Vegetarianism is a new type of diet that is quite common now in our society. A person’s choice to adopt the vegetarian diet is based on a wide combination of reasons and beliefs. Some people prefer the vegetarian diet over the all-meat diet because of their concern about how animals are treated, while others make the choice based on a few primary concerns, such as health, ethical, societal and environmental concerns. In order to satisfy their worries, people choose to go vegetarian. Furthermore, there are different approaches in vegetarianism, for example, Ovo-Lacto vegetarianism, Lacto-vegetarianism, and veganism. However, vegetarianism is the most known and the most common; this type is when there is no meat included in their diet (McCord, “Introduction to Vegetarianism: Why …show more content…
There are many components on how humans can destroy the environment. People pollute the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels, by running cars or any other form of transportation and by generating electricity for industries or factories, which can play a major influence in climate change. By going vegetarian people can reduce the impact of climate change and deforestation while saving water and other precious resources. In fact, raising animals for food produces more greenhouse gasses than any form of transportation. All animals need to be fed. This requires a massive amount of plants, grain, and water, that needs to be bought. In addition to this, the animals need to be killed, processed, transported and all of this releases an enormous amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Additionally, most of all the animals are put into factory farms and produce large amounts of methane (Peta, “Fight Climate Change by Going Vegetarian”). Switching to a diet with no meat saves fifty percent more carbon emission. These carbon emissions are greatly impacting our planet and making climate change a bigger issue. If people
.... People do not have to become vegetarians, but people should consider other meat and food as alternatives. Ultimately, if a majority of people chose organic farms and foods it would put a heavy hit on the meat production business. People will be eating healthier, and they will be doing their healthy part in the ecosystem and that will help to lower greenhouse gas emissions and greatly improve treatment of animals. The prices of organic food just need to come down dramatically for people to buy it. Methane from liquid manure, nitrous oxide from manmade fertilizers, carbon dioxide from machines are why people have put themselves and animals into a dilemma and made it into a never-ending continuous cycle.
Though vegetarianism was never a taboo subject as are some other controversial topics, The question of whether or not human beings should live off meat still is highly discussed amongst all types of people. Spiritual leaders, activists, scientists, and doctors have spoken up on behalf of their group’s opinion. Amongst the arguments of what is right when it comes to the food chain, resonating on many a mind is where the concept of vegetarian came from. Was it started as a religious virtue or a moral decision? Perhaps it was a forced lifestyle or a diet trend gone wrong (or right depending). Health wise, which is better for us? Educating ourselves by answering these questions helps us answer the, perhaps, most important question of all. Which lifestyle will we, as individuals, choose?
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.
Every day across America millions of people wake up to start their morning. Throughout the day the vast majority of these people will consume meat, but 3% will replace the pig, cow, and chicken products for vegetable or fruit made meals (Harris). These vegetarians all have many different reasons to make this choice. This decision is a huge change in one’s life and is not without questions. Some people may wonder why would anyone abstain from the amazing food that contains meat. This essay will briefly explain the history of vegetarianism, the reasons for vegetarianism, and answer questions about vegetarianism. Vegetarian diets are all around better than diets containing meat because of three main reasons; the abuse of animals, the environmental damage, and the health benefits for humans.
The earth throughout many years has dramatically change in negative way when it comes to the planet’s environment. A simple choice of choosing vegetarian diet can have positive outcome to our wildfire, the atmosphere ,and even human health. From cutting down rainforests for cow pastures to adding methane to the atmosphere, a normal meat-based diet can majorly damage many parts of world.
Vegetarianism, or at least the idea of it, which includes everything from Lacto-ovo-vegetarian to veganism, has existed for quite a long time. There is record of people abstaining from eating meat and flesh well before the Christian Era, and although not as widely practiced it might have been easier to follow such a diet in that time in history. Veganism is the most strict and extreme version of vegetarianism; it was defined in 1944 and very similar to the way people of ancient times practiced it, but with more restrictions due to more food options and more emphasis on ethical concerns. If one was to examine veganism today they would see an extremely disputed practice in terms of what is acceptable to consume according to ethics, health ideas, and the different levels of veganism. The opposition comes from less strict vegetarians and non-vegetarians, it’s the idea that veganism is not the healthier diet to practice, but that a balanced, well rounded diet might actually be more beneficial to one’s health and longevity. More importantly the ethical claim made by people who practice vegan diets isn’t as ethically sound as it’s made out to be. This research paper will examine the different types of vegetarians, specifically people who classify themselves as vegans and raw vegans, the ideas and ethics behind their lifestyle and why they fall short of what they claim, and reasons why practicing this diet may not be the better choice.
