Section A: Issue Description
In 2014, Arizona State University (ASU) set an al-time record high for student enrollment, accepting nearly 82,000 students. Being the largest public university in the United States, every member of the ASU community is a key stakeholder in Meatless Monday’s. This includes ASU faculty, staff, students and visitors. By adopting Meatless Monday’s, you could strengthen your body, mind and ultimately help keep the planet more sustainable. Since everyone has to eat, everyone is affected by this matter. The ASU community has the power to make difference, but only you can make the change.
Cutting out meat, even just once a week can dramatically improve your health. According to a Harvard University study, eating without
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The vested interest theory could explain this conundrum. According to Attitude Strength: Antecedents and Consequences written by authors Petty and Krosnick, “vested interest theory is concerned with hedonically relevant attitude objects” (1995). In other words, vested interest theory gauges how relevant and meaningful something is to someone. If a person has a high level of vested interest, they are very committed and involved in that particular matter. Likewise, a person with a low level of vested interest is less involved. Vested interest theory is founded on three key principles: involvement, ego-involvement and attitude importance. Ego-involvement pertains to an individual’s psychological attitudes. It determines how emotionally connected an individual to an idea, concept or value. Attitude importance determines the level to which a person deems something meaningful (Petty & Krosnick …show more content…
A growing body of evidence suggests that healthy thinking and behavior is synchronized to the week, with Monday being the day people are most “open to buy” health. Monday can thus be a powerful leverage point in public health promotions to help people stay on track with their health goals.
Another component of the vested interest theory is ego involvement and stake. We propose the idea of branching off and trying something different with phrases like “Just try it!” or “You’ll feel better!”, “What do you have to lose?”, “You can even brag to your meat eating friends how you went meatless on Monday!” We expect to see positive reactions.
“Meat consumption is a part of our evolutionary heritage; meat production has been a major component of modern food systems; carnivory should remain, within limits” (Smil 2013). The keywords within this quote are “within limits.” Just like with anything else, moderation is key. Meatless Monday’s are not about giving up meat forever, just once a week. Going meatless on Monday’s is more than an attitude change, it’s a behavioral change. So, why not start the week off on a good note by going meatless on Monday’s?
Section D:
The food industry is in a state of necessary revolution, for obesity rates seem to be rising exponentially, counties striving to develop have hit lack-of-food road blocks, and massive animal farms produce threats such as unethical treatment of animals and food-borne pathogen spikes. With these dilemmas revolving around the food world, it is natural for one to ponder, “Are human’s inherently omnivorous, eating both animal and plant based products, or were we suppose to be receiving nutrients solely from a vegetarian diet?” Kathy Freston, author of The Lean: A Revolutionary (and Simple!) 30-Day Plan for Healthy, Lasting Weight Loss, discusses her viewpoint surrounding the dilemma by writing “Shattering the Meat Myth: Humans are Natural Vegetarians.” Freston’s answer to the questions presented above
According to a recent study, the meat being supplied by our nation’s schools might not meet the standards by the fast-food industry. Everyday students are sitting down to a processed, unhealthy, fat filled lunch. While many students are educated in the topic, some may be oblivious to the damage the food is doing to their body. Students all around the world are eating processed, genetically modified food, but with a new school program, they will be getting balanced, all natural meals.
The new hubbub of the world is starting to revolve around meatless Mondays. Not only are people starting to give this new spin a try, but are continually adding up the benefits. Meatless Monday is just as it sounds; a Monday without eating any type of meat, but instead going the healthier, vegetarian route with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. According to the magazine article, Meatless Monday, published by Sharon Palmer in Today’s Dietitian, “By cutting out meat once per week, you can improve your health and reduce your carbon footprint.” Many people are already taking her advice and jumping on the bandwagon including famous celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton, and Ellen DeGeneres (2013). Yet, these celebrities are
There are a myriad of myths and misconceptions that surround the words “vegetarian” and “vegan.” One perhaps thinks that becoming vegan is synonymous with becoming weak and holier-than-thou or only consuming foods such as Tofurkey. Thankfully, this isn’t the case for the vast majority of vegans or vegetarians. For financial and health concerns, many Americans are consuming less meat and poultry; approximately one third of Americans follow a diet centered upon vegetables and whole grains, with the occasional consumption of meat. Nonetheless, meat consumption per capita is still extortionate in America—the highest per capita with the exception of Luxembourg—largely due to its ingrained nature in our economy and culture.
The vegetarian diet has become very popular in the United States. How does not eating meat affect a person's health? It is important for people to eat a nutritious diet that will fuel their body. Some people think the vegetarian diet is bad for a person because there are so many nutrients that we can only get from meat.The vegetarian diet has a stigma that it is not very healthy, however the vegetarian diet can be very beneficial to a person's health.
