The American Diet Essay, Research Paper

“You are what you eat”, goes a famous saying.

And if that is truly the case, then a lot of Americans would appear to

be unhealthy, chemically treated, commercially raised slabs of animal flesh.

And while that is not a particularly pleasant thought, it is nonetheless

an description of the typical American omnivore who survives on the consumption

of Big Macs and steak fajitas.

But there are individuals who do not follow

this American norm and have altered their diets so that they do not consume

any meat. These people are vegetarians, and they are the new breed of healthy

Americans who refuse to poison themselves with fats, cholesterol, and the

other harmful additives that come from meat. And while once thought to

be a movement that would never gain much momentum, it has nonetheless moved

itself to the forefront of Americans’ healthy diets.

The word vegetarian, used to describe the

diets of people who do not consume animal flesh, was not used until around

the mid-1800s. The concept of vegetarianism, however, dates back much further.

The Greek philosopher Pythagoras, considered by many to be the father of

vegetarianism, encouraged a non-meat diet among his followers as a diet

that was the most natural and healthful (Messina 3).

A vegetarian diet excludes the consumption

of meat, and can be exercised by people for a number of reasons. The largest

majority of individuals chose vegetarianism for health related reasons.

For example, someone with an ulcer might be prescribed a strict diet of

vegetables in order to promote the healing process. Or someone with a dangerously

high level of cholesterol might be advised to follow a vegetarian diet

to lower his or her fat and cholesterol intake.

The immorality of consuming animal flesh

is another argument touted by a smaller group of vegetarians. R.G. Frey

describes this moral argument for vegetarianism and the effect that meat

eating might have on the character of humans:

Some people have come to believe and fear

that, in the suffering and killing which occurs in commercial farming,

we demean ourselves, coarsen our sensitivities, dull our feelings of sympathy

with our fellow creatures, and so begin the descent down the slippery slope

of torture and death, to a point where it becomes easier for us to contemplate

and carry out the torture and killing of human beings. (20)

This moral argument for vegetarianism is

also noted by John Robbins who states that “the suffering these animals

undergo has become so extreme that to partake of food from these creatures

is to partake unknowingly of the abject misery that has been their lives”(14).

But whatever the reasons behind a person’s

choice to be a vegetarian, it is important to understand the different

diets that individual vegetarians can choose. In the widest sense of the

word, a vegetarian diet is a diet that is made up of grains, vegetables

and fruit, but does not include any animal flesh, such as fish, pork, poultry,

or beef. But beyond these standards, there are many variations of diet

that occur within the world of vegetarianism.

The first, and most prominent, category

of vegetarianism is a lacto-ovo vegetarian. Mark Messina describes a lact-ovo

diet as “…a vegetarian diet (that) includes dairy products and eggs but

no animal flesh”(7). This means that there is consumption of animal byproducts,

such as milk, eggs, or honey, but there is no consumption of animal flesh.

Another variation is the lacto-vegetarian diet that allows the consumption

of milk and other milk products, but does not include the consumption of

eggs. And like all vegetarians, these two groups do not consume fish, poultry,

or meat (Messina 7).

Another category that vegetarians can fall

into are vegans. The vegan diet is by far the most strict of all the vegetarian

diets. According to Mark Messina, “Vegans avoid meat, fish, poultry, dairy,

and eggs. There are many other foods that may not be acceptable to many

vegans, however. Foods that involve animal processing to any degree are

often avoided”(11). This means that vegans can consume no foods containing

animal byproducts, such as milk, eggs, or honey. Being a vegan often dictates

an “animal friendly” lifestyle that, aside from not eating anything that

came from an animal, also abstains from buying or using products that were

tested on animals or are made from animal hairs or skin, such as leather

shoes or belts (Messina 11).

A common misconception of vegetarians is

that they are all a bunch of skinny, malnourished idealists who live on

plants and soy milk. And another, related common misconception is that

a diet of meat is a diet that builds strength. Professor Irving Fisher

of Yale designed a series of tests in which he compared the strength and

stamina of meat-eaters against vegetarians, with three groups of individuals

represented: meat-eating athletes, vegetarian athletes, and sedentary vegetarians.

His studies showed that the average score of the two vegetarian groups

was over double the average score of the meat eaters, even though half

of the vegetarians were sedentary people and all of the meat-eaters were

athletes. Fisher concluded that:

…the difference in endurance between

the flesh-eaters and the abstainers (was due) entirely to the difference

in their diet…There is strong evidence that a … non-flesh … diet

is conducive to endurance.(206)

A comparable study was done in 1968 by

a Danish group of researchers that tested a group of men on a variety of

diets, using a stationary bicycle to measure their strength and endurance.

