Does being vegetarian benefit more than just our health?

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/14/opinion/velez-mitchell-animal-cruelty/
The link above is one of many articles i came upon when researching information on the impact meat factories and production have on the U.S. and the world. For example, we all know that the obesity rate has skyrocketed within the last decade. But what some of you may not know is that obesity has been declared as a chronic disease and now called the 21st century plague. What's even crazier is that these rising numbers are parallel to the number of growing fast food chains in the U.S. Coincedence? Definitely not.  What's even sadder is that a 2014 study shows that kids overweight in kindergarten are bound to future obesity problems. Crazy isn't it? Another impact the meat industry has is the most controversial issue we talk about today; climate change. Because of the destruction of the rainforest for grazing lands, the massive amounts of methane produced by farm animals and the huge amounts of water, grain and other resources required to feed animals, climate change is becoming a bigger and wider issue. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization found the production of meat contributes about 22% of the world's greenhouse gases. And consuming those meats makes us part of that contribution. One last problem the meat industry has an immense effect on is world hunger.  As Bill Gates explained, "raising meat takes a great deal of land and water and has a substantial environmental impact. Put simply, there's no way to produce enough meat for 9 billion people." As years go by, and the population keeps growing, what will we do then? What kind of rations of foods will we be subjected to? Becoming a vegetarian will not only benefit our health but also our country's health and after that, the world's health. We need to stand up and stop conforming to foods that harm us and our nation, we need to stop before it's too late.