When I tell people I am a vegetarian, the most popular response I get is rolled eyes and a sigh. I’m automatically put into the category of a crazy, preachy person whose goal in life is to rid the world of all the evil meat-eaters, but that is not my style. I only wish to educate people on the benefits of adapting a meat-free diet.
Friday, Oct. 1 was World Vegetarian Day, which was the beginning of Vegetarian Awareness Month. This day was founded by the North American Society in 1977 in order to commemorate the health benefits of vegetarianism. Instead of ranting about how pigs and cows have feelings, I’m going to take another approach and show you the nutritional and environmental benefits of vegetarianism.
From the beginning of time, man has eaten meat as a basic way of life, but with all of the new diets that have come out in the past few years, vegetarianism is one that has actually taken off and become more than just a fad.
By definition, a vegetarian is someone living on a diet of grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits with or without the use of diary products and eggs. There are many types of vegetarians, from pescetarian, which include people who do not eat animal flesh of any kind, but are willing to consume fish, to vegans who exclude all animal products from food to clothing.
There are many benefits of not eating meat, one of which is living a longer life. According to the China Health Project, which is the largest population study on diet and health, people whose diets do not contain meat live about seven years longer than those whose diets do contain meat. Meat contains cholesterol, which when consumed in large amounts clogs arteries and leads to health problems.
The EPA estimates that nearly 95 percent of pesticides that Americans consume come from meat, fish and dairy products. The animals that are used for food are usually pumped full of steroids and antibiotics to produce more meat. Exposure to antibiotics over time can lead antibiotic resistance, so when a person gets sick, harsher antibiotics must be used to cure the infection.
Aside from the nutritional benefits, being a vegetarian has an environmental impact. Animals create waste, which causes methane gas which, in turn, contributes to the greenhouse effect. The manure created by the animals is on the EPAs list of the country’s top 10 pollutants. All that for the porterhouse steak you like to eat. Do you want to be responsible for the hole in the ozone layer becoming larger?
Of course there are some disadvantages of vegetarianism, one of which can be the lack of the proper vitamins and minerals. Meat is a great source of protein, and without that a person can experience fatigue and mood swings due to fluctuating blood sugar levels. Another disadvantage of vegetarianism is the tendency to consume unhealthy foods. Becoming a vegetarian does not mean eating all the pasta your heart desires, unfortunately. Fruits and vegetables must make up a majority of a vegetarian diet, hence the name. While these disadvantages may seem like they outweigh the benefits, if you eat a balanced vegetarian diet, you can get even more vitamins from fruits and vegetables than meat. It’s all about moderation.
While becoming a vegetarian may seem like a difficult task, it is becoming easier than ever. Every day there are more meatless options for vegetarians. Restaurants are changing with the times and offering more than just salads for vegetarians.
So when you’re craving a hamburger, reach for a veggie burger instead. It may not be the exact same thing, but trust me, they’re really not that bad.
Joe • Oct 20, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Anish-humans are omnivores, designed to eat both plants and animals. That is simply a fact.
Also, 90% of your theory is based on your beliefs, not the way things actually are. LOTS of people eat heart, liver, etc of animals. I can give you a list of people that would gladly kill an animal with their bare hands. Your assumptions are based off of ethnocentric American society based theories. It is very common for tribes people in Africa, Australia, etc. to eat raw meat.
Humans are excellent hunters, have poor night vision, and recognize movement of prey. Hmm, sounds like you have us pinned there.
A lion will not “walk past a still deer.” That’s nonsense.
Your looking at this from a very, very closed minded point of view. Humans are omnivores. Fact. Done.
@rno • Oct 14, 2010 at 1:49 am
I have been a vegetarian during my whole live.
People who think they are meat eaters should catch and kill the animals they eat (pigs, cows) with there own bare hands (sorry claws). Then with their incisors try to tear of the meat and eat it raw.
I don’t think that any of the meat eating people could do this.
Danny • Oct 13, 2010 at 7:11 am
I love a good veggie burger – especially when its wrapped in about a pound of prime Angus beef. That’s good eating.
Anish • Oct 12, 2010 at 1:12 pm
We are not carnivores and there is sufficient scientific evidence to support that. I can go on for days about this but i’ll keep this short and sweet. It all comes down to how different species identify food.
