“Over 56 billion farmed animals are killed every year by humans. More than 3,000 animals die every second in slaughterhouses around the world. These shocking figures do not even include fish and other sea creatures whose deaths are measured in tonnes” (“Food”). Animals need our help; they do not have a voice to tell butchers that hurting them is cruel. Every day they are put through the worst conditions imaginable. Even though humans have been killing animals for thousands of years, people alive now should not be able to benefit from their pain, because they have emotions similar to people, eating no meat will improve world hunger, and becoming a vegetarian is a healthier lifestyle. Animals deserve their own rights.

Animals have emotions. Jonathan Balcombe, the director of animal sentience at the Humane Society Institute for Science and Policy, traveled to a farm for neglected and abused animals. He noticed that his presence made the hurt ones more relaxed, and that they found ways to communicate with him. For example, a sheep was wagging his tail in approval when he was pet. Balcombe is arguing that they have wants, needs, and personalities. Animals not being able to speak in a language we understand does not make them incompetent creatures. Much like people, they have families who care about each other and are upset when they are torn apart. All beings are meant to have the longest and happiest lives possible.  We all have feelings; humans should not have the right to kill an animal.

In fact, humans’ and animals’ brains are quite similar. Croke reports that “[...] thanks to technology including MRI, we can [...] see when brain areas are activated in animals, and the chemicals that percolate, mirror our own brain functions.” In other words, we both show many of the same emotions. That is why it being acceptable to kill an animal, yet insane to kill a human, does not make sense. A life is a life, no matter what form; we all have important reasons to live.

Animals can build relationships with people. Some think that because animals can not talk to humans directly we can not bond, but that is far from true. Friendships are created daily, and happen between every type of creature. My mother is an example of it. When she was eight years old, she had a cow named Happy. Every time my mom would sit on the fence outside, Happy would come greet her (Cheyne). Happy could recognize my mother’s face; they had a connection. Animals and humans do not need to stay away from each other. We can all work and help one another to build a healthy and safe planet.

Living conditions affect an animal’s attitude. Melissa Bateson, from England’s Newcastle University, studied the difference between European starlings housed in socially enriched enclosures, and alone in similar, but barren cages. Every day the birds were given tasty worms in white containers, and not-so-tasty worms in dark grey containers. The starlings started to catch on, and routinely picked the worms in the white container. Once a new choice was offered, worms in an inbetween colored container, the birds in the comforting environment were more likely to try them out (qtd. in Balcombe).  Bateson’s research proves that being some place pleasant affects an animal’s mood, just as it does a person’s. The birds in blank cages grew to have a pessimistic view on the world. They did not want to try anything new because they were afraid of a poor outcome. It is unjust to kill animals and to hold them in horrible conditions beforehand. People call the police when an intruder breaks into their house, because it is serious. For a human to break into an animal’s sanctuary is just as frightening, and harmful. An animal’s home is sacred and should not be touched by humans.

World hunger would decrease if we were nicer to animals. Hunger affects a great deal of people. “Some 795 million people in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy active life. That's about one in nine people on earth” (“Hunger Statistics”). Seven hundred ninety-five    is a very large number. Men, women, and children are dying from malnutrition. So many more people could be fed by simply changing who is given the grains.
If people were given the grains that the cows are given, world hunger would decrease. Chatham states that “[...] it takes anywhere from 13 to 20 pounds of grain fed to a cow to produce just 1 pound of muscle mass, i.e. beef.” That is thirteen to twenty percent more people without a meal, not counting the grains from chickens and pigs that could be given out. That is a lot more stomachs that would be filled. Feeding the food straight to the people is much simpler than feeding the cows, killing them, and then eating the cows. It is more efficient to have a larger amount of people completely nourished, then only a few. Humans and animals are capable of eating the same grains.

A perk of not eating meat is the health benefits. “Vegetarians have lower rates of heart disease and some forms of cancer than non-vegetarians” (“Being a Vegetarian”). Heart disease and cancer are both horrible sicknesses that can put anyone in the hospital. Reasonably, if there were any ways to minimize those illnesses, we would pursue those solutions. Not eating animal meat is a healthy option for everyone.

It is easy. “There are vegetarian versions of almost every meal you can think of [...]” (“Top Six Picks”). That means that eating your favorite foods is still possible. Instead of chicken on a salad, have tempeh. Substitute beef with tofu in your burrito. There are so many other foods that have protein, for instance, soy, nuts, and beans. It is not hard, and there are infinite combinations people can have. Becoming vegetarian is very appreciated by animals, and is not complicated. We do not need to follow what people have been doing for so long, we can make our own, new path.

The things we did in the past should not affect what we do now. Christopher Wanjek, a health and science journalist and author, acknowledges that “[...] it would have been biologically implausible for humans to evolve such a large brain on a raw, vegan diet and [...] meat-eating was a crucial element of human evolution at least a million years before the dawn of humankind.” Wanjek claims that eating meat is what made us human. However, that was a very long time ago and is over now. A long time ago women also could not vote, and slavery was legal. If we stuck to what people thought was right in the past, the world would be a very unjust place. What our ancestors did to animals should not matter now.

We should not murder animals because it is wrong to hurt them for our own selfish reasons, despite the fact that it has been done for so long. Animals have emotions, vegetarians live healthier, and world hunger would decrease by going on a meatless diet. Animals are not meant to be killed by humans. Giving animals rights is one step closer to an equal and fair world.

Works Cited
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2015, 10 Dec. 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
"Being a Vegetarian." Brown University Health Promotion. Brown University Health Promotion.
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Chatham, Michael. "Could Veganism End World Hunger?" Gentle World. Gentle World, 1 Sept.
2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
Cheyne, Cristy. Personal interview. 9 Nov. 2015.
Croke, Vicki. "Animals Do Have Emotions, But What Should We Call Them?" The Wild Life.
Copyright 2015 Trustees of Boston University, 28 Aug. 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
"Food." Animal Equality. Animal Equality. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
"Hunger Statistics." World Food Programme. Copyright 2015 World Food Programme. Web. 10
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"Top Six Tips for Becoming Vegetarian." PETA. Copyright 2015 PETA. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
Wanjek, Christopher. "Sorry, Vegans: Eating Meat and Cooking Food Is How Humans Got        
Their Big Brains." The Washington Post. Copyright 1996-2015 The Washington Post, 26 Nov.   2012. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.