Exploration Of Vegetarianism

So, there are many different types of vegetarians. And probably just as many definitions. As a fact, vegetarians today are everywhere. They belong to different social groups in both rich or poor countries. In parts of the world such as Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, meat is uncommon, and therefore it is an easy choice to be vegetarian. Surveys show that in both the United States and Britain about 4% of population is vegetarian. More and more people are choosing vegetarianism every day. Many people became vegetarian for health reasons. They look and feel better when they stop eating meat. Some famous vegetarians include Leonardo da Vinchi, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison,

The idea of abstaining from meat has been around for a long period of time. According to Claus Leitzmann from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition it has been around since the sixth century B.C. and originated from the Orphic mysteries followers. A greek philosopher by the name of Pythagorean, and other influential persons promoted ethical vegetarianism until the 19th century. After that it begin to fade away until it was reintroduced during the Renaissance Era and the Age of Enlightenment. When people were informed of the benefits of becoming a vegetarian or vegan, a person that does not consume or use

Some people choose a vegetarian diet for ethical and environmental reasons and some choose to be vegetarian because of food safety issues.

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.

Vegetarianism has been around since as early as the seventh century B.C.E.. The civilization was the Indus Valley Civilization, they practiced tolerance towards all living things. Several Indian cultures and various religions (such as a ahimsā) also practice non-violence towards animals (“Vegetarianism”, Wikipedia.com). This used to be the sole purpose for being vegetarian, but nowadays people are becoming vegetarian for several more reasons. The ethical aspect is still a big reason in the decision. Health benefits and environmental aspects have now also become big reasons for the controversy over vegetarianism. People say that killing animals for food is not morally wrong and, is in fact, a crucial part of our lives. Another aspect is that, while in some ways vegetarianism is beneficial to the environment, it can also hurts the environment. Also, despite all of the health benefits involved with vegetarianism, there are also several health concerns connected with it.

One of the biggest arguments for most people that are vegetarian is that eating meat is not necessary for human survival or for their health. Some vegetarians find that slaughtering animals solely for the purpose of humans to eat meat is wrong and not justifiable. Most vegetarians do not eat meat due to the practises involved in the production and slaughtering of animals citing concerns about

There are many reasons why people become vegetarians, but is it really as healthy as it seems. Can simply eating veggies supply you with all the vitamins and proteins your body needs to survive. An estimated 6-8 million people do not eat meat, poultry, or fish. Harris Interactive poll commissioned by the Vegetarian Resource Group (Journal of the American Dietetic Association, July 2009).Having your diet mainly consist of fruits and vegetables allows you to consume less saturated fats and cholesterol. Also since you be consuming more plants you will be taking in mote vitamins like vitamins C and E, More fiber, potassium and magnesium. Resulting in a stronger immune system, as well as, lower cholesterol and blood pressure. “Traditionally, vegetarianism focused mainly on potential nutritional deficiencies, but in recent years, the pendulum has swung the other way, and studies are confirming the health benefits of meat-free eating. Nowadays, plant-based eating is recognized as not only nutritionally sufficient but also as a way to reduce the risk for many chronic illnesses”.

Donald Watson, on 1944 had a meeting with non-dairy vegetarian, Elsie Shrigley, to talk about the lifestyle and diet of non-dairy vegetarian diets. These pioneers were the first people to discover a new movement – although resistant. They felt that they needed a new name, something more brief than “non-dairy vegetarians”. “vitan”, “dairyban”, and “benevore” were some of the rejected words. They settled on “vegan”, because it had the first 3 and the last 2 letters of “vegetarian”. In Donald Watson’s words, it marked “the beginning and end of vegetarian”.

Typically, a parasite is known as any organism, which lives off or benefits at the expenses of another organism, its host. When the non-mutual symbiotic relationship between them end up with the host being killed directly by the organism, then it is better known as a parasitoid. On the other hand, when the organism makes an intermediate host more prone to die due to be eaten by the next host, then it is named a trophically transmitted parasite. In order to survive, they all depend on transmitting themselves from one host to another one. Some of them have the ability of manipulating their host’s behavior in order to achieve a successful transmission. In other words, the way humans and animals think or behave could be being controlled by some

In the beginning of chapter 33 Persons says "When a set of interdependent phenomena shows sufficiently definite patterning and stability over time, then we can say that it has a "structure" and that it is fruitful to treat it as a "system" (421). If we were to apply the social system to our lives and create our own personal system, it would allow us to expand ourselves. We would have to continuously need to do something until it becomes a solid pattern in our lives. We then move on to allowing new patterns to become part of the system we have created for ourselves. For example, if I decided to become a vegetarian, I would have to follow certain rule/steps to officially become and say I have converted to a vegetarian. It doesn't become part of my lifestyle until it shows sufficiency.

