If a plant based diet has all the nutrients an omnivore diet has, why are we still eating meat? Many say that it’s easy to be deficient in certain vitamins and minerals, but a well-planned vegetarian diet can provide all the nutrients and more. Vegetarianism not only is beneficial to your health, but to the environment too. Vegetarianism is a lifestyle where you cut out all meat and fish from your diet, but still consume milk (lacto), eggs (ovo), or both (lacto-ovo). It’s commonly confused with pescatarianism, where you still eat fish, but no red meat or poultry. Like pescatarians, pollotariansVeganism, is where you don’t consume any animal products (meat, poultry, fish, and dairy.) Flexitarians eat a mostly plant-based diet, but occasionally eat meat or fish. (Craig). …show more content…
Pythagoras, a mathematician, advocated vegetarianism. During that time, a meatless diet was known as the “Pythagoras Diet”. In the 1800s, vegetarianism started to become a popular term. The demand for meat began to rise in the 1950s because of post war prosperity. Because of the little grassland left to support the rising livestock herds, farmers began using grain and soy, rather than pasture grasses. In the 1960s, soy bean production in the U.S. tripled that of China. Some well-known vegetarians include, Russel Brand, Paul McCartney, Ellen DeGeneres, Mohandas Gandhi, and Leonardo da Vinci (procon.org). People who are against vegetarianism believe that vegetarians don’t get enough nutrients in their diet. Vegetarians and vegans could easily become deficient in vitamin B12, iron, zinc, calcium, and the fatty acids EPA & DHA, and vitamins A & D that are fat-soluble. Vitamin B12 deficiency is the most common among vegetarians and vegans which could lead to fatigue, weakness, memory loss, anemia, neurological, and psychiatric problems. In Western vegetarians, zinc deficiency can fall below the recommended levels
A person that avoids any animal products, as in any meats or animal-derived foods is considered a vegetarian. This is the general classification of a vegetarian. It is a challenge to classify a vegetarian; many variations were created to suit certain diets. Lactovegetarians are vegetarians that consume milk and dairy products. Ovo-vegetarians eat eggs but no dairy products, and some do consume honey. Lacto-ovo-vegetarians exclude meats and seafood’s but consume dairy products and eggs. The lacto-ovo-vegetarian eating pattern also consists of legumes, seeds and nuts. Vegans are the only pure vegetarians; they exclude all animal derived foods. There are also people that classify themselves as near vegetarians, for example macrobiotic diets. The macrobiotic diet consists mostly grains, legumes and vegetables and limited amounts of fish. There is also an instance where people will adopt being a vegetarian occasionally; this is called being a flexitarian.
In brief, a vegetarian diet is one that avoids all animal flesh. The vegetarian diet is rich in fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts and other protein-rich foods. A vegetarian diet is also one laden with grains. There are four different categories of vegetarianism. These include the vegan, the lacto-vegetarian, the ovo-vegetarian and the lacto-ovo vegetarian. Vegans exclude all animal flesh, eggs, or dairy products including foods that contain these products. The vegan diet includes all beans, legumes, vegetables and fruits, grains and the infinite number of foods made by combining them. Many vegans do not eat processed foods using animal products, such as refined white sugar. A lacto-vegetarian diet allows dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt and butter while excluding animal flesh and eggs. In the ovo-vegetarian diet, eggs are included but not dairy products. The last type of vegetarian is a lacto-ovo vegetarian. The lacto-ovo vegetarian diet includes both eggs and dairy products. Finally, because vegetarian diets exclude animal flesh and restrict eggs and dairy, it can be difficult to ensu...
