sulamita berrezi asked:


The dictionary is quite clear in stating that a vegetarian is “one who eats a diet consisting wholly of vegetables and fruit, and sometimes eggs or dairy products.” However, there seems to be some confusion among the general population as well as in the scientific community as to whether this definition is sufficient. Support for this confusion can be found in the number of professed vegetarians who eat meat products in varied frequency. In many ways, defining a vegetarian could simply be: “one who abstains from meat.” However, a closer look at the various social, religious, philosophical, historical, and political influences that have affected the label and its usage over time present the reality that the term has different meanings to different people.The word “vegetarian” was first used in 1847 by the Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom.Pythagoras (considered the Father of Vegetarianism), Zoroaster, Daniel, and Buddha advocating and following a vegetarian diet. Throughout history, several religious groups have followed vegetarian diets with varying degrees of adherence. However, it wasn’t until the last part of the 20th century that the practice began to secure mainstream acceptance for positive health associations.a higher percentage of the vegetarian population is more than 40 years of age, a larger percentage is composed of young families (those with children under 18 years of age). People choose vegetarian diets for varied reasons. These include, but are not limited to, health concerns, religious or ethical beliefs, metaphysical, ecological, and even political reasons.Persons who choose the diet for health reasons typically have more flexibility in their use of animal foods and products. On the contrary, those who choose to be vegetarians for ethical or ideological reasons may be inclined toward a complete avoidance of meat and, in some cases, all animal products.The one common characteristic of these diets is that they are all plant based. More specifically,the diets described below are based on grains, vegetables, fruits,legumes, seeds, and nuts. And, depending on the particular diet, foods of animal origin are partially or totally excluded. Vegetarian: This term encompasses all meatless diets. It is usually qualified or further categorized by one of the following: -Lacto vegetarian: In addition to plant foods, milk and dairy are included. -Ovo vegetarian: Eggs are included. -Ovo-lacto or lacto-ovo vegetarian: Both eggs and dairy ar e included. Approximately 90-95% of vegetarians in North America include dairy and/or eggs in their diets. Strict vegetarian/vegan: A small but growing number of people follow this diet that excludes animal flesh (meat, poultry/fowl, fish, and seafood) and animal products (eggs and dairy). Vegans may also exclude honey from the diet and will often not wear clothing made from animal products.Semi-vegetarian: Occasional meat eaters who predominately practice a vegetarian diet. Fruitarian: A diet consisting of foods that do not kill the plant of origin. In practical terms, this type of diet gets reduced to fresh fruits,dried fruits such as dates and raisins, nuts and seeds, and selected vegetables. Macrobiotic: This type of diet is typically classified as vegetarian, but often includes fish. The diet stems from a 10-step approach to eating that, at the highest level, is almost exclusively brown rice. Today, most macrobiotic diets still emphasize brown rice and other whole grains, but also include sea vegetables, legumes, and root vegetables



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Paul Hata asked:


Because the younger generation is often more in touch with world culture than adults, teenagers are in general more attuned to the environmental movement, to issues involving organic farming and with the reasons for becoming a vegetarian.So as more and more teenagers experiment with vegetarianism, the better informed they are about what it really means to live meat free, the better. Then even if they do not continue their lifestyle as a vegetarian, their experience was an educational one and they will be well informed should be chose to continue as a vegetarian in later life.

For parents of teenagers who wish to explore the vegetarian lifestyle, there are more reasons to celebrate than worry. There are numerous health benefits to developing a vegetarian diet and if their new passion reduces the amount of fast food and junk food they eat, that’s a good thing. You will naturally worry if your teenager is getting enough protein if they forgo the eating of meat. By helping them learn about a well rounded vegan or vegetarian diet, they can derive all of their nutritional needs from natural foods and realize the many benefits of a vegetarian life along the way.

A basic level of knowledge your teen should become educated about early on is the various scales of severity that they can “go for” in their move into a vegetarian lifestyle. Many times a teenager just wants to be able to stake the claim to being a vegetarian. In that case, simply giving up meat may be sufficient. It is possible to design a program like that and still enjoy cheese, eggs, fish and diary and the transition to such a diet is not as extreme.

Another word of caution that your teen may take to heart if they seek adult counsel about trying a vegetarian lifestyle is the difficulty of making the transition. Teenagers are naturally impulsive and extreme so they may just “go vegetarian” in one day so they can go to school and lay claim to the title. But they can still have that reward and plan to ease into a vegetarian discipline and avoid the problems that an extreme change of diet can cause, especially for active teen bodies. For example, even if the new teen vegetarian just excludes meat from one meal, that still counts as starting their path toward a meat free life. And if that is not sufficient for your youngster, just cutting meat out of lunch and dinner may be enough.

