By a simple definition, a vegetarian is a person who does not eat meat. However, being a vegetarian takes on many different meanings today. There are several classifications and variations to being a vegetarian, and the strictness of the diet varies upon the individual. Purists are known as vegans, who reject any food that is derived from an animal, including dairy products like eggs, cheese, and milk. Some are pesco-vegetarians, meaning they consume fish, but still abstain from red meat and poultry. Others choose to be vegetarian, excluding any animal products, but including the consumption of eggs and/or dairy. Being a vegetarian has increased in popularly in recent years. “According to recent surveys, 7% of adult Americans (12.4 million) consider themselves vegetarian today compared to only 4% in the 1960s” (Rubin). The motives behind deciding to take on a vegetarian diet is based off several accounts. Factors revolving religious practices, animal rights, culture, and modern dieting are common considerations. Plant-based diet are recognized for reducing the risk of developing chronic illnesses including type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart disease, blood pressure and obesity. Vegetarians tend to eat less saturated fat and cholesterol and more vitamins and fiber which is associated with reducing the risk for many chronic diseases. “Most importantly, humans do not need animal products to survive. In fact, we can easily do better without them” (Hever 18). While the majority of people take on a vegetarian life style for various reasons, more people find that the health benefits become the essential reason. Reducing the consumption of red meats can prevent the chances of developing cancer. The nutrients found in animal products can be better found in plants. Besides, poultry and red cow meats are found to promote several forms of cancer; the most common ones being breast, prostate, and colon. According to the World Cancer Research Fund/ American Institute for Cancer Research, “red meat consumption is the only ‘convincing’ dietary association with colon cancer” (“Becoming a Vegetarian”). Compound chemicals are formed from high-heat cooking of meat like smoking, grilling, or broiling, which are found
The red meat studied included beef, pork, lamb and other processed meats. Resent publications detailed the results of the study that began following their participants in 1982. It showed that those with high red meat consumption had a 30-40% increased risk of colon cancer and those who consumed high amounts of processed meat were at a 50% higher risk. High red meat consumption was defined at 3 oz. for men and 2 oz. for women daily. High processed meat consumption was defined at 1 oz. eaten 5-6 times a week for men and 2-3 for women. Even the consumption of white meat, like chicken, showed a 3% increase in risk verses those with a vegetarian
Over fifty-six billion animals are slaughtered yearly for consumption, but because we are conditioned from a young age to view animals as resources, we neglect that they are passionate and intelligent living beings. Cows want to enjoy their lives, pigs want to enjoy their lives, and many other farm animals want to enjoy their lives but instead are abused and confined in small cages. Ironically, though, when someone does likewise to a cat or dog, they’re prosecuted. The sole solution to these inhumane acts is Veganism. Veganism is the ideal diet because plant-based foods are plentiful, and it recognizes the unethical treatment of animals.
Meat on the other hand has a possible risk for developing cancer, especially red meat. One theory as to why red meat is associated with cancer lies in the preparation of the meat. The thought is that most
Being vegetarian or vegan is not only beneficial to the animals that are being slaughtered but it also beneficial to the earth and helps to reduce global warming. According to Wikipedia, there are more than seven billion people and out of those seven billion people only three hundred and seventy five million people are said to be vegetarian or vegan. This mass slaughter of animals and livestock is also one of the leading causes of global warming. People may think that the earth is slowly dying but that is not the case anymore as global warming has caught up with us. According to NASA, there are 406.94 parts per million of carbon di oxide in the atmosphere the highest it has ever been in 650000 years. The global temperature has risen by 1.7 °F and sixteen out of the seventeen warmest years on earth have been recorded since 2001. The arctic ice minimum has decreased by 13.2% per decade and in 2012 arctic summer sea ice shrank to the lowest extent on record. The global sea level has also grown by 3.4 millimeters per year and the global average sea level has risen nearly 178mm over the past 100 years. These statistics show you how quickly global warming and climate change are having an effect on earth and who knows what the stats will be in another 50 to 100 years the earth may become uninhabitable and humans will be the sole reason for this.
Vegetarianism is a custom practiced in six out of the seven continents and has become more popular over the years. Vegetarianism can be defined as the exclusion of animal products such as meat and fish from one’s diet. Dairy products and eggs are often times excluded as well. Although there are many reasons one may decide to become a Vegetarian or follow such a code of ethics, the most common include: moral, religious or health reasons.
In the magazine article entitled "The War on Delicious", the co-authors investigate the link between cancer and processed meats as well as red meats. First, the co-authors discuss the carcinogenic qualities of red meats (and some processed white meats). The main cancer causing components of processed meats include nitrates that turn in to nitrites than react with amines and damage DNA as well as heme iron and cooking meats at high temperatures. The co-authors then define not only what red meats are but which processed meats are not good. Processed foods than can be carcinogenic include "meat that has been transformed through slating,curing,fermentation, smoking or other
Some individuals may have chosen to be Vegetarian for health purposes, or out of respect for animals. The health benefits of not eating meat may reduce the risk of a Heart Attack, Cancer, and Type 2 Diabetes. Meat contains saturated fat. Consuming excessive amounts of meat may cause clogged arteries. Clogged arteries force your heart to beat faster, in order to pump blood through the arteries, resulting in high blood pressure. Compounds broken down in meat produce fatty build up causing clogged arteries, and in some cases resulting in a heart attack. Preservatives, such as nitrate, are used to prevent bacteria in processed meat, and are known to cause cancer. Red meat is high in iron and may diminish insulin’s effectiveness of converting sugar into energy causing diabetes.