Realizing the necessity of refraining from meat is especially difficult because people consume it for a long time, and in addition, there is a certain attitude to the meat as to the product that is useful, nourishing and even prestigious. On the other hand, the constant consumption of meat has made the vast majority of people completely emotionless towards it. However, there must be some real and strong reasons for refusal to consume meat and as I noticed they were always completely different. So, even though vegetarianism has evolved drastically over time, some of its current forms have come back full circle to resemble that of its roots, when vegetarianism was an ethical-philosophical choice, not merely a matter of personal health. As believed, vegetarianism was originally founded in ancient India and was generally formed on ethical and moral issues.
There are many factors to why some want be vegetarians. Many believe that it is more ethical to become vegetarian. That warm-blooded animals being slaughtered have emotions and connections and are sacrificed to satisfy the decedent meat eating lifestyle. Or let it be that we are supporting many genetically modified crops and feeding them to the animals we eat; only supporting an artificial lifecycle. Many vegetarians are born into the lifestyle; most people from India are vegetarians because of the animals they worship. It is called the Asian –Indian diets, which is predominantly lacto-vegetarian. Many choose the lifestyle because of health concerns and concerns of the environment; that we are a product of our environment. What ever we take from the world or put into it is the reason there are so many health problems, like a circle of life.
The amount of people becoming vegetarians these days is growing. There are a few different types of vegetarians for example; the lacto-ovo vegetarian doesn’t eat any animal products except milk and eggs. Another type of vegetarian is the vegan, they exclude all animal products.
In October of last year I finally became a vegetarian, meaning that I chose to not eat meat products anymore. Technically, I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian because I do eat eggs (ovo-) and milk (lacto-) on occasion and not a vegan-one who doesn't eat any animal products. My first year as a vegetarian has been very revealing. Since adopting this new identity, I have learned a lot about myself as well as others. Here I write about why I am a vegetarian and what I have learned since becoming one. In doing so, I hope to dispel some misunderstandings about vegetarians and to reveal some unappreciated aspects about what it takes to become and remain a vegetarian. Please understand that I speak for one vegetarian and not for vegetarians in general.
A United Nations report states that land used for animal agriculture, both for grazing and production of crops fed to livestock, takes up an astounding 30% of land on Earth. ("Meat Production Wastes Natural Resources") To meet the industry’s demands, over 260 million acres of forest in the U.S. have been cleared to grow grain fed to farm animals. ("Meat Production Wastes Natural Resources") With that in mind, the meat industry also dumps disease-causing pathogens through animal waste that pollutes water and forces the need for waste lagoons to be constructed, which are susceptible to leaking and flooding. ("Facts about Pollution from Livestock Farms”) Scientists say that about 14% of the world’s greenhouse gases are released by said agriculture industries, which is a growing concern for climate change and global warming. (Silverman) The meat industry uses one-third of all the fossil fuels consumed in the United States. (Moore) There is no question that farming animals has a negative effect on the environment and steps should be taken to mitigate air and water pollution risks and future deforestation. If animal agriculture was phased out, land used for animal grazing could be returned to forest land and some of it converted into fields for cultivating crops for humans. A global shift toward veganism, resulting in the elimination of the meat and animal agriculture industries, would protect the environment from various detrimental effects.
Albert Einstein once said, "Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." As people move into a more health conscious society, vegetarianism is becoming a popular choice. While some people cannot imagine a day without meat, others are convinced that a vegetarian lifestyle is the better option. There are numerous benefits of being a vegetarian. Some of the reasons are as follows: vegetarianism has multiple health paybacks, is far better for the environment, and is morally sound. Most people believe that vegetarianism is unhealthy, goes against our natural diet, and unnecessary, however, a vegetarian diet offers many health benefits and is more ethical than an omnivorous existence.
Vegetarians tend to be healthier than those who consume meat. This is due to the prevalent unnatural chemicals used in the processing of meats, and eating these are unsuitable for the body. Meats already contain harmful amounts of cholesterol, and over-consumption of red meat can lead to early heart disease. Animals that are raised on farms for their meat are not treated well, and this mistreatment can lead to harm in the meat they are producing. Although one life choice cannot change one’s environmental
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.
However, many people still refuse to be a vegetarian for different reasons. Some people prefer the taste of meat, and some people believe that they are born to eat meat. Despite that about 2 billion people in the world live basically on the meat diet, around 4 billion people live mainly on a plant-based diet because of food shortage(Pimentel ＆ Pimentel, 2003, pp660S). As everyone knows, the number of population is growing. For example, the total U.S. population doubled in the previous 60 years, and it may double again in the next 70 years (Pimentel ＆ Pimentel, 2003, pp660S). People won’t have enough meat to eat in the future. On the other hand, a well-planned vegetarian diet offers many health benefits. Therefore, people should become vegetarian because it benefits to huma...