Vegetarianism
Unusual, But Valid, Reasons To Be a Vegetarian
by Mark T. Shirey
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It's trendy - all the cool people do it.
Millions of Hindus can't be wrong.
It makes for great small-talk and interesting conversations.
Vegetarians make better lovers (WE all say so!).
Instant in-group.
You don't have to eat anything that doesn't want to be eaten.
It makes grocery shopping and dining out more of a fun challenge.
It's a hobby.
Deep down, you know it's right.
It leaves a larger fat and calorie allowance for junk food and alcohol.
Why not?
Meat reminds you of blood and guts and violence.
One word: Bambi.
Da Vinci, Gandhi, and Einstein were.
Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Meatloaf(!) are.
Vegetarians are usually thinner and live longer.
It's about thoughtful individuals vs. greedy big businesses and industries.
Or maybe:
You're allergic to animals.
You think that Homo Sapiens have physically evolved away from meat-eating.
You think that Homo Sapiens have mentally evolved away from meat-eating.
You think that Homo Sapiens have spiritually evolved away from meat-eating.
God told you to do it.
The devil made you do it.
A doctor made you do it.
Your parents raised you that way.
You like to feel "superior".
You're an android and meat disrupts your metabolic subsystem.
You were raised on a farm and gave names to all the animals.
You couldn't quite handle being a vegan.
You're eccentric.
You had a traumatic experience with meat as a child.
"It's not that you love animals, you just hate plants!"
The Three-Legged Pig Joke
-------------------------
A farmer was showing off his three-legged pig to a friend.
"This pig is very strong and very smart," the farmer said.
"One time, a tree had fallen on me and the pig pushed it off and saved my
life. Another time, our house caught fire in the middle of the night
and the pig jumped the fence and ran around the house making all kinds of
noise to wake us up. He saved the whole family."
The friend said, "That's amazing! By the way, how did he lose his leg?"
The farmer replied, "Well, a pig like that you don't eat all at once!"
-----
> Do you take a B6 supplement? How do you feel?
I take a multi-vitamin with minerals (when I remember) and I eat a lot of
fruits, vegetables, rice, beans, pastas, breads, and cereals; and some
milk, cheese, nuts, coffee, alcohol, and (dare I say it?) chicken noodle soup.
I haven't noticed any ill effects and I never _want_ meat. I feel good!
Why Try Vegetarianism? by John Robbins, in "Diet for a New America"
----------------------
The Hunger Argument -----
# of people worldwide who will die of malnutrition this year: 20 million
# of people who could be adequately fed using land freed if Americans
reduced their intake of meat by 10%: 100 million
% of corn grown in the US eaten by people: 20%
% of corn grown in the US eaten by livestock: 80%
% of oats grown in the US eaten by livestock: 95%
% of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90%
How frequently a child dies of malnutrition: every 2.3 seconds
Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on an acre: 40,000
Pounds of beef produced on one acre: 250.
% of US farmland devoted to beef production: 56%
Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce a pound of edible flesh
from feedlot beef: 16
The Environmental Argument -----
Cause of global warming: greenhouse effect
Primary cause of greenhouse effect: CO2 emissions from fossil fuels
Fossil fuels needed to produce a meat-centered vs. a meat-free diet:
3 times more
% of US topsoil lost to date: 75%
% of US topsoil loss directly related to raising livestock: 85%
# of acres of US forest cleared for cropland to produce meat-centered diet:
260 million
Amount of meat imported to US annually from Central and South America:
300,000,000 pounds
Percentage of Central American children under the age of five who are
malnourished: 75%
Area of tropical rainforest consumed in every quarter-pound of rainforest
beef: 55 square feet
Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests
for meat grazing and other uses: 1,000 per year
The Cancer Arugment -----
Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat daily compared to less
than once a week: 3.8 times
For women who eat eggs daily compared to once a week: 2.8 times
For women who eat butter and cheese 2 to 4 times a week: 3.25 times
Increased risk of fatal ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or more times
a week vs. less than once a week: 3 times
Increased risk of fatal prostrate cancer for men who consume meat, cheese,
eggs, and meat daily vs. sparingly or not at all: 3.6
The Cholesterol Argument -----
# of US medical schools: 125
# requiring a course in nutrition: 30
Nutrition training received by average US physician during 4 years in medical
school: 2.5 hours
Most common cause of death in the US: heart attack
How frequently a heart attack kills in the US: every 45 seconds
Amount you reduce risk if you reduce consumption by 50%: 45%
Amount you reduce risk if you eliminate meat, dairy, and eggs from your diet:
90%
Average cholesterol level of people eating a meat-centered diet: 210 mg/dl.