If I could only use one word to describe myself as a person, it would be healthy. When I say healthy I do not mean your average american’s portrayal of the word. Healthy as in no animal products in my system whatsoever. Yes! That means no meat, no dairy, and no eggs; this is also known as veganism or plant based. Some may say that it is an extreme and completely unnecessary way to live, but for me it is a form of activism for the animals, our health, and our dying planet. Whether the word “veganism” has a bad taste in your mouth or not; I still would like to share my personal experience and how it has positively changed me mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Veganism is becoming a big part of our society. By switching to a vegan diet and vegan lifestyle, everyone can make a change to the world we are living in. Most people go vegan for three important reasons: the environment, their life and their morals. I believe more people should become vegan and switch to a vegan lifestyle to make a change in the environment and end animal suffering.
Nutrients and diet play a big role in people’s health and condition. Poor diet and frequent exposure to certain nutrients leads one’s health vulnerable to various diseases or abnormalities. Cancer is the continuous abnormal cell division, which causes countless people’s lives every year. There isn’t only one factor triggering the development of cancer, but several factors together play a big role in the development of this deadly illness. According to several studies done, red meat and processed meat is one of the contributors to this illness, but how does the most consumed type of meat in the United States cause cancer? Research has shown different types of cancer developments linked to the consumption of red meat and processed red meat, the kinds of red meat involved in this association, and the carcinogens present in red meat which, makes it toxic.
In today’s society, our bodies have become the front image in all aspect of our lives.. Healthy living styles and tips have exploded all over media across the United States. Veganism is one of the upcoming lifestyles that thousands of families around the countries have adopted into their eating habits. Beyond the health benefits of cutting out any and all animal products, veganism has become the face to animal abuse, especially in the produce, handbag, and makeup industry. Companies like People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) create projects and advertisements to encourage people to go vegan. Recently, PETA has connected with Traci Bingham,a famous TV actor, to launch a digital and poster advertisement. The advertisement displays Bingham’s naked body painted like the parts of farm factory animals used for produce in supermarkets. The advertisement “All animals have the same parts” seeks to use ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos to argue that animals such as cattle have the same body parts as people, and therefore are of equal value to human. Traci Bingham’s credibility with the sponsorship of PETA use the image of a naked woman to draw the desire of veganism to both men and women in an era of health, fitness, and equality.
Veganism is a food lifestyle based on diet of vegetables, grains, seeds, nuts and fruits. People are being vegetarian because they think it is healthier to only eat vegetables without eating meet or chicken, and they think that they will get a perfect body shape, free of diseases. As in vegetarian, where they feed on foods that do not fit into animal flesh, whether from wild or marine animals. They also don’t eat food that comes directly from the animal, such as: egg that’s comes from the hen, milk that comes from cows, goats and honey that comes from bees. In India, Ethiopia and Jamaica there are a lot of vegetarian people, because they don’t have enough food to feed themselves, so they decided to eat vegetable. This paper argues that veganism is a harmful lifestyle for three major reasons.
The quote “A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral” from Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy, encompasses what vegetarianism is about. Veganism and vegetarianism is generally associated with leafy green salads but there is a long list of health benefits attached to that way of eating and a reduction in livestock farming benefits our environment. Diving into the benefits of becoming a vegetarian or vegan, there has been extensive research done on how a teak in diet can reduce risk of cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Plant-based dieting is a lifestyle that is beneficial for health, moral and environmental reasons.
In the year of 2012, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated that Americans ate an average of 52.3 pounds of beef, 57.4 pounds of chicken and 43.5 pounds of pork per person.(citation?) Only 5% of Americans are vegetarians and with that much meat eaten by Americans, in one year alone why should you to forced to become vegetarian? With meat being the main staple in the Americans diet there is no reason we should take that of the table. That fact alone shows that most Americans’ diets are made up of meat sources. According to the United States Census Bureau (USCB) the U.S. population was 313.8 million; meaning that 16 billion pounds of beef, 18 billion chicken and 13 billion pounds of pork was eaten by Americans alone in
Having a healthy dietary method can reduce the chances of receiving many health diseases. These health diseases include obesity, heart disease, and cancer. By consuming certain foods and nutrients in one’s diet the risk factors for these health diseases can be reduced. A healthy dietary method that is beneficial to reducing and/or improving these health diseases is the vegetarian diet. The vegetarian diet follows a dietary pattern that is characterized by the consumption of plant-like foods and the avoidance of flesh foods (meat, poultry, and fish). The foods in this diet provide the body with many essential nutrients. This is why many health benefits have been associated with the vegetarian