For starters, all carnivores have one thing in common – they have very poor daytime vision and they only see things when they are moving ..and their perception of movement and ability to see in the dark is several times stronger than humans. That’s how nature helps them recognize food. A lion will just pass by a deer that is laying or standing still. Also carnivores are not disgusted by the sight of a slaughtered animal, blood, internal organs exposed etc. They are actually atrracted to it. Ask any human being if he will kill and animal with his bare hands, rip out it internal organs and eat it raw.
Herbivores on the other hand identify non-moving, colorful, small shapely objects as food ..such as fruits, vegetables etc. They are attracted to that. I think most humans will agree that they find colorful shapely fruits and vegetables attractive as food. But does a live pig actually look like food to you and make you mouth water? Think about it. Its very evident that we process meat, cut it into nice clean shapes, season it, cook it flavor it – in a way mimic them to look and taste like vegetables. Why are all the meat flavoring ingredients plant based?
If you look at any carnivore carefully, you will notice that right after the kill, they go first for the internal organs because thats where all the nutrients are. They go for the muscle last or leave it for scanvengers because that’s the lowest quality food. We humans on the other hand do exactly the opposite. We discard the internal organs and only eat muscle. Why?
Now tell me if after reading this if you think nature intended you to be a herbivore or a carnivore?
And whoever above said something about we humans having incisors is totally bs. Yes we have incisors but they are very much like a lot of other herbivores. Carnivores have much more prominent, stronger and sharper incisors. They use them to rip through animal hide. Next time walk up to a cow and try ripping through its hide with your bare teeth.
Bacon is the Bomb! • Oct 12, 2010 at 7:57 am
“The metastudy reported mortality ratios, where lower numbers indicated fewer deaths, for fish eaters to be .82, vegetarians to be .84, occasional meat eaters to be .84.”
Hmm…looks like a tie.
“However, the “lower mortality was due largely to the relatively low prevalence of smoking in these [vegetarian] cohorts””
Oh, snap! I guess cigarettes are the deciding factor. I will be stocking the freezer with organic free range venison this November.
Joe • Oct 12, 2010 at 7:12 am
Sir, really, you can eat whatever you want. But lets not try to pretend that man isn’t “supposed” to eat meat. Our intestines are longer than a carnivores because we are not carvivores. We are omnivores. We are supposed to eat both meat and plants. Thus our intestines are equipped to handle both. Elementary school biology should have taught you this. Also, are you really going to compare man to a domesticated animal? House cats have been genetically exploited through years of bastardized breeding.
veggiedude • Oct 9, 2010 at 10:02 pm
“If man were meant to not eat meat, why do we have incisors?”
A better question would be, if we were meant to eat meat, why is our intestines 10-12 times our body length as are all vegetarian animals? Carnivores only have intestines three times their body length. As for the incisors, a domestic house cat has better ones. Ours is good enough to rip through fruit and vegetables.
Joe • Oct 9, 2010 at 12:32 pm
If man were meant to not eat meat, why do we have incisors?
Phil Conway • Oct 7, 2010 at 9:22 pm
Is animal protein beneficial?
To my mind, to be beneficial, meat has to make amino acids available for people in circumstances where the amino acids can be assembled into viable proteins. When people obtain amino acids from raw plant sources I think enzymes, minerals, and vitamins come with the amino acids. (Actually, low mineral levels in soils where plants usually grow means that minerals may be poorly available).
But are animal sourced proteins going to be able to access all the necessary enzymes, minerals, and vitamins in the people who anticipate they can use the animal sourced proteins (ASPs) that they eat.
The key question is “Has any effort ever been made to establish that ASPs actually become proteins in people”.
Greg • Oct 7, 2010 at 3:17 pm
Vegetarianism can be healthy, provided it done right. As the author states, you need to work to get a balanced vegetarian diet and to keep it from being boring over time. But is can be quite healthy and cheaper than buying meat products. Humans are omnivores though and its easier to add in lean meat with plants for a balanced diet.
I don’t quite agree with the environmental benefits though. The more people who become vegetarians, the more farm land is need along with more water for irrigation, more fertilizer and pesticides. You can go organic to avoid pesticides but the crop yield is lower due to more losses from pests requiring even more land.Anyone who has shopped quickly see how expensive organics are over non-organics. I also don’t buy the cow dung climate change/ozone destruction argument. I recall when old 350 pound Al Gore, king of climate change malarkey and soon to be the world’s first carbon trading billionaire, was asked if he was willing to give up meat to prevent global warming, He flat out refused to do that.