One of the biggest concerns that you should help your teen be ware of is their vitamin needs in any new diet program. While a switch to a total vegetable diet will have many positive influences, you should make sure they are getting enough protein and other essential vitamins that they used to get from meat in their diet. Calcium, B12, zinc and iron are all essential vitamins especially to young people that must be found elsewhere if they decide to stop eating meat. You can help your teenager enjoy a successful exploration of the vegetarian lifestyle and not face health risks by just being aware of their vitamin needs and making sure they get those vitamins in pill form until their food replacement program gets them way they need.

It’s a tricky walk to guide a teenager through an interest in a vegetarian life because it is possible that many of the new foods they will have to get used to may not have the right tastes which will tempt them to give up the program. While as a parent you can have an influence over making their home life vegetarian diet a success, you may need to help them understand that their choices are limited when eating out so they are prepared to make the sacrifice for the sake of staying within their vegetarian guidelines.

Even though teenagers are compulsive and extreme, deep down they do not want to get sick or eat the wrong things. It’s a balancing act to allow they to try things like becoming a vegetarian and for us as parents to both do all we can to make it a good experience but also to bring the wisdom they count on their elders for so they can explore the vegetarian lifestyle fully and then walk away form it if they wish and have learned a little bit about vegetarians along the way.



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John Nilson asked:


Vegetarianism: We are what we eat

For a long time people have been trying to find alternative to their diet, to improve their health, and make their life longer. This desire is well understood, even that modern level of medicine is advanced, and new medical products guarantee curing from lots of diseases, but still the problems with   heart, blood pressure, liver and kidney diseases as well as cancer are of major medical authorities concern. They form the top of the list of the most wide spread diseases nowadays. The answer to the question of their reasons is quite obvious, it’s the food we eat.

From this point of view, it’s an essential problem of very person to choose the his own diet, that will guarantee more or less healthy life. Nowadays even with a great development of medicine, and appearance of new medicines, as well as new  ways of diseases treatment, people also refer to untraditional sources of medicine practiced in eastern countries as China, India, etc. Actually in the most cases untraditional medicine, is not medicine at all, it’s the way of perception surrounding world and some religious traditions. Starting to speak about the subject of the paper it’s important to mark that vegetarianism is way of life of many eastern nations, especially it’s widely practiced in India, by Krishnaits.(?) Now the conception of vegetarianism is spreading in most of western countries, and research made by Western dietologists   showed that this diet has a positive influence on our health.

Light food, as vegetables and fruits is easily adopted and doesn’t cause future abnormal changes in human’s body that is caused by very nutritious food as meat and animal fats.

I’ve heard a lot of reasons for practicing vegetarianism, basically these reasons justify it’s ethical side, that it’s more humanistic to eat plant food, than to eat animal food. Another reason was that plant food is lighter and reduces the risk of heart and liver diseases. But I didn’t that much of attention to eat, before I began to study this problem deeper, and found enough material to make my own inferences.

The most important argument in favor of vegetarianism is ethic consideration. People have to realize that animals also suffer from pain and have the right to live as every man. The arguments of vegetarians and «Green Piece» activists are bad treatment of domestic animals. Animals spend all their life in the cages, nearly never seeing day light and are feed by unnatural food with the only reason to stimulate their growth and weight gaining. The other argument of vegetarians is cruel treatment of animals in the slaughter-house. As they say any person who would like to visit this cruel and bloody place, will forever refuse from eating meat at all.

All the world religions are based on non-violence and love. Everything that exists in our world is made by God, that’s why only God has a credit to decide how to dispose it. All religions promote spiritual life, free of violence and killing animals can be considered to be definitely a violence. The protection of animals is marked in Bible, also.

