Being vegetarian or vegan is often more than just a dietary change, it is a lifestyle change. The vegetarian/vegan lifestyle is beneficial on many levels: health, fitness, ethics, and economics. The diet itself may vary a lot, for example between an ovo-lacto-vegetarian and a raw vegan, so it is sometimes difficult to draw conclusions from scientific studies. And although the reasons for adopting this diet largely differ from one person to another, the general response to this change is positive and inspiring. The diet is not necessarily synonymous with health, as it can be accompanied by plenty of coffee, alcohol, drugs and lack of exercise - however for this paper it is assumed that no harmful chemicals are consumed and a semi-active lifestyle is chosen. It has been estimated that vegetarians and vegan live longer than omnivores, and this is why:
Another obstacle that can easily be overcome by adopting a vegetarian/vegan diet is weight gain and obesity. In fact, vegetarians weigh in average 3-20% less than meat-eaters, and have lower rates of obesity (Lanou & Svenson, 2010). Again, these figures are lower for vegans, as they do not consume any cholesterol from dairy products , and much less saturated fats than vegetarians; however it all depends on the individuals diet as many fruits can lower cholesterol. It is known that body weight is linked to diseases, particularly cancer (ibid) and arterial fat often leads to cardiovascular complications -however these are much more common for meat-eaters.
Regardless of the labelling, a vegetarian/vegan diet that is high in fibre and low in fat, protects from ageing and disease. As long as the diet consists largely of fruits and vegetables, all the nutrients in these (vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals) protect the body from a variety of diseases by supporting the immune system. In fact, disease often manifests itself in a weakened and toxified body - meaning one that is saturated in fats, bacteria and environmental toxins which are obtained through animal products. It is thus equally important to consume organic produce, as these toxins also include pesticides. Whilst meats have been linked to several types of cancers, particularly in the digestive system, a vegetarian diet reduces cancer risk by 10-12% (ibid). On the other hand, the vegan diet lowers prostate cancer risk in men, and female-specific cancers by 34%; this is because dairy products often contain hormones and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals (Freston, 2012). Furthermore, Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn four that a vegan diet alters over 500 genes which are responsible for disease prevention (ibid). A vegan diet can also reverse diseases like arthritis, diabetes, asthma, cardiovascular problems and even cancer (ibid; Physicians Committee, 2010). This has been illustrated by many doctors across the globe, for example Dr McDougall and Dr Cousens in the United States.
In fact, another physical improvement that follows the dietary change is sexual performance. Needless to say, more energy will most likely result in more active and longer intercourse, but particularly for men: having no fats clogging the arteries means a harder and longer lasting erection (Mitchell, 2012). As for women, their reproductive system will also benefit from a vegetarian/vegan diet as menopause symptoms are much easier to cope with when there is no intake of animal products. Also, the breast milk quality improves on a plant-based diets as the ratio of 'good' versus 'bad' fats is increased, and the vegetarian/vegan woman often has more energy post-birth to handle her child.
From a personal point of view, the dietary change allows for a lot of discovery and creativity, especially in the kitchen, and because it preaches the abundance of beneficial foods, one cannot feel like they are deprived of nutrients. In fact, vegetarians and vegans don't miss meat, and vegans don't miss cheese either - this is either due to a new found love in certain fruits or vegetables, or to meat and dairy substitutes like tofu, seitan, quorn, etc. So even for pregnant vegan women, they have many options to satisfy food cravings.
Additionally, the environmental footprint of a vegetarian/vegan diet is substantially reduced because farmed animals and their food crops require land (through deforestation) but the animals also contribute to global warming through methane emissions. Meat production has a very high water demand, at least 5 times more than for grains and vegetables, and wastes resulting from farms often pollutes nearby soils and waters, which eventually interconnect at an international level. It can also be argued that the crops and smaller animals used to feed livestock contribute to more environmental problems like overfishing, and pollution through fertilisers, pesticides and genetically modified organisms. In fact, the the amount of food needed to produce 1 kg of meat can feed 12 persons, so a vegetarian/vegan diet can end world hunger. Moreover, animal products are quite often frozen for profit-making purposes and air freighting, both of which necessitates fuel, and lots of it. So not only is the environment being harmed, but the fuel prices go up and create economic turmoil. Lastly, meat is more expensive than fresh produce, and because its consumption is linked to cancer and diseases, a better health will result in very few medical bills. Hence it is more economical for both the entire population and the individual's wallet to stop consuming animal products.
Poor, poor babies - apparently over 45 000 000 000 - yes that's 45 MILLION - turkeys have been slaughtered yesterday for people to say thank you.
