There is one experience that I will remember for the rest of my life that will forever change how I act, think, and feel. One night, about three months ago in May of this year, I was looking for a documentary to watch on Netflix. Since the beginning of 2016 I had been going back and forth about the idea of becoming vegan. Vegan is like a strict vegetarian. Not only do vegans not eat meat but they also don’t consume dairy products. I am a huge animal lover and advocate. This made me feel like such a hypocrite every time I took a bite of meat. This lead me to watch the documentary Vegucated that night.
I was so scared to watch it at first. I loved eating meat. Not only did I loved eating meat but I loved dairy. I loved eating cheesecake, ice cream, and chocolate cake! Not to mention I am from Wisconsin, the dairy state, so I could never get enough of
I also come from a family who loves their brats, burgers, and grilled chicken. As if we could not be more similar I am also I very picky eater. I do like vegetables and beans but I am still picky. Which made me think it would be impossible to adapt to a vegan lifestyle. During the first half of the documentary Marisa took the newly vegans to find vegan food at the grocery store. She revealed that there are so many foods that are accidently vegan, which is a vegans dream come true. A lot of them are foods you would not even think about such as: Oreos, Fritos, Lays potato chips, Hershey’s syrup, and tons more you would not suspect. There is also an enormous amount of vegan alternatives and replacements. There are dairy free versions of mayo, ranch dressing, butter, cheese, and tons more. Basically any food you can think of, there is a replacement for it. A lot of them taste very similar too. My boyfriend, who swears it is impossible to go vegan, could not even tell the difference when I replaced these condiments in the
In her Salon.com essay, “Why I Stopped Being a Vegetarian,” writer Laura Fraser uses her own life experiences to explain why she became a vegetarian, what it did to her, and why she decided to go back to being an omnivore. Fraser’s main idea was that even though being a vegetarian might be slightly healthier than a “usual diet”, and that people should not go against what they are made for. Fraser explains why being a vegetarian can be healthier for people in some places, why it is hard to be a full vegetarian, and why it is a good idea to not go against humans natural ways as a human being. By establishing her personal view and facts that she has researched, and appealing to emotions and logic in some ways, Fraser succeeds in writing an
One of the people I interview said, “The hardest part of being a vegetarian is going out to restaurants and trying to find something to eat” (Erin). A quick look at the most popular American restaurants can show that our food culture is dominated by meat and is becoming an ever increasing ingredient. From 1975 to 2007, the number of chickens killed for meat has increased 200% ( Psych). One might say that the number has increased since the population of the United States has increased, however, the population has only increased 70 percent in that amount of time( US
Christine Cuomo spoke about many interesting topics on what we ought to eat. She presented a very good argument on how eating meet is what we should no be eating and that rather more healthier foods such as fruits and vegetables are better for us in several ways and for many reasons. Christine is an ethics professor at the University of Cincinnati and during here presentation she made arguments that were somewhat controversial about what people ought to eat and what they shouldn’t ought to eat; and why. Even though some of here argument were controversial she seemed to put her perspective in very understandable ways that even those against her position would still enjoy hearing what she has to say. She is a vegetarian but is not one to force the idea on you, and she still eats cheese and drink milk. She talks about how animals are slaughtered for food and its not fair to them. She presents an argument on how butchers treat animals horribly and even though they are a source for our food they is no reason for animal brutality. During the presentation there was a picture of a high pile of pigs slaughtered. The picture was quite grossum and didn’t need much words to tell the story. Animals are just treated very violently as if they have no type of feeling for pain. This is not right. Personally I would like to see animals treated better before they are slaughtered because they have feelings of pain just as we do. I wish more people, including myself, can have the will power to stop eating meet to send a message to their butchers and factories that are displaying such animal brutality.
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.
I’m an individual of Irish descent who lives in Wisconsin, so there is nothing refutable about the impact that meat and animal byproducts such as milk and eggs has had on my upbringing and daily diet (not forgetting potatoes of course). However, my reasoning for eating these food items isn’t because of necessity based on a dietary need or market constraint. I eat these items because I’m a young male athlete who requires a ridiculous caloric intake and these are the food items that I grew up purchasing, preparing and consuming. The scenarios in which I eat meat now occur on a sporadic basis depending on current costs, meat sources and diet, but are greatly influenced by the food culture I grew up with not by whether it is permissible or not.
The people they used for the big stories in this film had some sort of health issues already. They picked from ones that had high risks for heart disease or type two diabetes. They didn’t use people who aren’t at a high risk and don’t need to switch their diet. They failed at showing a direct link between how someone’s health is increased from eliminating meat. It only used people whose diets were full of junk food, not just meat. HB (1991), “Canadians are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of nutrition in their long-term health prospects. With this increased awareness, however, has come an abundance of misconceptions including the notion that meat is "bad" for you. In their haste to avoid saturated fat, physicians and the public alike have lost sight of the fact that lean meat in reasonable serving sizes poses no threat to health and is an extremely important source of many nutrients.” We heard plenty of stories of people who were on the verge of getting a heart disease, or had even had a heart attack or two. No one they used was on a normal diet who ate meat. Forks Over Knives (2011), “On my way over I drank these two red bulls, I also had a twelve-ounce coke and another half of a twelve-ounce coke. I haven’t always lived the healthiest life style, and I’ve eaten more than my share of fast food.” But one thing that stood out to me was the people they showed the results
Jonathan Safran Foer wrote “Eating Animals” for his son; although, when he started writing it was not meant to be a book (Foer). More specifically to decide whether he would raise his son as a vegetarian or meat eater and to decide what stories to tell his son (Foer). The book was meant to answer his question of what meat is and how we get it s well as many other questions. Since the book is a quest for knowledge about the meat we eat, the audience for this book is anyone that consumes food. This is book is filled with research that allows the audience to question if we wish to continue to eat meat or not and provide answers as to why. Throughout the book Foer uses healthy doses of logos and pathos to effectively cause his readers to question if they will eat meat at their next meal and meals that follow. Foer ends his book with a call to action that states “Consistency is not required, but engagement with the problem is.” when dealing with the problem of factory farming (Foer).