Here are the example from Bible that prove it: Whatever you do unto the least of my brothers, you do it unto me. (Matthew 25:40)

You shall not eat the fat of any ox or sheep or goat. Although the fat of an animal that has died naturally or was killed by wild beasts may be used in any other way, you may under no circumstances eat it. For whoever eats the fat of an animal offered as a sacrifice to the Lord, he shall be cut off from his people. Moreover, wherever you dwell, you shall not eat any blood, whether of bird or animal. Whoever eats any blood shall be cut off from his people. (Leviticus 7:22-27)

And God said, “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit to be your food. And to all the animals of the land, birds of the air, and living things which crawl on the ground, I give them all green plants as food.” Then God looked at everything He had made and found it to be good. (Genesis 1:29-31)

To kill an ox is like slaying a man; sacrificing a lamb, like breaking a dog’s neck. (Isaiah 66:3-4)

What about financial side of a question? To eat meat is cheaper than fruits and vegetables.»- these questions are often asked by people. But lets refer to the facts, the USA government publicaated the following information: over 30% of grains, grown in the country is fed to the domestic animals. The production of 1 pound of meat requires from 16 to 40 pounds of grain. Interpreting this facts it’s well understood that it’s a waste of money. A person, eating a steak is depriving the opportunity of 50 persons to  have a plate of some kind of porridge. And at the same time the statistics says that every minute 85 people die of hunger on the planet earth.

In undeveloped countries an average person eats 450 pounds of grain a year, and at the same time the diet of average European or American consists of 4500 pounds of grain, 90% of which are spent on feeding domestic animals.

All these facts give a reason to decide that eating of animal food in such a global frame artificially make the problem of starvation in undeveloped world.

Nowadays a global community produces enough food and goods, even more then it’s needed to feed the entire population of the planet, but they are  spent not reasonably.

The research made by Harvard dietologists shows that if to reduce meat production only on 10%, it will free enough grain to feed nearly 60 million people.

In 1842 the founders of British vegetarian society introdude a new word «vegetarian». It origins from the latin word «vegetus», that means strong, healthy and cheerful. At the begining «vegetarian» meant harmonic ( from the philosophical and ethic point of view) way of life, not just fruit and vegetables diet. Vegetarianism, by the words of «Green Piece» activists is an important decidition on the way to a happier and healthier society.

Great philosophers as Pythagores, Socrates, Plato,  Leonardo da Vinci, Newton, Voltaire, Franklin, Tolstoy, Show and others were convinced vegetarians. For many politicians, artists, actors and show men the refuse from eating meat is a normal thing.

Man’s organism is not able to adopt all the cholesterine and animal fats that contain in the animal food. Storing in the cells of blood vessels, it doesn’t give an opportunity for normal blood circulation that later turns into high blood pressure, insults, heart problems.

At the same time the vegetable protein helps to reduce the cholestrine level in the blood.

Famous Swedish scientist Carl Linney stated: « the comparative analysis of human’s and animals anatomy shows and proves, that natural and the most useful food for a man is food based on vegetarian diet.»

As many biologist say the digestion system of a human is  well adopted to meat diet. Carnivorous animals have a high concentration of hydrochloric acid in their stomach, important for meat digestion. The level of hydrochloric acid concentration is 6-10 times less than those of carnivorous animals, so meat won’t be digested appropriately any way.

Meat that is not able to be removed from human’s organism promotes the appliance and development of toxins, makes worse kidney and liver functions  and promotes the development of diseases, cancer included. By the way, the nations that live in far North of Russia, Canada, Greenland and Alaska are likely to die at the age of 40-50, because of poor food diet, basically meat and fish.

Also by the words off some scientists there is a sort of relationship between people who eat meat and their emotional and mental activity. To be more specific the meat diet can promote the appearance of violence bents.

As Dr. J. Robert Hatherill, a research scientist and faculty member of the Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, says the influence of meat is more bright on the mental activity and apperance oif violance in the teenage age than the influence of mass media. The reason of that is in the chemicals containing in meat as heavy metals and pesticides widelty used in agriculture. His research shows that the influence of  chemical containing in meat is very obvious on the biological level and the outcomes of meat eating can course even more serious diseases than those united with functions of human organs, meat usage can cause mental and brain illnesses.

Studies made in 1980th showed that the level of violence that rapidly grew in the age group of teenagers was influenced mostly by the chemicals contained in food. Scientists also marked that ability of childish organism to absorb toxins, pesticides is on 50-60% higher than those of adults.

Another example to prove this statement is the article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, titled “Chemical Levels and Delinquent Behavior,” that shows the link between chemicals and toxins contained in food with body and mental behavior issues such as aggression and attention disorder. The further research showed that prisoners accused in violence crimes had a higher level of chemicals, antibiotics, and pesticides in blood than those prisoners accused in non violence.

