Vegetarianism Essay

When I was growing up I was taught how to hunt, fish and trap animals for food as well as being fed an omnivorous diet, but today I have found that I no longer need animals in my diet. The Vegetarian Times recently found that out of the 311 million people in the US, 7.3 million eat a vegetarian based diet and 22.8 million eat a vegetarian inclined diet. Over the past century people have begun looking into the health implications of plant based diets as a way of improving their health and increase their longevity. This research paper is intended

Meals with more fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of several different cancers among many other diseases. Vegetarians generally have lower body weight than those who eat a significant amount of meat.

Replacing all the meat in the human diet with vegetables and fruit is difficult. At the expense of refraining from eating meat, we are expected to partake in excessive

Today, many Americans are not doing a great job taking care of themselves and their well-being. As a result, the rates of obesity of many Americans continues to increase. Many are suffering from diseases that not only is affecting their health but also their lifestyle. Many believe that by consuming a healthier vegetarian diet not only will it help individuals maintain a healthier body but by reducing the amount of foods that contain fertilizers can protect the planet from further damage to the environment.

Thesis statement: There should be meat free alternatives and more awareness of the benefits of choosing a vegetarian lifestyle as eating less meat is better for an individual’s health and the environmental.

“Meats, Dairies, and Eggs, Oh Why” (2014) is an argumentative essay written by Rebecca Dent that explains the benefits of eating a plant-based diet and advocates for the better treatment of the animals affected by the meat industry. Dent supports her assertions by discussing the negative health effects of an omnivorous diet, addressing reasons some might be hesitant to convert to a plant-based diet, describing the advantages of substituting meat for vegetables for both the consumers and the animals, and finally, by including expert opinions and statistical facts. Dent’s purpose for this essay is to highlight the benefits of vegetarianism in order to convince readers to convert to a plant-based diet. The intended audience for this argument is those who currently eat an omnivorous diet so that they would assess and change their eating habits.

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.

Antioxidants and thousands of phytochemicals that protect the body and support good health. Overall vegetarians have a longer life expectancy and lower rates of heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cancer, obesity, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and the list goes on. But don’t just take my word for it, supports for vegetarian diets comes from numerous organizations including the American cancer society, American College of Cardiology, the Mayo Clinic, Harvard School of public and, the national institutes of Health which says, “Vegetarians may be missing out on grilled hamburgers at picnics, but they tend to also miss out on the major health problems that plagued many Americans”. Just look at the difference in heart disease the number one killer of American, which is twice its size, between those who eat meat and those who are vegetarian. The progression of some of the diseases can not only be halted but reversed in as little as just two to three weeks by switching to a plant based diet. Reducing and eliminating the consumption of meat and meat products with a greener diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts seed and whole grains will lead to a healthier world.

Hung, Pei, Kuo et al. measured the effect of a vegetarian diet on metabolic syndrome; often used for identifying people at risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The study used 71 vegetarian and 388 omnivores. Measurements were taken such as waist and hip circumference, weight, height and BMI. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured using sphygmomanometers on the

“You are what you eat”, a famous saying says. If this were truly the case, then the majority of Americans would be unhealthy, chemically processed, commercially grown slabs of animal meat. And although this is not a particularly pleasing thought, it is the epitome of a standard American diet that consists of Big Macs and Taco Bell. There are a select few who stray from this typical diet, and have altered it to where they can substitute meat with other nutrients. This type of diet is called vegetarianism, and is considered the way to live without poisoning oneself with the harmful and hazardous treatment that animals go through before becoming the next meal on your plates. While vegetarianism was once thought to be a movement without much action,

The objective of this study is to examine the differences between the vegan and omnivore diet and to study the relationship of these diets to body composition, blood lipids, and the serum hormones vitamin D and parathyroid hormone. As seen previously, those eating an omnivore diet consumed significantly more dietary protein than those consuming a vegan diet (2; 3). The values we observed for dietary protein in both the vegan and the omnivore groups were similar to those seen by Hadded et al. (3) and Janelle and Barr (2). The women in our study eating an omnivore diet exceeded the RDA for protein. In contrast to other studies of vegetarians and vegans, our

A large part of a person’s lifetime is spent on their consumption of food, which is often done while neglecting the impact their diet has on their health. Is there a reason for us to be conscious of our diet? Are potential health benefits really worth the effort? Vegetarian have shown many health benefits in comparison to meat eaters such as decreased chances of developing type 2 diabetes, less risk of heart disease and prostate cancer, lower blood cholesterol levels and blood pressure to name a few (Mangels et al., 2014). Plants provide antioxidants that are only present in small amounts in meat products, these phytochemicals help protect cells from damage and thus have reduced odds of developing some cancers (Leitzmann, 2014). One of the

Zhang, Z., Wang, J., Chen, S., & Lu, W. (2014). Comparison of vegetarian diets and omnivorous diets on plasma level of HDL-c: A meta-analysis. PLoS ONE 9(3). Retrieved from:

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