Vegetarian: a person who does not eat or does not believe in eating meat, fish, fowl, or, in some cases, any food derived from animals, as eggs or cheese, but subsists on vegetables, fruits, nuts, grain, etc. (Dictionary.com)
I am a vegetarian. Well to some extent. I don't eat meat or fish but I do eggs and dairy both of which I am slowly trying to faze out of my diet.
It might be the question I am asked most. Why are you vegetarian?
Maybe it is because I just like to be different?
Maybe it is because I just love cute little fluffy animals? Like Cod?
Or maybe there are many reasons to be vegetarian and I just couldn't resist:
Let's clear something up straight away. Being a vegetarian is easy, especially in Britain. It is rare to be in a position, out or in, where there is nothing to eat without meat in it. Nearly all restaurants- even steak hous
es and kebab shops provide something for the 5% (over 3million)1 of Britons who choose not to eat meat. Supermarkets and even local grocers stock wide varieties of meat substitutes and alternatives. It is true that, being a vegetarian, you won't have the same texture and taste as meat provides but you will have plenty of other choices.Another myth that must be disparaged is that being a vegetarian is unhealthy. It truly doesn’t have to be. Meat eaters often announce that vegetarians do not have enough Protein or Vitamins but, with a bit of care, vegetarians and Vegans can have a perfectly healthy diet.
‘Vegetarian diets typically have sufficient protein intake as long as a variety of plants sources are available and consumed -- it is rare for vegetarians in developed countries to have insufficient protein intake' 2
Vegans in particular have to watch carefully what they eat. A deficiency of vitamin B12 is common although this very rarely manfiests itself into a noticeable health problem. As Vegetarianism becomes more mainstream we are learning more and more about how and what to eat in order to have a blanced diet. Being a vegetarian can actually help you live long by as much as ‘an extra 1-1/2 to 2 years'3. The American Dietetic Association states that vegetarians have “lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; … lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer”
With care vegetarianism and even veganism is a healthy way of life.
‘We feed more than 70 percent of the grains and cereals we grow to farmed animals, and almost all of those calories go into simply keeping the animals alive, not making them grow. Only a small fraction of the calories consumed by farmed animals are actually converted into the meat that people eat.'4 The meat production industry is inneficient and environmentally damaging and in a world where it is our duty to try and live a sustainable lifestyle vegetarianism is a good place to start.
‘Animal agriculture is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases — responsible for 18% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalents... By comparison, all transportation emits 13.5% of the CO2.'5 Climate change, caused in a big way by a rise in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, is one of the biggest challenges ever to face humankind and by being vegetarian we can all do our bit in the fight to save the planet. This is the reason I am a vegetarian, above all others.
‘Nearly half of the water and 80 percent of the agricultural land in the United States are used to raise animals for food'6
Let us not forget animal cruelty. Humans have an amazing thing; the abilty to be rational and to think for themselve. We have the abilty to think ‘I CAN live without hurting another creature so I WILL live without hurting another creauture.’ Those who say vegetarianism is not natural must also believe that are ability to rationalize and be humans is unnatural. I do not believe this.
‘The green pastures and idyllic barnyard scenes of years past are now distant memories. On today's factory farms, animals are crammed by the thousands into filthy windowless sheds, wire cages, gestation crates, and other confinement systems. These animals will never raise their families, root in the soil, build nests, or do anything that is natural to them. They won't even feel the sun on their backs or breathe fresh air until the day they are loaded onto trucks bound for slaughter.'7
Meat and Egg production are a cruel business. No matter how humanely an animal is killed we must not dismiss the fact that they have been locked up for their whole life, often in small cages and fed drugs so they grow to our specifications. To me, this is not natural. If we are to eat eggs, as I do, they must be free range by law, simple as that. Write to your MP and ask them.
The reasons for being a vegetarian are clear for all to see (and there are more). I urge everyone to at least try it. For one day a week, for a week or a month and see how you do and what you can cook. Get a free recipe of the net (see below) and just give it a shot. You’ll feel better afterwards.
1) http://www.vegsoc.org/members/history/150hist.html
2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism
3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism
4) http://goveg.com/environment.asp
5) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism
6) http://goveg.com/environment.asp
7) http://goveg.com/factoryfarming.asp
Vegetarian websites:
http://www.goveg.com/
http://www.vegsoc.org/
http://www.vegcooking.com/
3 comments:
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From a purely scientific perspective, the idea of eating meat, especially that which comes from highly intensified and industrial process is hugely inefficient. Scientists look at a thing called 'ecological efficiency', a concept which describes how much energy is passed on through different levels in a food chain. By eating crops, humans can gain about 20% of the energy on offer.
When eating meat, we gain about 2% of the energy on offer. The animals which we feed upon get about 20% of the energy available from crops. Of that 20% of energy in animals, we only get 10%. Losses occur through movement, indigestible parts, waste etc.
From this it can be seen that mathematically it is not sensible for us to eat meat, especially considering the energy crisis which is occuring today.
Humans, however, are not stupid. We have realised that energy expended by animals, whether it is through movement, fighting disease or growing inedible parts of their bodies is wasteful. As a result, animals are restricted from moving, pumped full of drugs to prevent and immune response and grown in such a way that surplus body parts, such as feathers and long slender legs are eliminated. This has lead to the appauling conditions experienced by much livestock and has all been done to increase efficiency.
Now what could we do to increase efficiency and reduce energy consumption without harming other beings and the environment? Not that hard to think of is it....
Good news.
Carbon footprint data being printed on our food could help people realise how much eating meat inpacts on the environment.
I wonder how far back down the chain the footrpint will go?
Thanks for comment.
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