Topic 1: Increasing travels between countries enable people to learn different cultures or to increase tension between people from different countries

Topic 63: Some people think that killing animals for food is cruel, but others claim that animals are a necessary part of diet. What's your opinion?

It is a widespread practice that livestock is raised and butchered for human consumption. Although it has been condemned as cruelty to animals, a counter-argument is that meat is the necessity for people's health and well-being. To the best of my knowledge, meat is a regular part of the diet and there is no alternative to animal food sources.

The first justification is that animal source foods provide a wide range of nutrients that are difficult to obtain in adequate quantities from plant source foods. Insufficient intake of those nutrients will produce negative health outcomes, such as poor growth. A diet with a good combination of meat and vegetable is thought to have considerable value. Some might argue that consumption of meat can pose health risks and increase the risk of foodborne illness. This statement is fallacious, considering the fact that people can kill bacteria and remove risk factors by cooking properly and using scientific methods in manufacture.

Another point to note is that most of the meat available in supermarkets for people's consumption is produced by industrial agriculture. In view of the intense use of modern technology and mass production techniques, the produced livestock, poultry or fish cannot be taken as ordinary animals but only as manufactured goods. By making use of economies of scale to produce enough food at an affordable cost, industrial farming is essential to addressing food supply problems.

The significance of capitalising on animals as a food source is therefore undeniable, but it is important to realise that people cannot exploit animals and become addicted to meat consumption. Animal fats, for example, increase the risk of heart disease and meat is frequently associated with outbreaks of food poisoning. Meanwhile, people's insatiable desire for meat might lead to intensive livestock farming and animal slaughter, which has a direct impact on the well-being of animals worldwide.

From the preceding discussion, one can see no reason why livestock or some other animals cannot be used as food. Switching to an animal free diet is a personal option, but the question remains whether one can ensure sufficient intake of nutrition necessary for one's health. When there is little room for argument concerning the use of animals for meat, it is necessary to impose standards and prevent animal exploitation.

1. 
   butcher = kill for meat = cut for meat
   
2. 
   nutrient = life-enhancing substance = nutrition
   
3. 
   bacteria = microbe = microorganism = germ
   
4. 
   poultry = fowl = livestock
   
5. 
   economies of scale = cost-effective advantages = advantages obtained from mass production
   
6. 
   outbreak = occurrence = outburst
   
7. 
   insatiable = avid = greedy = voracious = ravenous
   
8. 
   preceding = previous = earlier = above