The growing level of crimes can not just be seen as a result of  mass media influence and decline of  social morality. More and more physicians, biologists and psychiatrists agree that the social roots of violence are found in the diet. The great demand of food increased the usage of pesticides, steroids, antibiotics and toxins to accelerate the growth of animals, at the same time making a damage to the health of common people.

Vegetarians insist on the health and more over moral benefits of food we eat. Indian medicine insists on food purity , because it influences the moral health. As they explain it the person who allows violence on the animals and uses the products of violence: eats meats, is more likely be become aggressive and commit violence himself, as well as he iss more likely to become less kind and sensitive. Developing  this concept they argue that every calorie, every mineral and vitamin have a distinct influence on physical and mental functions of the human body. The human’s brain is the most effective part of a human body, that is very sensitive to incorrect nutrition and presence of chemicals in food. As they continue, the dead food which is actually meat contains a lot toxins caused by the biological and chemical processes that follow the death and as the result their influence abnormal mental issues. A person who is eats meat is more likely to become intellectually erratic and irresolute, as well as have difficulties between distinguishing evil and good, truth and lie.

As the vegetarians observe themselves, the family life of vegetarian families is more harmonic, with less problems that are usual and typical to people having traditional diet. Children who are brought up by vegetarian parents and who eat mostly vegetable food are less exposed to violence, because they absurd the principles of harmony and peace with food. As the result, they are not likely to do violence in future, like to kill animals in order to satisfy their physical needs in food. And so they are not likely to commit violence against other people.

Because food is the only source of body’s chemical and biochemical processes that keep it living and well functioning, it also influences on our consciousness and emotions as integrated part of a n organism. A great amount of chemicals in the animal food introduces along with negative emotions the fear of death which is typical for butchered creatures. The fear of death and other emotions are contained in the form of hormones and other biologically active junctions in meat and generally are not destroyed by temperature. Because of these reasons vegetarians have more psychologically stable character and can manage their emotional life, which is not so typical for those who eat meat.

To show more evidence of food influence on our physical and mental activity it’s appropriate to use the description of the experiment made by Harvard scientists in 1998. They tested four groups of rats, that were given different diets, in order to differentiate their behavior in groups caused by difference in food. Those of rats who were fed by natural food and water didn’t exhibit any kind of abnormal issues, they remained attentive and active. Those who were also fed by hotdogs showed the issues of violence, and aggression. The 3rd group of rats had a diet based on vegetable products but transformed with the usage of chemicals as preservatives like cereal and fruit punch behaved nervously, and showed hyperactivity. The 4th group that was fed by doughnuts and soda acted definitely different. They were not behaving as a social group, were restless, had problems with sleep, etc. And the conclusion made by the scientists was following : 75% of our behavior problems are easily solved if we practice vegetable diet.

The evidence in favor of vegetarianism, also explains as we see the problems of modern society, as stress, hatred, aggressiveness and other abnormal issues of our mental activity, on the hand with health problems. Basically information got, and analyzed while studying the subject of  vegetarianism, has overturned some of my beliefs and attitudes towards modern problem. Now I understand quite well the saying» Wee are what we eat». The information I’ve studied did really made me think about my own diet. About some health issues I feel and think that I’ll be never that young, cheerful and healthy as I’m now, if I don’t change some of my eating habits. It’s widely known that one can not totally reduce the penetration of toxins and pesticides into one’s body, because of their extremely wide usage. But what can we do is to refuse from eating and drinking chemically and biologically modified food and basically if not refuse from meat then minimize it’s usage. The information about the treatment of animals and influence of  meat on our mental activity is a good thing to think about, and change the attitude towards a lot of things in our lie, not only attitude to animals but to those who surround us, to be more kind and anxious about people who surround us, as well as to think about our future and the future of our children and the ways we can do to make it better and improve their life, so that they’ll live in harmony with the surrounding world and harmony with themselves, not thinking about violence. And to begin it we have to start with the essential and first coming thing with their diet and food habits.



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Paul Hata asked:


Whenever you make a major change in your lifestyle, having a strong support group around you is crucial. And the decision to become a vegetarian is definitely a major change of lifestyle. So one of the best ways you can ensure your success in making this transition is to build a strong support structure around you for support, friendship and advice. This does not mean you are not going to continue to maintain your existing friendships and relationships.

But our friendship network is always going to reflect our values. And when you make the change to a vegetarian way of life, your values to reflect the new priorities in your life. So you will want to be able to spend time with people who not only understand your reasons for becoming a vegetarian but know the ins and out of the lifestyle you are learning. So making it an ambition to find new friendships in the vegetarian community makes good sense.