Chance of dying from heart disease if you are male and your blood cholesterol
is 210 mg/dl.: greater than 50%
The Natural Resource Argument -----
User of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the US:
livestock production
Amount of water used in the production of the average cow: sufficient to
float a destroyer
Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of wheat: 25
Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of California beef: 5,000
Years the world's known oil reserves would last if every human ate a
meat-centered diet: 13
Years they would last if every human no longer ate meat: 260
Calories expended to get one calorie of protein from beef: 78
To get one calorie of protein from soybeans: 2
% of all raw materials (base products of farming, forestry, and mining,
including fossil fuels) consumed by the US that is devoted to the production
of livestock: 33%
Percentage of all raw materials consumed by the US needed to produce a complete
vegetarian diet: 2%
The Anitbiotic Argument -----
% of US antibiotics fed to livestock: 55%
% of staphyloccocci infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13%
% resistant in 1988: 91%
Response of the European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics
to livestock: ban
Response of US meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of
antibiotics to livestock: full and complete support
The Pesticide Argument -----
Common belief: US Department of Agriculture protects our health through meat
inspection
Reality: fewer than 1 out of every 250,000 slaughtered animals is tested for
toxic chemical residues
% of US mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 99%
% of US vegetarian mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 8%
Contamination of breast milk due to chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides in
animal products, found in meat-eating mothers vs non-meat-eating mothers:
35 times higher
Amount of Dieldrin ingested by the average breast-fed American infant: 9 times
the permissable level
The Ethical Argument -----
Number of animals killed per hour for meat in the US: 660,000
Occupation with the highest turnover rate in the US: slaughterhouse worker
Occupation with the highest rate of on-the-job injury in the US: slaughterhouse
worker
[Diet for a New America, $16.70, Earth Save, Box 949, Felton, CA 95018-0949]
-----
Plus, my "Gross-out Argument" [mts] -----
Typical ways that animals are killed at slaughter: hammer, spike, or
gunshot to the head or spine, electrocution, slit throat, decapitation.
Some devices used in a slaughterhouse: hammer, chainsaw, hacksaw, blood drain.
Average time meat is left to rot so it tastes "good" to a meat-eater: 1 week.
If you can't imagine eating a dog or a cat, how can you eat a cow or a pig?
Water runoff from cow/pig manure is ruining the water supply in many areas.
If you personally couldn't kill an animal and then gut it, skin it, cut it up,
let it rot, and then cook it - why pay someone else do it?
P.S. The book "Fit For Life" by Harvey Diamond raises the question -
Why do people nurse from cows? Adult _cows_ don't even drink milk!
(And whose idea was it to let the milk get solid and then eat it? :-)
-----
Subject: Vegetarianism
From: jai@mantra.com (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
Date: Tue, 11 Apr 1995 21:01:15 GMT
U.S. Physicians Say Meat | Recent Nutritional Research
Not Necessary, | Affirms Superiority of the
Actually Harmful | Vegetarian Diet for Humans
Thirty-five years ago the US Department of Agriculture said we should daily
eat from four food groups: 1) meat, fish and poultry; 2) grains; 3) dairy
products; and 4) fruits and vegetables.
