Vegetarianism 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.

A vegetarian diet excludes the consumption of meat and

can be exercised by people for a number of reasons. The

largest majority of individuals choosing vegetarianism

related to heath 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. This

moral argument for vegetarianism and the effect of what

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 and dull our feelings of

sympathy with our fellow creatures. Almost to a point

where it becomes easier for us to contemplate and carry

out the torture and killing of human beings.

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

meat, such as fish, pork, poultry, or beef. Beyond these

standards, there are many variations of diets that occur

within the world of vegetarianism. The first, and most

common category of vegetarianism is a lacto-ovo

vegetarian. This a person who includes dairy products and

eggs but no animal meat. This means that there is

consumption of animal byproducts, such as milk, eggs, and

cheese.

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. Like all vegetarians, these

two groups do not consume fish, poultry, or meat.

The third category that vegetarians can fall into are vegans.

The vegan diet is by far the most strict of all the vegetarian

diets. Vegans shun all animal products. Foods that involve

animal processing to any degree are often avoided. This

means that vegans can consume no foods containing any

animal byproducts, such as milk, eggs, or cheese. 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.

A common misconception of vegetarians is that they are all

a bunch of skinny, malnourished idealists who live on plants

and soy milk. Another common misconception is that a diet

of protein is a diet that builds strength and muscle.

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 carnivores, even though half of the

vegetarians were sedentary people and all of the carnivores

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."

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 scientists 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 consisted of only

meat, eggs, and milk for an equal amount of time. They

were then re-tested on the bikes. On normal "well

balanced" diet, it seemed their pedaling time before muscle

failure dropped dramatically to an average of only 57

minutes. That same group of men were again fed a diet that

this time was made of entirely of grains, vegetables, and

fruits before they were once again tested on exercise 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. A considerable longer amount then when

they ate animal products.

Yet still, vegetarians are still often criticized by people who

feel that they 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. Evidence is good that risks

for hypertension, coronary artery disease, type II diabetes,

and gallstones are lower. Data seems to show that the risks

of breast cancer, diverticular disease of the colon, colonic

cancer, calcium kidney stones, osteoporosis, dental

erosion, and dental caries are lower among vegetarians.

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, we see that the American

omnivore consumes 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, which is the

recommend amount of fat intake for whatever ones diet

consists of. 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. 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." 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. It is grain products that form the base of the Food

Guide Pyramid, which recommends servings of bread, rice,

cereal, and pasta 6 to 11 times per day. 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

non-vegetarians. That is a considerably higher amount.

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 and

vitamin C.

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.

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 or the way

they are being raised to meet our mass consumption of

animal products.

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. Hormones, chemicals, and

steroids are all used to aid in the quicker process of animal

growth and production. Chickens, as we grew up believing,

were farmyard animals that were free to roam the yards.

Due to the industrialization of chicken farming in the past

forty years, all this has changed. The days of the barnyard

chicken are over, replaced instead with the assembly-line

chicken. 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. A chemical

called XLP-30, 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, Officials

acknowledge they 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.

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." While the cruelty of murdering animals

for their flesh is a moral argument in favor of vegetarianism,

it seems rather unlikely that 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, without 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.