The vegetarian movement is closely tied to the “green” and organic movements so you can find “haunts” around town where these kinds of people gather. Natural food stores or even clothing stores that focus on organic materials will also have a clientele that are no doubt vegetarian. Vegetarianism is also popular on college campuses and in the bohemian parts of society so you may find a good resource of new friends in those cafes and coffee houses. And these populations will provide you with very colorful and fascinating people as to build a support group around as well.

While you are visiting these local “hang outs” where the vegetarian community shops or dines, keep an eye on the public bulletin boards or other announcement resources. There you will find lecture series, clubs, vegetarian cooking classes and schools and other social events where the vegetarian community will gather. Any costs associated with being involved with these kinds of organizations and taking classes that further your knowledge of the vegetarian lifestyle will pay off. Not only will you learn a lot, you will come out of such events with plenty of new friends you can use to build your new vegetarian social world around.

The larger vegetarian world is a rich source of information for you about your new lifestyle. By subscribing to newsletters and researching vegetarian issues at the library or your local public library, you are going to be drawn to the local vegetarian subculture as well. By being proactive in finding new social contacts, your support group will grow quickly.

The internet is another rich source of new friendships and vegetarian social contacts that you can explore entirely online but might open up new contacts for you locally as well. Message boards, newsletters, email lists and chat rooms that are devoted to the vegetarian lifestyle. These online sources will also point you to local events and new groups forming up based on the vegetarian way of life. But you can take the initiative and build an online community that you then sponsor social gatherings.

By having your new vegetarian friends over to share recipes, enjoy a dinner and talk about vegetarian, green and healthy living issues, you not only make new friends that understand you, you are making the vegetarian community stronger for the next person who might come along after you who will also need the support and friendship of you and others in your local setting to encourage their big step into this lifestyle.



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Nicholas Tan asked:


Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets have advantages. Vegetarian diets tend to be rich in antioxidants, certain vitamins, and healthy fats. Non-vegetarian diets, by contrast, tend to contain more protein, iron, zinc, calcium, and vitamin B-12.

If you already decided to adopt a vegetarian diet, it is essential you learn how to increase your intake and absorption of these nutrients to avoid short-term

and long-term health complications.

In the next few paragraphs, I will explain how you can regularly assimilate larger portions of these nutrients into your regular diet:

1. Protein. Different types of protein are made up of different permutations of amino acid chains. In order to create a “complete protein” or a protein that can be assimilated into the human body as tissue, you must consume foods that contain complementary chains of amino acids.

Wheat, nuts, and beans are three types of vegan-friendly incomplete proteins; however, wheat is hard to digest and up to 50% of its protein is lost during the process.

Isolated soy protein, which you can get from a number of sources (including soy milk), can be digested efficiently-enough to match the animal protein yields.

2. Iron. Plant sources contain a significant amount of iron, but in nonheme form, which is more sensitive to inhibitors than iron that comes from animal products.

You should do two things to increase your blood-iron levels: 1) consume more plant iron; and 2) avoid absorption inhibitors, such as tea, coffee, and fiber.

3. Zinc. Whereas non-vegetarian diets seem to enhance the absorption of zinc; vegetarian and vegan diets do the exact opposite–they inhibit it.

Nutritionists suggest that you can overcome this by consuming more foods that contain zinc, such as soybeans, cashews, and sunflower seeds while reducing your intake of inhibitors by washing vegetables and grains.

4. Calcium. While vegetarians can easily consume an adequate amount of calcium without any dietary additions, it is important that vegetarians avoid

consuming certain foods that are high in oxalates, which inhibit calcium absorption.

Dietitians suggest that vegetarians do not consume spinach, beet greens, and swiss chard as the calcium component of a meal plan. While they are rich in calcium, they also contain high amounts of oxalates.

Rather than consuming those foods for calcium, vegetarians should consider other options, such as soy yogurt, tofu, beans, almonds, and calcium-fortified foods.

5. Vitamin B-12. Many vegetarians lack vitamin B-12 simply because it does not exist naturally in any non-animal forms. Vegetarians should seek out vitamin B-12 fortified foods, such as certain soy milks and cereals to supplement what they lack.

As I outlined, there are a number of nutrients vegetarians can lack of they do not research and plan. This is not meant to discourage people from becoming vegetarians, but instead to encourage them to spend time planning a health approach to their vegetarian diet before starting it.

