Vegetarianism

What does being Vegetarian mean?

Vegetarianism is a way of life, being vegetarian means that you don't eat any

meat. There are different levels of being vegetarian. There is lacto-ovo vegetarian which

means that you eat everything besides meat including, beef, pork, fish, poultry, etc.

There is ovo vegetarian who do not eat dairy or any type of meat. There is lacto

vegetarian which means they eat everything but eggs, and meat. Lastly there is vegans

who eat only eat fruits, vegetables, grains, beans and nuts. In the graph below it shows

the differences between the different types of vegetarians in a visual way.

There are many different reasons that people go vegetarian. Some people

decide to be vegetarian because of nutritional reasons, they believe that living a

vegetarian lifestyle is healthier and more nutritious. Other people are vegetarian for

moral reasons, they do not believe in the killing of animals. They do not feel like it is
morally correct to kill living creatures. Others become vegetarian because of the

environment, they believe that animal agriculture has a big impact on the environment

so they choose not to eat meat. There are many advantages to a vegetarian diet, it is is

healthier, you can save the planet, and you do not have to kill animals.

Advantages of a Vegetarian Diet:

Being Vegetarian is Healthier:

Katherine Tallmadge, a registered, licensed dietician and spokesperson for for

the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, says that a vegetarian diet can be nutritionally

superior to any other way of eating. An anonymous source says that It can be one of

the healthiest ways to eat, because we know plant foods are loaded with nutrients to

protect our health. One benefit of being vegetarian is that a plant based diet gives you

indigestible carbs which helps digestion in your intestines. This helps so that food does

not get built up in your intestines. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

when people become vegetarian they lose an average of seven and half pounds when

they are vegetarian from four weeks to two plus years. It showed that the longer they

are vegetarian the more weight they lose (3 things 24). Another benefit that comes

with a vegetarian diet is reducing your risk of multiple diseases such as diabetes, many

types of cancer, obesity, ischemic heart disease, high blood pressure, hypertension,

high body mass index, and countless others (Feldman and Null 82, Kelly). In fact

according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics an evidence based review said that

vegetarians are proven to have a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease. This

study also showed lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower rates of

hypertension, low blood pressure, lower body mass index, and lower cancer and
chronic disease rates (Kelly). The number one cause of death in America is

cardiovascular disease and when maintaining a vegetarian diet, vegetarians have lower

triglycerides, hemoglobin levels, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. All of these are

factors in getting cardiovascular disease (Feldman and Null 82). Being vegetarian has

countless health benefits and this is a major factor when people are considering being

vegetarian.

Maintaining a plant based diet can also improve your mood. For example a study

done at Benedictine University found that mood improvements happen when people

eliminate meat, fish, and poultry from their diet. Also vegetarian diets are very low in

arachidonic acid. This acid is found in a lot of animal products and is proven to disturb

your mood (Group).

Vegetarians help to

save the planet:

According to the

Environmental working

group, Animal

agriculture is destroying

the environment in

multiple ways, and that

animal agriculture is the

most destructive

industry on earth.

Scientists are
recommending that people should eat less meat to avoid a climate catastrophe (Ochel).

In fact, industrial animal agriculture produces eighteen percent of greenhouse gases,

more than the transportation sector worldwide (Bristow 207). About forty four percent of

the emissions generated by livestock are methane, which is released when the animals

burp and are emitted from manure decomposition, twenty seven percent are in the form

of carbon dioxide emitted during the production and transport of animal products and

feed including the fossil fuels used in manufacturing and chemical fertilizers and through

deforestation for the purposes of livestock grazing. Twenty nine percent are dinitrogen

monoxide comes from to manure and fertilizer (Orme-Evans and Shields 363, Bristow

207). In the US, for example, an average family of four emits more greenhouse gases

because of the meat they eat than from driving two cars(Newer). Livestock production

accounts for [thirty percent] of the entire land surface of the planet. This land has to be

suitable for animal production many trees are and cleared because of animal agriculture

(Ochel). According to the report done by the Food and Agriculture Organization

addresses that the animal agriculture sector is considered to be one of the most

serious environmental problems of our time (Bristow 207).

No killing of animals:

There are over 9.1 billion land animals killed for food every year in the United States

(Cassuto and Eckhardt 2). Many states exempt farm animals from anti-cruelty laws

(Cassuto and Eckhardt 3). This means that if anti-cruelty laws are in place for animals in

general, farm animals and animals from meat production factories are exempt from

these laws that are in place. Which means that there are no restrictions for what they
can or can not do to the animals. There are many issues associated with farming

practices:

The conditions in which

the animals are kept are

a matter of serious

deliberation in legislative,

corporate, investment

and trade organizations,

among many others

around the world. Overarching calls to increase animal productivity, by, for

example, pushing animals (either genetically through selective breeding,

with hormone drugs, or through feed changes) to produce more milk or

meat, or to produce more offspring faster, can also be considered in light

of potential health and welfare consequences. (Orme-Evans and Shields

362)

The problems with eating meat:

A recent study examined meat intake influencing cancer risk among 500,000

participants in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study. People

from the study with the highest meat intake had significantly increased risks from twenty

to sixty percent for esophageal, liver, colorectal, and lung cancer. Also people who ate

more processed meat had elevated risks of lung and colorectal cancer. In another study

by the International Journal of Cancer examined that the amount of animals products

consumed are correlated with the risk of colon, rectum, pancreas, breast, ovary, uterine
corpus, and prostate cancers (Feldman and Null 84). Meat is very high in fat,

particularly saturated fart as well as cholesterol. Too much fat can lead to fat deposits in

the arteries, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and weight gain. There are

carcinogenic compounds in meat called heterocyclic amines that cause cancer. Meat

takes a long time to pass through your intestines, so it putrefies. Putrefaction produces

toxins and amines that accumulate in the liver kidneys and large intestines, destroys

bacterial cultures and cause degeneration of the lining of the small and large intestines

(Ochel).

Steps to take now:

Vegetarianism is more mainstreamed more now than ever before, which means that it is

easier than ever to make the switch to being a vegetarian. Restaurants are starting to

make changes to their menus to accommodate different dietary restrictions and shifting

toward healthier and plant based options (Ochel). Countries are even adjusting their

dietary guidelines so that they can eat plant based. Four percent of the American adults

are vegetarian (Tweed 39). Recent reports even show that Americans are eating less

meat every year (Ochel). However eliminating meat may not be as easy as it sounds. A

great way to start is through meatless mondays. Twenty-eight schools of public health

are urging Americans to take meat out of their diet on mondays through the meatless

monday campaign sponsored by John Hopkins University (McCord and McVeigh 68-

69). People need to realise the connection between what goes into their mouth and the

state of their physical, mental, and emotional health.

By: Sally Ossana

 Works Cited

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2016, pp. 1-43. EBSCOhost, Web. 29 Mar 2017.

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