May is National Hamburger Month, and it’s really no surprise, considering that so many Americans spend Memorial Day grilling with their families. However, most of us know that hamburgers aren’t the best foods for us; sure, they can be okay health-wise in moderation (though many people object to them on ethical grounds as well), but they should not be considered a staple in one’s everyday diet. In fact, more and more experts are telling Americans that they are simply consuming too much meat—over three times as much as we were in the early 1900s and much more than we need to survive. Consider these facts, of which most are provided from Eating to Save the Earth: Food Choices for a Healthy Planet (co-written by a meat-eater, Ken Jacobsen):

Meat is loaded with pesticides, antibiotics, herbicides, and plenty of other unsavory items that go straight into our bloodstream when we eat it. Less than 10% of our exposure to pesticide is from produce; the majority of it is from meat.

Growth hormones given to cows also aversely affect our health.

Skipping the meat can help people avoid or even reverse heart disease.

Heavy meat consumption leads to many health problems, including weakened bones, obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, sexual impotence, developmental issues, immune system problems, and even brain disease.

Red meat can also contribute to stroke.

Dioxin present in meat can cause cancer, ADD, reproductive system defects, blood disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome, and other health problems. A single hamburger can contain up to 300 times as much dioxin as is safely acceptable for an adult human being.

Meat is also costly for the Earth; it takes seven to eight pounds of grain to produce just one pound of meat. Cattle ranching is the primary cause of deforestation, and nearly half of U.S. water is wasted feeding cattle and livestock. Cattle raising is also a large contributor to global warming, loss of rainforest, loss of biodiversity, fossil fuel waste, pollution, erosion, desertification, and other environmental problems.

Now, if you do want a daily burger fix, there are alternatives. You can try soy or veggie burgers, which are typically (though not always—read your labels!) much healthier. You can also make it healthier by adding plenty of fresh veggies, nixing the high-calorie condiments, and using whole wheat buns. Eating less red meat is one of the best things you can do to help both the planet and yourself, as well as your family.