the effect of cattle ranching on Costa Rica's spectacular biodiversity, right after my diagnosis, finally did the trick. So compelling were the environmental and human health reasons to no longer eat beef that I barely dwelled on the obvious animal cruelty aspect.
Back home, I wrote about another anti-beef argument here at DNA Science: a sugar (a type of sialic acid) on our cell surfaces that is slightly different than versions on muscle cells of cattle and pigs. The cells of these animals make an enzyme that dismantles their form of sialic acid, but our cells don't. As a result, the human immune system reacts to cow and pig muscle cells bearing sialic acid with its inflammatory response. Over time, thanks to hamburgers and steaks and ribs, risks of cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and cancer rise.
A few days ago, my husband and I returned from a second trip to Costa Rica. This time, we saw firsthand the stark difference between cattle grazing land and the plants-upon-plants-upon-plants that make up natural ecosystems.
To continue reading, go to DNA Science, where this post first appeared.