The term vegan, devised in 1944 via Donald Watson, is referred to as an individual that follows veganism, which is the exclusion of all animal products to be consumed, predominantly in their diet (Kahn, 2011). Veganism is primarily supported due to preventing animal cruelty, as well as its health benefits and environmental consequences (Craig, 2009). Adolescence is referred to as the transition from childhood to adulthood, due to biological changes that occur via the onset of puberty (Ellis, 2004). Essential nutrients that are vital to be consumed during adolescence are proteins, which are in the category of macronutrients as they are required in large amounts, as well as calcium and iron, which are categorised as micronutrients, thus being required in smaller amounts (Bialostosky, Wright, Kennedy-Stephenson, McDowell & Johnson, 2002). Protein, calcium and iron are claimed to be essential nutrients in an adolescent female following a vegan diet as they are at higher risk to be lacked via plant-based sources if the consumption of these nutrients are inadequate, which may implicate negative effects on the growth and development during the pubertal growth spurt (Craig, 2009; Ilich-Ernst et al., 1998). This essay will be regarding to a 14 year old female named Jenny Brown, whom is currently following a vegan diet and is not consuming any supplementation in order to obtain adequate nutrition. As Jenny Brown is at the age of adolescence, this essay will discuss the biological changes that occur during puberty, followed on by a discussion on each of the vital nutrients including the macronutrient protein, as well as the micronutrients calcium and iron that are essential to be adequately consumed in order to attain nutritional competence ...
“The assumption that animals are without rights, and the illusion that their treatment has no moral significance is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality."(Schopenhauer). I always wondered why some people are not so drawn to the consumption of meat and fed up with only one thought about it. Why so many people loathe of blood, and why so few people can easily kill and be slaughter animal, until they just get used to it? This reaction should say something about the most important moments in the code, which was programmed in the human psyche. Realization the necessity of refraining from meat is especially difficult because people consume it for a long time, and in addition, there is a certain attitude to the meat as to the product that is useful, nourishing and even prestigious. On the other hand, the constant consumption of meat has made the vast majority of people completely emotionless towards it. However, there must be some real and strong reasons for refusal of consumption of meat and as I noticed they were always completely different. So, even though vegetarianism has evolved drastically over time, some of its current forms have come back full circle to resemble that of its roots, when vegetarianism was an ethical-philosophical choice, not merely a matter of personal health.
There's little doubt that the Earth is in a crisis. The human population is hungrily burning through its resources while simultaneously destroying its ecological balance. While catastrophe seems imminent, there is one small change each person could make in life that would lessen the devestating impact and minimalize our ecological footprint: Veganism.
New information exposing the malpractices of the meat industry is constantly surfacing, pushing more and more people towards a meat-free diet. Whether it may be for ethical reasons or health purposes, veganism is becoming normal in household throughout the United States. Veganism is now a trendy topic in popular culture. BuzzFeed has released numerous videos, articles and quizzes about veganism in the past two years. Its video, “Non-Vegans Try Vegan Desserts” has over four million views and forty thousands likes on YouTube (BuzzFeed). Vegan Instagram and YouTube accounts sprouted up all over social media. It is clear through my study of mainstream media that, over the past fifteen years, that veganism has piqued the interest of Americans who have become better informed about its health benefits and that, in all likelihood, it will most likely continue to rise in popularity in the
The two primary reasons I choose to be a vegetarian are out of consideration for health (mine and others) and a sense of obligation to live a less-demanding, more equitable life. While some might think that these motivations are noble, I hardly think so. I think they are an ample mix of selfish and collective concerns, ones that recognize my desire to live a long, healthy life and at the same time wishing and allowing the same for others.
Many people don’t believe think anything of what they eat or how it got there. But the harsh truth is the meat that you eat was once a living, breathing creature that had feeling and emotions. Maybe next time you order a steak or chicken nuggets you should think about the animals that went through extreme pain and conditions for you to eat. Not only is it inhumane to put animals through such pain, not eating meat and having a vegetarian lifestyle can have huge benefits to animals, the environment, and your health.
People choose a vegetarian lifestyle for many reasons. Health, environment, culture, religion and ethics are all factors that play into the decision to not eat meat. Vegetarians do not eat meat, fish or poultry. Vegans, in addition to being vegetarian, do not use other animal products and by-products such as eggs, dairy products, honey, leather, fur, silk, wool, cosmetics, and soaps derived from animal products (Vegetarian Resource Group). As veganism becomes more popular as a lifestyle and as a means of weight loss there has become a great amount of debate as to whether or not this type of diet is considered healthy or harmful because it has the potential to lack important vitamins, minerals and of course protein.
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.