Rachel K. Johnson, a spokesperson for the American Heart Association and professor of nutrition and Medicine at the University of Vermont says, “[Your risk of heart disease reduces] because of the fatty red meats and many processed meats that are high in saturated fat, which raises LDL cholesterol which increases risk of coronary heart disease.” Being vegetarian doesn’t just help women with heart disease, but it helps with so much more. For one it helps lower your blood pressure, in a research that was done on a group of people it was found that only vegetarians were found with the lowest blood pressure (Alexandra p.1). Secondly it helps lower the risk of death. A 2013 study showed that more than 70,000 people found that vegetarians had a twelve percent lower risk of death compared with non-vegetarians (Alexandra p.2) With the absence of the saturated fat and cholesterol that clogs arteries, vegetarians are at a lower risk for chronic disease overall. Thirdly, when being a vegetarian you are also in a better mood. “ A 2012 study randomly split participants into three diets: all-meat allowed, fish-only and vegetarian no-meat. The researchers found that after two weeks, the people on the vegetarian diet reported more mood improvements than those on the other two diets.”(Alexandra p.3). Being a vegetarian also gives you a less risk of being over weight, which we all know has been one of the biggest problems here in America. Too many people are overweight and are not doing
The documentary I was presented with was Forks over Knives. Its general premise is saying meat is bad, it causes cancer, and that all humans should be on a whole- food plant based diet. They took these people into a 12-week program to switch them over to this diet. My knowledge before watching this film was that meat is good for you, we get plenty of amino acids that we don’t make in our own body. It gives us lots of protein. I did know that red meat is not a good meat to eat all the time. But I never would have thought of cutting meat out of my diet. Lee Fulkerson was the director as well the writer of Forks Over Knives. I feel as though
Going through life as carnivores, most people do not feel as though it is immoral due to the food chain. They are simply eating what is right to maintain proper nutrition and remain healthy. It is understandable that people do not eat meat due to animal cruelty, love of animals, morals, and ethical reasoning, but in reality, they are just robbing themselves of the proper nutrients. Vegetarians are likely to come across many negative health risks that meat eaters are less likely to come across. By not eating meat, vegetarians are prone to pernicious anemia due to vitamin B deficiency, which can seriously interfere with the production or red blood cells within bone marrow. Other health problems include iron deficiency, animal-protein deficiency, and vitamin D deficiency, as well as having lo...
In sum, the option of eating meat shouldn’t be completely taken away, but it should be limited to a reasonable amount to serve as a compromise to both meat eaters and non-meat eaters.
Society has recently become increasingly obsessed with health and nutrition, as more and more individuals realize that they can dramatically change their quality of life by adjusting their diet and lifestyle. One such way that people have tried to pursue a healthier lifestyle, is by removing meat and other animal products from their diets, whether they become a strict vegetarian who eats no animal byproducts, or a lacto-ovo vegetarian who still eats eggs and dairy. As with any other lifestyle, research is always being done to see if the benefits outweigh the disadvantages, and so far, the results of vegetarian diets have been encouraging. Vegetarian diets have proven to decrease the risk of heart disease, cancer, obesity, and many other health problems. With a little planning and dedication, a vegetarian diet will be healthier and more beneficial than a traditional diet that includes meat and animal products.
Fast food can be just as addictive as drugs and alcohol. Fast food is mass-produced; and provides a convenient food source, but what about nutrients? Many more would agree that the health benefits of a vegetarian diet might substantially reduce health risks. When considering other food related health options, “The Slow Food Movement” encompasses several different aspects regarding the fast food industry and sustainability of food production that applies a cohort mentality. This group of food advocates agrees that, “the Slow Food Movement rejects the notion of compromising nourishment for economic and health related outcomes.” (McCarthy 206) The groups form cohorts of growers, farmers, consumers, and educators to discuss viable options for food production, for sale and for consumption on an international level. McWilliams suggests another way to influence ethical eating: “Unitarian Universalists developed a system of ethically sound practices for production and consumption,” (405) Ethical eating involves the greenhouse effect and leaves behind an ecological footprint. An insightful look at marketing, production, and economy are all related to the ethical standards of eating, which impacts human beings from a global
For several years the issue of eating meat has been a great concern to all types of people all over the world. In many different societies controversy has began to arise over the morality of eating meat from animals. A lot of the reasons for not eating meat have to deal with religious affiliations, personal health, animal rights, and concern about the environment. Vegetarians have a greater way of expressing meats negative effects on the human body whereas meat eaters have close to no evidence of meat eating being a positive effect on the human body. Being a vegetarian is more beneficial for human beings because of health reasons, environmental issues, and animal rights.
Albert Einstein said, “Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.” Nowadays, a growing number of vegetarians has been showed in many studies, such as a poll started by a nonprofit organization named Vegetarian Resource Group. It showed that United States has 6-8 million adults who do not eat poultry, meat, or fish (“Becoming a Vegetarian”, 2009, pp4). Much more people choose to be a vegetarian because it is more flexible than before, which means that vegetarians have more choice to combine a healthy lifestyle and high quality of life together. Food products like quinoa and fake meat are available for most people. Moreover, restaurants, schools, and hospitals are friendlier to vegetarians with some special offers. In addition to this, an iPhone APP named Vegetarian Scanner can alert people that the food contains meat (DeVries, 2012, pp41).
Every person has the ability to make their own choice of whether to eat meat or not. However, eating meat is directly tied to negative health effects, pollution leading to a depletion of ozone, and the depletion of hundreds of thousands of acres of land “wasted” on animal production when they could be used to solve the hunger crisis or lower emission levels. What humans eat is no longer a matter of choice; it has become a matter of life and death. Literally, the future of the whole planet rests on the decision of whether or not to eat meat. If humans chose to eat less meat the world that wouldn’t have to suffer the consequences (outlined above.) Vegetarianism is one possibility, as is Veganism; however the world would be
People have used the argument that eating meat plays an important role in the overall health of a human and it is the way the cycle of life is meant to be, but this is not the case. Eating meat is unnecessary. Becoming a vegetarian could save countless animals from unnecessary suffering, improve human health, and help preserve numerous natural resources.