The group fed their test subjects a diet that was comprised of mixed amounts

of vegetables and meats for a period of time before testing the men on

the stationary bicycle. The average time that they could pedal before muscle

failure was 114 minutes. The very same group of subjects was then fed a

diet that was comprised of only meat, eggs, and milk for an equal amount

of time, and then re-tested them on the bikes. On this diet, their pedaling

time before muscle failure dropped dramatically to an average of only 57

minutes. That same group of men was again fed a diet that this time was

comprised entirely of grains, vegetables, and fruits before once again

testing them on the bikes. The lack of animal byproducts didn’t seem to

hamper their performance, as many people would have thought, and the men

were able to pedal an average of 167 minutes before muscle failure (Robbins

156).

But vegetarians are still often criticized

by people who feel that vegetarians do not get enough minerals and vitamins

as a result of their limited diet. But vegetarian food is among some of

the healthiest foods available to mankind, and while there is no easy way

to determine the extent to which a vegetarian diet can influence the health

of those that follow its guidelines, the evidence is very indicative that

it may be an important contributing factor. Registered dietitian Johanna

Dwyer, of Tufts University Medical School and the New England Medical Center

Hospital, Boston, summarizes these benefits:

… data are strong that vegetarians are

at lesser risk for obesity, atonic [reduced muscle tone] constipation,

lung cancer, and alcoholism. Evidence is good that risks for hypertension,

coronary artery disease, type II diabetes, and gallstones are lower. Data

are only fair to poor that risks of breast cancer, diverticular disease

of the colon, colonic cancer, calcium kidney stones, osteporosis, dental

erosion, and dental caries are lower among vegetarians.(53)

Vegetarian diets contain less total fat

and less saturated fat, which are linked to increased risk of obesity,

diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. In comparing the diets of vegetarians

to omnivores, Mark Messina indicates that “American omnivores eat a diet

that is 34% to 36% fat, lacto-ovo vegetarians eat a 30% to 36% fat diet,

and vegans eat a diet that is about 30% fat” (59).This means that vegetarians

also consume less cholesterol, which has been linked to an increase in

the risk of heart disease and possibly even cancer. The amount of cholesterol

of a lacto-ovo vegetarian is about 150 to 300 mg of cholesterol per day

compared to the 400 mg of cholesterol that an omnivore consumes (Messina

59). Vegans, who exclude the intake of any food that contains animal byproducts,

do not consume foods that contain significant amounts of cholesterol. The

US Department of Agriculture and Health and Human Services have created

a Food Guide to better advise Americans on how to eat healthier, more balanced

meals, and which “advises using fats, oils, and sweets sparingly” (Farley

52).

Vegetarians as a group also consume higher

amounts of fiber. Fiber, found mainly in grain products, is essential to

healthy bowels and colons, lowers the risk for diabetes, helps control

blood glucose levels, and also lowers the risk for cancer and heart disease

(Messina 59). And it is grain products that form the base of the U.S. Department

of Agriculture and Department of Health and Human Services’ Food Guide

Pyramid, which recommends servings of bread, rice, cereal, and pasta 6

to 11 times per day. (Farley 52) The typical intake of fiber for an average

omnivore is “about 12g of fiber each day,”, with vegetarians eating “50%

to 100% more fiber than nonvegetarians” (Messina 59).

A vegetarian diet also includes consumption

of more antioxidants, which are believed to reduce the risk of cancer,

heart disease, and possibly arthritis and cataracts. Dietary antioxidants

include such vitamins as vitamin E, vitamin C- of which the typical vegetarian

diet includes 50%, 100%, or even higher- and carotenoids as well as the

many phytochemicals that are found in plants (Messina 59). They also consume

less animal protein, with omnivores consuming 14% to 18%, lacto-ovo vegetarians

consuming 12% to 14%, and vegans consuming only 10% to 12% (Messina 59).

While vegetarians consume less total protein, they do consume adequate

amounts to maintain a healthy balance, as demonstrated by modern nutritional

science. Excess protein, and in particular excess animal protein, is linked

to the increased risk for osteoporosis, kidney stone formation, kidney

disease, and an increase in blood cholesterol levels (Messina 59).

