PETA Suggests Higher Insurance Rates For Meat Eaters
Due to studies suggesting vegetarians have stronger immune systems and are 40% less likely to get cancer, as well as recent outbreaks of E.coli traced to a Vermont slaughterhouse, PETA is urging Blue Cross of Vermont to lower insurance rates for vegetarians, while increasing those for meat eaters.
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To make the point, PETA’s Executive Director Tracy Reiman sent a letter to Bill Milnes Jr., president of Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Vermont.
“Given the latest news about the effects of E.coli on meat-eaters — and the mountain of evidence linking meat consumption to some of our nation’s deadliest diseases — this change will benefit Blue Cross Blue Shield’s bottom line while also helping to ensure that your policyholders don’t flat line,” Reiman wrote.
“By giving your policyholders a financial incentive to go vegetarian – and penalizing those whose meat-based diets fuel our nation’s worst health problems – Blue Cross Blue Shield can save millions of dollars in the long run as your members begin to require fewer cholesterol-lowering medications, chemotherapy treatments, and diabetes drugs,” the letter concluded.
But according to Kevin Goddard, vice president of external affairs for Blue Cross, it doesn’t appear they’ll be taking PETA’s suggestion any time soon.
“Under Vermont law, we would not be allowed to vary rates based on the dietary and nutritional habits of various members.” he said.
Along with a “guaranteed issue” law that requires insurers to offer coverage for all persons in the state, the Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration web site also lists a “community rating,” which stops the companies from making a person pay more for their coverage because of age, location or health condition.
Photo Credit: jenn_jenn on Flickr under Creative Commons license.
How could Blue Cross know for sure whether or not your a vegetarian?
You know this article has made me want to change the way I live…..
….and start wearing fur
…tasty, tasty, murder.
It has always been my understanding that exposure to bacteria INCREASES your immune system. So their logic behind this is very flawed. Not to mention the fact that vegetables are also major carriers of bacteria.
And the most important fact of all is this: how will they be able to regulate this? I could easily claim to be a vegetarian to save cash yet eat meat all day long. If something like this was put in place you’d find many people claiming to be vegetarians who are not, and I’d be on that list myself
PETA please take note that there is in fact mounting evidence that it’s not the meat that causes health problems at all; it’s the carbs high on the glucose index, eg. white potatoes, pasta, bread, rice etc.
The studies that PETA refers to compare a diet high in meat and carbs to a vegetarian diet. There is very little data comparing a diet high in meat and vegetables, and low in carbs, and the data that exists is very favorable. You see, when you cut out the carbs, your body is forced to burn the fat and cholesterol in the meat instead of burning the carbs. Your cholesterol levels go down, and you lose weight, and you’re less likely to get heart disease or diabetes. In short, eat less potatoes, bread, pasta (made primarily from vegetables), increase your vegetable intake, and keep eating your meat.
Furthermore from an environmental perspective, aquaponics grows vegetables with less damage to the environment than conventional agriculture, where vegetables are grown alone. There are ways to grow vegetables combined with animals, and do less damage to the environment than if you only grow vegetables. The reason is that you’re required to use oil based fertilizer, if you don’t use animal fertilizer.
http://www.drjaywortman.com/blog/wordpress/my-big-fat-diet-faqs/
PETA really is crazy.
I did the vegetarian thing for about 2 years. I took all the supplements and followed all the advice of my nutritionist. And I was sick almost non-stop.
I had several colds that just would not go away, during the winter of the 2nd year I couldn’t tell where one cold ended and another began. In the end I was forced to give it up just so I could be healthy again.
The moral of the story is that some people are better suited to such a diet and some are not.
Stunts like this are why PETA is despised and mocked by so many mainstream Americans. There are so many better ways to get their message across.
i say this as a vegan. Fuck PETA. they would rather discriminate a human being to protect so animals. how many animals survive as a species on the single reason that humans eat them?
Staying healthy requires a balance
of food from all the food groups,
and regular exercise.
thanks from tony