Vegetarianism: Fighting the Addiction to Meat

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Recommended: Health benefits to being a vegetarian

The media is full of stories about people and their addictions; drug addictions, alcohol addictions, shopping addictions, the list goes on and on! But, the one dependency that the media and general population continue to overlook is the addiction to meat. Many people love meat and eat it every day! The thought of not eating meat is absolutely devastating to them; they can’t imagine living like that! But by reducing your intake of meat, you are not only benefiting yourself, you are benefiting your environment!
There are a variety of vegetarians. Vegans are “pure” vegetarian; they don’t eat anything that has been derived from animals (meat, poultry, fish, dairy, etc.). Some vegans don’t wear or use any materials that came from animals either. Lacto-ovo vegetarians don’t eat meat, poultry, or fish, but may eat eggs or dairy products. Lacto vegetarians don’t eat meat, poultry, fish, or eggs, but may eat dairy products. Ovo vegetarians don’t eat meat, poultry, fish, or dairy products, but may eat eggs.
There are also some forms of partial vegetarians, just as pesco vegetarians/pescatarian, who may eat fish, or pollo vegetarians, who may eat fish.
Some people consider it “unhealthy” to lead a vegetarian diet, because they don’t think they would get all the necessary nutrients that are needed. But as long as a person supplements for meat, they can maintain a very healthy life! Tofo is a meat-replaced food that many vegetarians eat. They also consume a lot of beans which are an excellent source of protein. Dairy products produced in cruelty free facilities can also be purchased. To maintain a healthy vegetarian diets, supplements can also be found for iron, calcium, vitamin D and B12, and zinc.
By living a healthy, vegetarian lifesty...

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...ould go down and therefore companies would be forced to cut back on animal cruelty.
By being a vegetarian, it will not only benefit you, but the animals that would be killed on behalf of our taste buds will thank you as well! Slaughterhouses are very unpleasant places. Workers have to wear ear protection from the screams of the animals, the metallic scent of blood is everywhere, and we kill simply because we like the taste of the animal. It may be hard to quite eating meat “cold turkey” but if you start gradually reducing the amount of meat in your diet, you will see a significant difference in your health!

Works Cited

"Becoming a Vegetarian." TeensHealth. Nemours, 2013. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.

"Being a Vegetarian." Harvard Heath Publications. Harvard University, Oct. 2009. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.

"Food Choices and Your Health." EarthSave. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.

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