Paul McCartney, an animal activist and member of the English band The Beatles, sums up the benefits of vegetarianism by saying, “Vegetarians take care of so many things in one shot: ecology, famine, cruelty.” In general, a vegetarian is a person who does not eat meat. According to an article in the health portion of Brown.edu, a website published by the Ivy League research university Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, there are three main forms of vegetarianism: vegan (“total vegetarians”), “lactovegetarian,” and “lacto-ovovegetarian” (“Being”). The first category of vegetarians, vegans, do not eat any animal products (“Being”). They have a diet that lacks “meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, and other dairy products”; some vegans will not even eat honey (“Being”). Lactovegetarians do not eat “meat, poultry, fish,” or “eggs but include dairy products” (“Being”). Lacto-ovovegetarians have a diet that excludes “meat, poultry, and fish but include dairy products and eggs” (“Being”). Many people believe that vegetarianism is uncommon, but according to an article on Vegetarian.ProCon.org, a website dedicated to “promoting critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship by presenting controversial issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan, primarily pro-con format,” a survey taken in 2012 “found that approximately 5% of Americans (15,695,702 people) considered themselves to be vegetarian, and 2% (6,278,281 people) considered themselves to be vegan” (“Should”). Not all people become vegetarian for the same reason, but they believe it has benefits. Although vegetarians sometimes develop vitamin deficiencies and have difficulty ordering in restaurants, being a vegetarian is still a great way to live because it is ethi...
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... $80 billion a year” (“Why”). An example more closely related to citizens is that people could save “an average of $4,000” a year if they eat “vegetables, grains and fruits in place of the 200 pounds of beef, chicken, and fish” (“Why”). Vegetarianism is better for the planet and consumers’ wallets.
Works Cited
“Being a Vegetarian” Brown.edu. Brown University. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.
“Should People Become Vegetarian?” Vegetarian.ProCon.org. ProCon. 12 Mar. 2014. Web. 4
Apr. 2014.
“Blessed Are the Merciful Go Vegetarian” JesusVeg.com. Web. 2014
“Why Go Veg?” Vegetariantimes.com. Cruz Bay Publishing. Inc. 2014. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.
“What Does the Bible say about Vegetarianism?” ChristUnlimited.com. Christ Unlimited Ministries. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.
Srivastava, Jane. “Vegetarianism and Meat-Eating in 8 Religions” Hinduismtoday. Himalayan Academy. June 2007. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.
The argumentative article “More Pros than Cons in a Meat-Free Life” authored by Marjorie Lee Garretson was published in the student newspaper of the University of Mississippi in April 2010. In Garretson’s article, she said that a vegetarian lifestyle is the healthy life choice and how many people don’t know how the environment is affected by their eating habits. She argues how the animal factory farms mistreat the animals in an inhumane way in order to be sources of food. Although, she did not really achieve the aim she wants it for this article, she did not do a good job in trying to convince most of the readers to become vegetarian because of her writing style and the lack of information of vegetarian
.... People do not have to become vegetarians, but people should consider other meat and food as alternatives. Ultimately, if a majority of people chose organic farms and foods it would put a heavy hit on the meat production business. People will be eating healthier, and they will be doing their healthy part in the ecosystem and that will help to lower greenhouse gas emissions and greatly improve treatment of animals. The prices of organic food just need to come down dramatically for people to buy it. Methane from liquid manure, nitrous oxide from manmade fertilizers, carbon dioxide from machines are why people have put themselves and animals into a dilemma and made it into a never-ending continuous cycle.
People can be classified into two categories, meat eaters and non meat eaters. Meat eaters or carnivores are common in society so there has to be a tremendous amount of meat production to meet these needs. But has anyone ever thought about the amount of fuel and energy it takes to make it and how it would ultimately destroy the Earth? Many have and it revealed to them that the cost of being a vegan or vegetarian is far less than continuing their carnivorous ways. Two authors have their opinions to offer, even if they are on the same side of the argument and want to convert people to being a vegan. In “Eating Green” Margaret Lundberg states why becoming a vegan is healthy, not only for the person, but also the environment. John Vidal’s “10 Ways Vegetarianism Can Help Save the Planet”
Between watering the crops for farmed animals, providing drinking water for these animals, and cleaning away their waste that is found in factory farms, transportation trucks, and slaughterhouses, the farm-raised animal places an enormous strain on the water supply. Nearly half of all the water used in the United States goes to raising animals for food (Meat Production). According to PETA, one would save more water by not eating a pound of meat than they would by not showering for six months. As seen Fig4. it takes many more thousands of gallons of water to produce meat, while growing the same amount of fruits and vegetables requires significantly less water. An article in the New York Times asserted that “by changing one’s diet to replace 50% of animal products with edible plants like legumes, nuts, and tubers results in a 30% reduction in an individual’s food-related water footprint. Going vegetarian reduces that water footprint by almost 60%” (McWilliams). Armed with this knowledge, one can clearly see that vegetarians save tremendous qu...
Though vegetarianism was never a taboo subject as are some other controversial topics, The question of whether or not human beings should live off meat still is highly discussed amongst all types of people. Spiritual leaders, activists, scientists, and doctors have spoken up on behalf of their group’s opinion. Amongst the arguments of what is right when it comes to the food chain, resonating on many a mind is where the concept of vegetarian came from. Was it started as a religious virtue or a moral decision? Perhaps it was a forced lifestyle or a diet trend gone wrong (or right depending). Health wise, which is better for us? Educating ourselves by answering these questions helps us answer the, perhaps, most important question of all. Which lifestyle will we, as individuals, choose?