When planned adequately, a vegetarian diet can not only make up for what it lacks from animal products, but it can far exceed the healthfulness of most non-vegetarian diets.



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Paul Hata asked:


Its one thing to move into a vegetarian discipline when it comes to preparing your meals at home. But things get more complicated when you go out to eat because you must be prepared to order appropriately at a restaurant so you get good foods but foods that are in line with your vegetarian way of life.

The first order of business that should rank high on your priorities early in your vegetarian career is to find and try all of the vegetarian restaurants in town. This list will come in handy when enjoying some social time with like minded vegetarians or to eat on the run or from work. Also these will be the kinds of restaurants where you can learn what kinds of recipes to look for and what you like in a vegetarian order.

But you won’t take all your meals with other vegetarians. If you are like most of us, you share your life with friends, loved ones and coworkers who are not part of the vegetarian lifestyle. So learning to find good vegetarian alternatives in all of the restaurants is one of the skills you will become adept at the longer you remain a vegetarian which is hopefully for life. One trick is that if you have a vote in the kind of restaurant to choose, go for Chinese or Italian. Chinese restaurants often have some great meatless offerings already on their menu so you can order vegetarian and not even raise anyone suspicions.

Similarly because you find so many dishes in an Italian restaurant that are pasta only, you can order a veggie pizza or just pasta with a nice sauce or maybe some broccoli and enjoy a fine dinner that is totally in step with your vegetarian rules. Any restaurant that already has a good selection of meatless dishes that are not set apart as vegetarian are a good choice because you can dine with your non-vegetarian friends and family members and not call attention to the differences between you and them. And since most restaurants have a good salad menu, that is always a fall back in any restaurant situation.

If your vegetarian regimen is vegan so you must also avoid milk, eggs, cheese or anything cooked in chicken or meat stock, you will have to kick your vigilance up a notch. The good news is that the vegetarian movement has become so large and wide spread that many restaurants want to accommodate their vegetarian customers.

By letting your waiter know of your diet restrictions, he or she can guide you to the items on the menu that fit your requirements. It is not uncommon to see the manager or chef of the restaurant come to the table to help you make a choice. Restaurants are in the business of satisfying customers so they want to make sure you are happy with their menu offerings. And by enlisting the aid of your restaurant staff in a cooperative and friendly way, you send a positive message to your dining companions that you can live a vegetarian lifestyle and still be a happy member of the community in which you live.

Most of us have a short list of restaurants that we frequent often. But every restaurant you go to wants to be on that short list and make you a valued customer. So network with your vegetarian friends and do your homework up front to find out which restaurants do well at accommodating the lifestyle of their vegetarian or vegan customers. Then develop your strategy for handling any situation where you find yourself eating out so you can come out of that experience with a good meal that fits your lifestyle and not miss out on the great social times that we associate with the eating out experience.



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Richard Wise asked:


If you really set your mind to it, what would be your reason for becoming vegetarian? Would you become vegetarian to:

Reduce Cruelty to Animals - Improve Your Health? - Improve the Environment?

Medical evidence to support the belief that meat is bad for you is persuasive. However, there are natural vegetarian alternatives, that will be delicious alternatives to the meat that is unnecessary in a vegetarian diet.

Vegetarians are far less prone to get cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, or diabetes.

Vegetarians are far less prone to be overweight, or classed as obese.

Vegetarians don’t consume germs carried by dead animals, or remnants of the drugs that were perversely used to keep them alive.

Food scandals have been evidenced in lots of countries, but the bigger scandal is when they are covered up. There was a senior government official, who was required to resign and discredited, for stating the truth about salmonella and eggs. Can’t really say whether the person concerned is vegetarian or not! Nevertheless, it’s not only the eggs that can cause the illness, but the chickens as well. We are advised about not allowing them to come into contact with other foods, to avoid cross contamination. Vegetarians don’t buy the chickens, so they avoid the risk.

There are other reasons for converting to being a vegetarian, than protecting yourself from disease. Consider the animals themselves? Were we really put on this earth to cram chickens into cages, with hardly any space to move about? Then debeak them to stop them pecking one another, and fill them full of drugs, to try to stop them from becoming diseased, from the foul situation imposed on them.

Vegetarians are aware that it is not just poultry, but lots of other animals that are subjected to the horrors of factory farming. We should be grateful for the publicity of the media, because they do occasionally bring consideration to these matters, and point attention to problems that governments would much prefer to hush up.

