Vegetarianism
| [ • Nutrition • Healthy Eating • Miracle Diets? • Handling Food • Food Trouble• Food Facts • Food
Fun! • Discussion • Archive • |
|
[ Why Become a Vegetarian? | How do Vegetarians get a Healthy Diet? | Vegetarian Products | Vegetarian Links ]
| Are you a vegan? What's that you may ask. Vegans are also vegetarians, but they are strictly vegetarian and do not consume any meat or animal products at all. Some other types of vegetarians include lacto-vegetarians (lacto refers to dairy products) and ova-lacto-vegetarians (ova means egg). But vegetarians do not eat meat, for several reasons. |  |
Health Reasons
Many studies have shown that vegetarians are generally healthier than non-vegetarians. Vegetarian diets contain less fat, and vegetarians are less likely to have cancer, asthma, heart problems, high blood pressure and diabetes. They tend to be more resistant to diseases and live longer. One reason vegetarians do not eat meat is because animals high up in the food chain tend to have a greater concentration of pollutants which could lead to some health problems in meat-eating humans.
Ecological Reasons
Do you know that raising an animal requires much grain and space, and the space used to raise one single animal could be used to produce even more grain to feed many people. And do you know that cooking meat requires much more energy than cooking plants? The raising of animals has also caused destruction to forests when those forests are cleared for pastures. Animals also cause pollution when animal waste seeps into the ground and goes into the rivers. Raising the animals requires many resources as well, resources that could be better used for human use; for example, raising a cow to produce a pound of beef takes approximately 1000 gallons of fresh water, whereas growing a pound of vegetables could take less than 10 gallons. Humans eating meat can bring about many environmental problems and contributes to the destruction of our planet.
Religious and Ethical Reasons
Have you ever watched how a pig is slaughtered? If you have heard the terrible whining and screams, seen the spluttering of the blood, you would probably break down and swear never to eat pork again. Killing animals for food may be cruel to some people, and that is why they turn vegetarians. Some religions have dietary laws to restrict people on the eating of meat. For Muslims, the food ...
Not enough reasons? Check this out: 101 Reasons to be a Vegetarian
How do Vegetarians get a healthy diet?
Since meat is a rich source of protein, vegetarians would have to replace this source with some other alternatives. Sources of protein include peas, nuts, seeds, dairy products and eggs. Iron, calcium, vitamin B12 and D may also be lacking in their diets. Iron can be found in cereals, nuts, eggs and some vegetables such as spinach. To increase the absorption of iron, more Vitamin C can be taken. Vitamin D can be obtained from the sunlight, so just take a walk in the sun if you need more. Vitamin B12 may be a problem as it is mostly found in animal products. Some alternative sources include brewer's yeast, milk fortified with iron, and vitamin tablets.
This is because there are products available made to resemble meat in many ways. They are usually made from gluten or flour, look like meat, and taste like meat.
This page has been authored for participation in
the 1997 Thinkquest Competition.
|
|