For a short while in my life I embarked on the world of vegetarianism — in fact, I was actually more vegan than vegetarian. But then, one year later, I decided to slowly include meat back into my diet. Today, you could probably call me a semi-vegetarian or flexitarian. Because truthfully, due to the guilt I experience cooking and eating meat, I prefer to eat it only when I truly crave it or need the extra protein and iron. Here’s what turned me back into a carnivore.
Every day across America millions of people wake up to start their morning. Throughout the day the vast majority of these people will consume meat, but 3% will replace the pig, cow, and chicken products for vegetable or fruit made meals (Harris). These vegetarians all have many different reasons to make this choice. This decision is a huge change in one’s life and is not without questions. Some people may wonder why would anyone abstain from the amazing food that contains meat. This essay will briefly explain the history of vegetarianism, the reasons for vegetarianism, and answer questions about vegetarianism. Vegetarian diets are all around better than diets containing meat because of three main reasons; the abuse of animals, the environmental damage, and the health benefits for humans.
“Let food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.” stated Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, 460-377 BC (Silverstone 15). Every American should live by this quote, but things have drastically changed since Hippocrates voiced that divine statement . Nowadays peoples personification of health has nothing to do with what we consume on an everyday basis. Our generation, most certainly will drive straight to McDonalds’s for a Big Mac without hesitation of the harm it is doing to your body. Education of health is essential; people need to learn what they are eating and how it will affect them in the long run. Due to mega rich corporations and institutions, they are keeping all of us in this denial because of pouring millions of dollars into efforts to keep us from knowing what is truly going on (Silverstone 16). Whether it’s to help reduce your risk of diseases, or purely to attain better health, leaving farmed animals entirely out of your diet is an effortless decision with life-long benefits. Plant-based diets will strengthen your immune system, beautify your skin, increase your energy, and reduce risk of various diseases (Silverstone 1). Being vegetarian is a step in the right direction by protecting your health, animals, and the environment.
With the ever-growing population of animal lovers on earth, a more viable, humane solution for food consumption needs to be made, but why make a solution when there has already been one? Meat consumption has been proven time and time again to be unnecessary, but that doesn’t stop the average person from eating a double cheese burger with bacon. Unfortunately, many people are apathetic to what happens to animals in farm factories and continue to support them by buying their products, however, consumers should consider switching to a vegetarian diet because it’s more humane to animals, less farm factories being built can save the planet from deforestation, and with a proper balanced vegetarian diet anyone can maintain a healthy life without the
The amount of people becoming vegetarians these days is growing. There are a few different types of vegetarians for example; the lacto-ovo vegetarian doesn’t eat any animal products except milk and eggs. Another type of vegetarian is the vegan, they exclude all animal products.
Albert Einstein once said, "Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." As people move into a more health conscious society, vegetarianism is becoming a popular choice. While some people cannot imagine a day without meat, others are convinced that a vegetarian lifestyle is the better option. There are numerous benefits of being a vegetarian. Some of the reasons are as follows: vegetarianism has multiple health paybacks, is far better for the environment, and is morally sound. Most people believe that vegetarianism is unhealthy, goes against our natural diet, and unnecessary, however, a vegetarian diet offers many health benefits and is more ethical than an omnivorous existence.
Vegetarians tend to be healthier than those who consume meat. This is due to the prevalent unnatural chemicals used in the processing of meats, and eating these are unsuitable for the body. Meats already contain harmful amounts of cholesterol, and over-consumption of red meat can lead to early heart disease. Animals that are raised on farms for their meat are not treated well, and this mistreatment can lead to harm in the meat they are producing. Although one life choice cannot change one’s environmental
For several years the issue of eating meat has been a great concern to all types of people all over the world. In many different societies controversy has began to arise over the morality of eating meat from animals. A lot of the reasons for not eating meat have to deal with religious affiliations, personal health, animal rights, and concern about the environment. Vegetarians have a greater way of expressing meats negative effects on the human body whereas meat eaters have close to no evidence of meat eating being a positive effect on the human body. Being a vegetarian is more beneficial for human beings because of health reasons, environmental issues, and animal rights.
Every person has the ability to make their own choice of whether to eat meat or not. However, eating meat is directly tied to negative health effects, pollution leading to a depletion of ozone, and the depletion of hundreds of thousands of acres of land “wasted” on animal production when they could be used to solve the hunger crisis or lower emission levels. What humans eat is no longer a matter of choice; it has become a matter of life and death. Literally, the future of the whole planet rests on the decision of whether or not to eat meat. If humans chose to eat less meat the world that wouldn’t have to suffer the consequences (outlined above.) Vegetarianism is one possibility, as is Veganism; however the world would be
However, many people still refuse to be a vegetarian for different reasons. Some people prefer the taste of meat, and some people believe that they are born to eat meat. Despite that about 2 billion people in the world live basically on the meat diet, around 4 billion people live mainly on a plant-based diet because of food shortage(Pimentel ＆ Pimentel, 2003, pp660S). As everyone knows, the number of population is growing. For example, the total U.S. population doubled in the previous 60 years, and it may double again in the next 70 years (Pimentel ＆ Pimentel, 2003, pp660S). People won’t have enough meat to eat in the future. On the other hand, a well-planned vegetarian diet offers many health benefits. Therefore, people should become vegetarian because it benefits to huma...