There has been a good deal of thought to draw attention to global warming, which is undoubtedly of significant concern, as much to vegetarians as anyone else. However, it is not always understood that animal waste is a substantial factor. There are reports that US livestock produce 250,000 pounds of waste per second. That is twenty times as much as humans. The waste is a gaseous substance, that adds to the methane dispersing into the air from both ends of these animals. Obviously if more people were vegetarian, fewer animals would be required. It is apparent that there are environmental reasons - as well as humane reasons - as well as health reasons - for being a vegetarian.

For the planet’s sake, For the animal’s sake, For your own sake - Remain a Vegetarian.

This article is only for general information and is not intended for use as a medical source of information. Please use your personal judgement with regard to whether a vegetarian lifestyle is suitable for you. Those who are uncertain about taking a particular food or preparation, be it vegetarian or otherwise, should obtain the advice of their doctor, or other suitably qualified professional person.

The author does not accept any liability whatsoever, for any consequences arising from or thought to be arising from using this article.



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Paul Hata asked:


In many family budgets, one of the biggest food expenses is often meat.So in theory at least becoming a vegetarian should be an outstanding financial maneuver. In theory, if all you ate was rice and vegetables, you should be able to live for very little.

But theory and reality are often far apart from each other.Because the culture of vegetarian living has developed so many high quality foods to fill the gap left behind by a good steak or a plate of barbeque ribs, you can spend as much or more on your vegetarian lifestyle as you did when you were a meat eater.The high cost of living as a vegetarian is not entire attributable to gourmet foods however.

The truth is if you are going to live in day in day out and month in month out on a vegetarian diet, not only do you need some high quality foods to substitute for taking a whole food group out of your diet, you need variety.The quality is needed because its your health on the line if you don’t get the proper nutrients.The diversity is needed because if you get bored with the vegetarian lifestyle, you may quit and give up. And nobody wants that.

Another reason that the cost of vegetarian eating is often higher than a “normal” diet comes from the fact that vegetarians are still in the minority.So prepared vegetarian foods and vegetarian only restaurants are rare.And to be able to make a profit, these specialty stores must charge a lot because they are specialty stores.Unfortunately, even though we see the vegetarian community as a supportive one, if you are going to be able to afford the vegetarian lifestyle, you are going to have to learn to cut costs.

Cutting costs means eliminating shopping at “boutique” vegetarian markets and no more eating out. Or at least it means cutting down on the eating out significantly.You can buy fresh vegetables and fruits at farmers markets or grocery stores that are just as valid as vegetarian options as any you get as a specialty store.Using a good food processor and other means, you can chop, dice, boil and puree just about any kind of vegetarian meal that you might be able to imagine getting in a restaurant. And at a much lower cost.Not only that but the leftovers can go into a compost pile to make fertilizer for your garden when you can grow your own vegetables next spring.

That “grower to consumer” market that often surfaces as a farmer’s market is a great way to save lots of money also because you are buying your produce directly from the farmer and you cut the grocery store out of the loop entirely.One way to make sure you capitalize on every opportunity to buy inexpensive produce is to work as a community.Get about a dozen vegetarian families working together to always be on the lookout for a great buy.One might find a small farmer’s market or roadside stand that is selling produce far below grocery store prices.Another might find a farmer who will basically give his food away just to clear the field. With some coordination, you could field an army of vegetarians to grab those bargains while they are fresh and stock everybody’s kitchen with low cost fresh produce.

These are just a few of many ways you can find to save money on your vegetarian groceries and still have just as much quality but without as much cost.By shopping smart and shopping for bargains, you can live the vegetarian life and feel good about it because you are not only healthy, you are smart.



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Patty Stevens asked:


Usually, when you think of vegetarians, you think of people who avoid eating any type of animal flesh including beef, pork, lamb, poultry, fish, etc. There are several types and variations to vegetarianism. While many of the vegetarians are lacto ovo vegetarians who will everything but any kind of meat, some others will avoid eating eggs and dairy products and others will say no to beef, pork and poultry but will include fish and other seafood in their diet.

1) Lacto Ovo Vegetarians:

The most common type of vegetarians is the lacto ovo vegetarians. Lacto is the Latin word for milk and ovo means eggs in Latin. The lacto ovo vegetarian do not eat any kind of meat including beef, pork, poultry, fish, shellfish, etc. However, they will eat dairy products and eggs.