Vegetarianism has had its roots in history since 5th century B.C. in ancient Greece and India. Religions such as Buddhism and Zoroastrianism promoted abstaining from flesh foods; in addition, philosophers including Pythagoras, Plato, and Socrates and writers such as Voltaire and Shelley expressed similar opinions about the desirability of a flesh-free diet. Before the adaptation of the word “vegetarian”, this way of eating was often referred to as the Pythagorean diet named after the famous mathematician. “Pythagoras viewed vegetarianism as a key factor in peaceful human co-existence, putting forward the view that slaughtering animals brutalized the human soul.” This lifestyle however was not purely about the health benefits it provided,

It reduces the risk of certain diseases. For example, heme iron, such as that found in red meats, has been linked with cancer. As per Cancer Prevention Research, “Red meat and processed meat intake is associated with a risk of colorectal cancer, a major cause of death in affluent countries. Epidemiological and experimental evidence supports the hypothesis that heme iron present in meat promotes colorectal cancer.” The iron found in green vegetable does not contain heme. Moreover, further research shows that vegetarians have a lower risk of cancer in general, not just colorectal cancer. As stated on procon.org,“A March 12, 2012 peer-reviewed study of 121,342 people found that eating red meat was associated with an increased risk of death from cancer and cardiovascular disease.” In addition, a vegetarian diet also promotes a healthier weight. According to a study of 37, 875 healthy mean and women by the Oxford cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Oxford), mean Body Mass Index(BMI) was highest among non-vegetarians and lowest among vegans and vegetarians. Difference in macronutrient intakes accounted for about half the difference, with high protein and lower fibre intake being associated with a high BMI. Vegetarianism is also better for the environment. According to chooseveg.com, nearly 80% of the

Many people think that if they had vegetarian diet they would save the live of the animals, and it is not an ethical that people produce meat and other things from the animals. That’s a wrong thought, because there is a lot of people aren’t

According to a recent poll 6 to 8 million American’s do not eat meat, fish, or poultry. From these studies, they have been researching about the effects of a vegetarian diet on the body. Compared to most meat based diets, vegetarians consume less saturated fat and cholesterol from not eating meat. Choosing this route will have a person what would be considered a better quality of life and overall good health. Research so far has shown that a vegetarian diet reduces the risk of heart disease. In recent years a study was done using different participants and the results showed that vegetarians were 25% less likely to die from heart related problem. “This is because vegetarians tend to consume more high-fiber, whole grains, and legumes which have a low glycemic index and the body digests slowly. This keeps blood sugar levels steady. Another food item that helps reduce the risk of heart disease is walnuts” (Sixwise). This is because the omega-3s in walnuts help reduce total cholesterol. There is some controversy over this specific topic, thus, are they really that healthy? What does it mean to be a vegetarian, and what do professionals have to say about being a vegetarian?

A vegetarian diet does not consist of meat, poultry, or fish instead fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains. Depending on the person, a vegetarian diet may consist of eggs and dairy products. There are also different classifications of vegetarians. For example, lactovegetarians will consume dairy, and lacto-ovovegetarians will consume both dairy and eggs. Lastly, semivegetarians will consume fish but no meat or poultry. It is not known when vegetarianism started, but oldest record dates to the 6th century BC in Europe. A group of religious followers of the Orphic mysteries banned sacrificing animals and the consumption of any animal product. In Greece, Pythagoras was developing ideas that linked meat consumption and reincarnation, and this ultimately caused some to avoid consuming meat. This lead to a phenomenon called that Pythagorean way of life which was practiced by other philosophers and writers until the 19th century. The reasons for switching to a vegetarian diet was similar to some mentioned today. The ancient Greeks believed that like humans, animals could communicate and think, and humans were responsible to care for the animals. In addition, the Greeks believed that consuming meat was impacted the mind and health. This lead them to think that a plant-based diet cleansed the soul and aligned them closer to god. There are no data recorded about vegetarianism after the 6th century BC. The next known period dates to 1847 when the first vegetarian society