The nutritional benefits of a vegetarian

diet very clearly appear to be beneficial to human health. But a vegetarian

diet can also be healthy to the lives of our planet’s other inhabitants,

the very animals that are being eaten. Due to the increased demand for

food, livestock farmers have had to keep up by devising new and more efficient

ways to raise more animals, giving way to the industrialization of meat

farming. As John Robbins accurately writes, “the raising of chickens in

the United States today is not, however, a process which overflows with

compassion for these animals” (52). Chickens, as we grew up believing,

were farmyard animals that would root around in the soil for their food,

and were deeply attuned to the cycles of nature, as evidenced by the rooster

crowing at the break of day. But the industrialization of chicken farming

in the past forty years has changed all this, and the days of the barnyard

chicken are over, replaced instead with what Robbins refers to as “the

assembly-line chicken” (52).

But the poultry farmers are not alone in

its industrialization. The beef, turkey, pork and other meat industries

have also had to adapt their methods of “production” in order to keep up

with the demands of omnivores. This includes the use of growth hormones

in the animals to produce more eggs and fatter animals, which are then

passed on to their human consumers. John Robbins describes some of the

products used in today’s pork industry in his book Diet For A New America:

… will also be given products like the

new feed additive from Shell Oil Company. Called XLP-30, it is designed

to “boost pigs per litter,” though it has a name that sounds like it should

be added to motor oil instead of animal food. Incredibly, a Shell official

acknowledges- “we don’t know why it works.”

This is just one example of the chemical

tampering that the meat industry is forced to do with its animals in order

to fight off the diseases that the animals’ cramped, unsanitary living

conditions bring with them. As discussed by R.G. Frey, this poses the most

serious of threats to the health of Americans because “…the liberal use

of antibiotics in animal feed may, in time, build immunity in animals and,

through them, in us, to these drugs, some of which may play a role in the

treatment of human diseases” (10).

Leonardo Da Vinci said “the time will come

when men such as I will look on the murder of animals as they now look

on the murder of men” (Robbins 148). While the cruelty of murdering other

animals for their flesh is a moral argument in favor of vegetariansim,

it seems rather unlikely that amny Americans could ever be swayed by its

message. However, many Americans are interested in preserving their own

health and well-being, and that should lead many people towards a vegetarian

lifestyle since a vegetarian diet includes the necessary vitamins and minerals

to sustain human life, with out any of the negative byproducts of animal

consumption, such as cholesterol, excessive fat, and excessive protein.

A healthy lifestyle is something benefits us all, and yet most people are

unwilling to give up the meat-filled diets.

If the phrase “You are what you eat” has

any amount of truth to it, then Americans need to realize what they are

ingesting every time they enjoy a Big Mac, some Whoppers, or a filet mignon.

There are healthier alternatives to the meat eating that nearly every member

of our society has been weaned on, and those alternatives all include the

consumption of more vegetables and the absence of meats. It is now up to

them to realize this and make the necessary adjustments.

Works Cited

Farley, Dixie. “More People Trying Vegetarian

Diets.” FDA Consumer October 1995: 52-55.

Fisher, Irving. “The Influence of Flesh

Eating on Endurance.” Yale Medical Journal 13.5 (1907): 205-221

Frey, R.G. Rights, Killing, and Suffering.

Oxford: Basil Blackwell Publisher Limited, 1983

Messina, Mark, and Messina, Virginia. The

Dietian’s Guide to Vegetarian Diets: Issues and Applications. Gaithersburg:

Aspen Publishers, Inc., 1996

Robbins, John. Diet For A New America.

Walpole: Stillpoint Publishing, 1987

Works Consulted

Farley, Dixie. “More People Trying Vegetarian

Diets.” FDA Consumer October 1995: 52-55.

Fisher, Irving. “The Influence of Flesh

Eating on Endurance.” Yale Medical Journal 13.5 (1907): 205-221

Frey, R.G. Rights, Killing, and Suffering.

Oxford: Basil Blackwell Publisher Limited, 1983

Kleiner, Susan M. “Vegetarian Vitality:

Striking The Right Balance.” The Physician and Sports Medicine August 1992:

15-16

Messina, Mark, and Messina, Virginia. The

Dietian’s Guide to Vegetarian Diets: Issues and Applications. Gaithersburg:

Aspen Publishers, Inc., 1996

Robbins, John. Diet For A New America.

Walpole: Stillpoint Publishing, 1987