Some advantages of a vegetarian diet...

[Guest guest]

VEGETARIAN FOOD

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism

 

Nutritional

 

Main article: Vegetarian nutrition

 

 

 

A small selection of vegetarian foods

Some nutritionists claim that a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables but low in, or excluding, animal fat and protein offers numerous health benefits, including a significantly lower risk of heart disease, cancer, renal failure, obesity, diabetes and stroke. The American Dietetic Association, the largest organization of nutrition professionals , states on its website "Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein as well as higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals. Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer." [11] [12] The American Heart Association's website states "Many studies have shown that vegetarians seem to have a lower risk of obesity, coronary heart disease (which causes heart attack), high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus and some forms of cancer." [13] Studies show that a vegetarian mother's breast milk has significantly lower levels of pesticide residue than a non-vegetarian's.

Some vegetable protein sources lack in one or more "essential" amino acid. For example, Grains and nuts are low in lysine and legumes are low in methionine. While everyone should eat a variety of foods to ensure a balanced nutrition, the body’s requirement for essential amino acids now appears to be much less important than researchers once believed. Vegetarians get all the protein and amino acids they need from eating a normal variety of whole grains (whole wheat bread, oatmeal, brown rice), beans, nuts, and soy (tofu, veggie burgers/hotdogs, etc). The intake of such foods has to be larger since the protein percentage in these foods are comparitively lower than in a similar serving of meat. Attaining sufficient protein intake is rarely a problem in developed countries and the lower protein intake of vegetarians has even been suggested as a possible cause of some of the health benefits above. A purely vegetarian diet does not include fish - a major source of Omega 3, though some plant-based sources of it exist such as soy, flaxseed, hempseed, pumpkin seeds, canola oil and especially, walnuts.

Some suggest that vegetarians have higher rates of deficiencies in those nutrients which are found in high concentrations in meat. Surprisingly, studies endorsed by the ADA found that this was not the case for iron or calcium. On the other hand, Vitamin B-12 and zinc from vegetarian sources other than dairy products and eggs are not readily absorbed by the body and a vegan diet usually needs supplements. [14]. Nonetheless, these nutrients are now commonly supplemented in milks and cereals in the western world, and is not necessarily a problem in a vegetarian diet.

 

Ethical

 

 

 

Cover Story on TIME. [1]

 

Main article: Ethics of vegetarianism

Many vegetarians consider the production, subsequent slaughtering and consumption of meat or animal products as unethical. Reasons for believing this are varied, and may include a belief in animal rights, or an aversion to inflicting pain or harm on other living creatures. In developed countries, ethical vegetarianism has become popular particularly after the spread of factory farming, which has reduced the sense of husbandry that used to exist in farming and led to animals being treated as commodities. Many believe that the treatment which animals undergo in the production of meat and animal products obliges them to never eat meat or use animal products. In addition to the ethical issues involved, some vegetarians find meat, animal products, and their production unappetizing or emotionally disturbing.

[edit]

 

Environmental

 

Main article: Environmental vegetarianism

Some people believe that the production of meat and animal products at current and likely future levels might be environmentally and ecologically unsustainable. It is also argued that even if sustainable agricultural practices are employed, modern industrial agriculture is changing ecosystems faster than they can adapt. This is however a very large assumption to make, and as such is based on opinion of a few people, and allegedly spread by pressure groups. In many cases, arable (vegetable) farming, destroys far greater areas of habitat (large industrial corn fields etc.) and leads to more widespread use of chemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers, than is found in pastoral (animal) farming.

All types of modern, industrialized farming involve heavy consumptions of resources such as fossil fuels and water, and can lead to emissions of harmful gases, or distribution of harmful chemicals. Some people believe that the problem of over-grazed lands can be alleviated with a vegetarian diet [15], but as a knock on, this is likely to cause greater mass arable production, with its own environmental problems. Environmental vegetarians can be compared with economic vegetarians, who consider the meat industry economically unsound.

Some people argue that a more effective protest might be to continue eating meat, but source it only from well husbanded, sustainable farms.

The debate rages on both sides, and articles supporting both arguments are frequent in the press. One such example of a pro-vegetarian article is below.

"The cost of mass-producing cattle, poultry, pigs, sheep and fish to feed our growing population... include highly inefficient use of freshwater and land, heavy pollution from livestock feces... and spreading destruction of the forests on which much of our planet's life depends." - Time Magazine 11/8/99

References

^ (2002). Mosby's Medical, Nursing, & Allied Health Dictionary. Sixth Edition. p. 1798. ISBN 0323014305.

^ Thirukural Chapter 26: Abstaining from Meat

^ Spencer, Colin. (2002). Vegetarianism: A History. Four Walls Eight Windows; 2nd edition. p. 38. ISBN 1568582382

^ L. Beckett & J. W. Oltjen. (1993). Estimation of the water requirement for beef production in the United States. Journal of Animal Science, 71, 818-8268.

^ FAO., United Nations. (1996). Livestock & the Environment.

^ Shierry Weber Nicholsen, The Love of Nature and the End of the World : The Unspoken Dimensions of Environmental Concern (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2003). ISBN 0262640511.

^ Techno Economics of Paddy cultivation, State Bank of India Publications.

^ Excerpt from the book The extended circle, by Jon Wynne-Tyson, ISBN 0747406332.

^ [www.fas.usda.gov/htp/highlights/2001/india.pdf Indian consumer patterns] - US dept of agriculture report, Agri reform in India - USDA , Diary and poultry sector growth in India