The lacto ovo vegetarian category is divided into two categories:

a) A Lacto Vegetarian does not eat meat and eggs but does eat dairy foods.

b) An Ovo Vegetarian does not eat meat and dairy products but does eat eggs.

2) Pescatarias:

The pescatarian or pescetarian are vegetarians who avoid eating meat but will continue eating fish and shellfish. The rationales behind the pescatarian diet are varied. Many choose this lifestyle for health concerns rather than ethical reasons. While others would claim that the fish industry is less cruel than the meat industry. Others will simply justify their decision by arguing that fish are less intelligent than farm animals.

Dedicated vegetarians would put the pescatarian under the category of semi vegetarians. In the same category you can find the pollo vegetarians who will include poultry in their diet, the flexitarianism who will avoid eating meat that derived from an animal that was brought up and died in cruel conditions. The flexitarianism are similar to the freeganism that would not mind eating any type of meat unless any part of its process involved environmental damage or human or animals exploitation.

3) Vegans:

They do not consume any product that was derived from animals including, of course, any kind of meat, fish, dairy products, eggs as well as honey and foods that contain gelatin. Some vegans would not touch cane sugar, beer and wine since animal products involve in the finishing process: cane sugar is filtered with bone char and some beer and wines are clarified with egg white. As part of the vegan ideology, vegans would not consume products made of leather, furs, pearls, etc.

4) Raw Vegans:

Also called raw foodists limit themselves to unprocessed food that has not been heated above 115 degrees Fahrenheit or 46 degrees Celsius. Therefore, their diet mainly consists of raw vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. However, some of the raw foodists do consist raw food that was derived from animals in their diet including raw eggs, unheated dairy products and sushi.

5) Macrobiotics:

The macrobiotic diet is part of the macrobiotic methodology that was originated in Japan. The macrobiotics practitioners follow strict diet rules based on the principle of balance between yin and yang. The macrobiotic diet is based on whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and soy products. They are allowed to include seaweed and certain types of fish in their diet.



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peterhutch asked:


as many reasons for becoming vegetarian as there are vegetarians; it’s a highly personal and individual decision to make. But in a survey conducted on behalf of The Vegetarian Society the majority of people said that they gave up meat and fish because they did not morally approve of killing animals, or because they objected to the ways in which animals are kept, treated and killed for food.

With the growing awareness of the importance of healthy food, many people are also becoming vegetarian because it matches the kind of low fat, high fibre diet recommended by dieticians and doctors. Concern about the environment is another factor as people become more aware of the effect raising animals for their meat is having on the environment. Or you may be concerned about wasting world food resources by using land to raise animals for meat instead of growing crops that can feed more people directly.

Being vegetarian presents currently a big difficulty:

Since vegetarian diet is the most suitable human being, it ought to be pleasant, easy and joyful for us. However, people who try to transit to vegetarianism experience big difficulties instead. Several days of strict vegetarian diet would surely wake up a hungry beast of prey within you.

Avoiding meat is one of the best and simplest ways to cut down your fat consumption. Modern farm animals are deliberately fattened up to increase profits. Eating fatty meat increases your chances of having a heart attack or developing cancer. Every minute of every working day, thousands of animals are killed in slaughter-houses. Pain and misery are common. In the US alone, 500,000 animals are killed for meat every hour. There are millions of cases of food poisoning recorded every year. The vast majority are caused by eating meat. Meat contains absolutely nothing - no proteins, vitamins or minerals - that the human body cannot obtain perfectly happily from a vegetarian diet.

Consider the reasons for becoming vegetarian. These might include moral or ethical reasons, religious reasons, health reasons, environmental reasons or a combination of any of these. Get some vegetarian cookbooks and find some vegetarian recipes that interest you. Take a look around supermarkets, food stores and health food shops and see the variety of vegetarian food that is available. Do some research. Read up on vegetarian nutrition and vegetarianism in general. There is plenty of information on the internet and in books. Tell parents or a significant other about your choice. Make sure you have some solid research to back you up, as some people are very resistant to the idea of vegetarianism because of misunderstandings related to health, evolution or religion. When informing your family of your dietary choice, stay calm and polite, even if they find it difficult to accept.

Being Vegetarian - For whatever reason you are becoming veggie, you can’t call yourself vegetarian if you eat any kind of fish or if you eat cheese with animal rennet.

In fact, ethically minded vegetarians don’t buy leather. (Remember, leather came from an animal that once had a pulse and a pair of eyes!) However, as a vegetarian it may be argued that you could buy 2nd hand goods that contain leather.



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