Being vegetarian opens up so many doors for people. For those who do not know what a vegetarian is or are confused on what they do or eat let me inform you that being a vegetarian simply means that you go off of plant-based diets. Although there are several kinds of vegetarian diets, it is all based on what type of food you are consuming. For example, a strict vegetarians or vegans avoid all foods of animal origin, including meat, poultry, fish, diary products, and eggs. Many people become a vegetarian for different reason according to the Calorie King he states, “being vegetarian means different things to different people, and people follow a vegetarian diet for different reason including health, religion, and ethical beliefs.”(Deusen p.1)
A United Nations report states that land used for animal agriculture, both for grazing and production of crops fed to livestock, takes up an astounding 30% of land on Earth. ("Meat Production Wastes Natural Resources") To meet the industry’s demands, over 260 million acres of forest in the U.S. have been cleared to grow grain fed to farm animals. ("Meat Production Wastes Natural Resources") With that in mind, the meat industry also dumps disease-causing pathogens through animal waste that pollutes water and forces the need for waste lagoons to be constructed, which are susceptible to leaking and flooding. ("Facts about Pollution from Livestock Farms”) Scientists say that about 14% of the world’s greenhouse gases are released by said agriculture industries, which is a growing concern for climate change and global warming. (Silverman) The meat industry uses one-third of all the fossil fuels consumed in the United States. (Moore) There is no question that farming animals has a negative effect on the environment and steps should be taken to mitigate air and water pollution risks and future deforestation. If animal agriculture was phased out, land used for animal grazing could be returned to forest land and some of it converted into fields for cultivating crops for humans. A global shift toward veganism, resulting in the elimination of the meat and animal agriculture industries, would protect the environment from various detrimental effects.
Depression, emotional imbalance, fatigue, weakness, apathy, poor sleep – this is just a small list of disorders that I have experienced by eating vegetables. When I stopped eating meat, I didn’t know what it was like to be a vegetarian. I wasn’t aware of what I should have eaten and how. During this long five years, I learned a lot about vegetarianism and found out it’s not even close to what people think it is.... ... middle of paper ...
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.
Many people have always wondered why people who had always ate meat their entire lives, decide to become vegetarians. People would presume that they wanted to lose weight, become healthier, or even just to try it out. Several would say non-vegetarianism is healthier and could help your body; however, vegetarians can be healthy too by what they eat and how much they eat of that particular food. Although I eat meat and I’m not a vegetarian, being a vegetarian can help your body in more ways than one and have many advantages in helping your body. Many become vegetarians to remove non-healthy things from their body, are animal lovers, or even religious or cultural reasons.
Going through life as carnivores, most people do not feel as though it is immoral due to the food chain. They are simply eating what is right to maintain proper nutrition and remain healthy. It is understandable that people do not eat meat due to animal cruelty, love of animals, morals, and ethical reasoning, but in reality, they are just robbing themselves of the proper nutrients. Vegetarians are likely to come across many negative health risks that meat eaters are less likely to come across. By not eating meat, vegetarians are prone to pernicious anemia due to vitamin B deficiency, which can seriously interfere with the production or red blood cells within bone marrow. Other health problems include iron deficiency, animal-protein deficiency, and vitamin D deficiency, as well as having lo...
In recent years, dietary restrictions such as vegetarianism and veganism have become very popular lifestyle choices. One of the reasons many people chose to switch to a vegetarian diet is because they believe that it’s a healthier choice from a nutritional perspective.
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.
People have used the argument that eating meat plays an important role in the overall health of a human and it is the way the cycle of life is meant to be, but this is not the case. Eating meat is unnecessary. Becoming a vegetarian could save countless animals from unnecessary suffering, improve human health, and help preserve numerous natural resources.
At the age of five I questioned my grandmother why we do not eat meat. She told me that eating meat was against the Hindu religion and I never questioned her until today. A vegetarian is someone that follows a plant based diet consuming mostly fruits and vegetables. There are many different types of vegetarian diets, some choose to become vegan and do not even consume eggs or dairy products. Anti-supporters of the vegetarian diet believe that vegetarians are missing out on the vitamins and minerals that meat eaters are gaining. However, vegetarians believe that this plant based diet will lead them to a longer life, not only this but it is better for the environment and it will help save animals.
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...
Numerous people believe that a vegetarian diet is unhealthy for the reason that one is not consuming enough protein since there is a decrease in the consumption of meat. However, meat is not the only source of protein. Nuts and grains contain great amounts of protein, and by eating these in the place of meat, one not only gets protein, but avoids the harmful carbohydrates and fats that are in animal meats. Consuming supplements can also help gain nutrients if the diet is not providing enough. There are countless amounts of nutritional supplements that one can purchase, including fish oil and omega 3s. These can be fairly cheap if purchased at the right place, and easily give bodies the nutrients they crave to function.
... middle of paper ... ... The vegetarian diet is one that provides the body with many essential nutrients. These nutrients include fiber, antioxidants, and phytochemicals.