On April 9, 1991 the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a
prestigious non-profit organization active in health and research policy and
based in Washington, D.C., said basing our diet on those groups not only will
not ensure adequate nutrition, consumption of meat, fish, poultry and dairy
products actually causes disease.
Instead PCRM recommends a "New Four Food Groups." They are: 1) fruits;
2) grains; 3) vegetables; and 4) legumes.
This is a very significant development for vegetarians whose traditional
vegetarian diet -- which easily fulfills the requirements of the "new" groups
-- has been under attack in many countries by physicians sharing the common
ignorance of modern medicine toward diet.
For example, numerous physicians have insisted that mothers feed their
children meat -- "A real mistake," says Dr. Neal Barnard, leading to all sorts
of diseases such as colic, juvenile diabetes, diarrhea and later problems such
as cancer of the colon. Dr. Devananda Tandavan points out that the average
doctor in America has had almost no training whatsoever in nutrition by the
time he has finished medical school and may remain ignorant for the rest of
his professional life on the importance of diet for good health.
Though others have made similar recommendations to revise the American diet,
none have done so with quite the authority of the 4,000-plus member PCRM. The
committee's president, Dr. Neal D. Barnard -- himself a vegetarian -- is a
director of Behavioral Studies at the Institute for Disease Prevention at
George Washington University.
PCRM members instrumental in formulating the new food groups include Dr. T.
Colin Campbell, Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University
and Director of the massive China Health Project. Collaborator Dr. Oliver
Alabaster is Director of the Institute for Disease Prevention at the George
Washington University.
How did we end up with such a poor choice of food groups 35 years ago?
Inadequate nutritional research for one thing. But more insidiously, since
food guides were first established in 1916, there has been a tendency to give
animal products a "preferred" designation. "This element of food guides has
persisted until the present time, due in part to the intensive lobbying
efforts of the food industry, and despite evidence of the adverse health
effects of such foods, " says the PCRM report.
The situation is similar to the tobacco industry's continual denial of the
harmful effects of smoking. In response to the four new food groups, a former
US Secretary of Agriculture, John R. Block (president of the National American
Wholesale Grocers' Association and a pig farmer in Illinois) denounced the
committee's recommendations as the "height of irresponsibility."
Other reactions focused more on the difficulty of altering the food habits of
the steak- and hamburger-eating American public than on the scientific
validity of the new diet.
PCRM attacks the old, traditional four food groups on three major fronts.
First, they say, "The old food groups fail to assure nutritional adequacy."
The four food groups were established according to the understanding of
nutritional needs in 1953. Since that time, the required daily allowances
(RDA's) for protein, vitamins, minerals, etc. have been extensively revised
and expanded. A 1978 study showed that only 9 of the 17 RDA's were met by the
typical diet based on the old groups.
The second problem is that "The old four food groups fail to adequately
address the current dietary problems of our population." Specifically, the
1977-78 Nationwide Food Consumption Survey indicates that Americans who eat
diets based on the four food groups consume an excessive amount of fat."
Studies show that dietary fat and associated consumption of excess protein
is related to breast cancer, heart disease, obesity, kidney disease and
osteoporosis, to name a few.
Third, states the PCRM, "The old four food groups serve to misinform
consumers about some aspects of nutrition. Two of the four food groups --
meats and dairy products -- are clearly not necessary for health and, in fact,
may be detrimental to health... Populations with the lowest rates of heart
disease, colon and breast cancer, and obesity consume very little meat or no
meat at all."
The PCRM concludes that "The average adult can meet nutrient needs by
consuming five servings of grains, three servings of legumes, three servings
of vegetables and three servings of fruits each day."
The New Four Food Groups
Fruit: Fruits are rich in fiber, vitamin C and beta-carotene. Be
sure to include at least one serving each day of fruits that are high in
vitamin C -- citrus fruits, melons and strawberries are all good choices.
Choose whole fruit over juices, which don't contain as much healthy fiber.
Whole Grains: This group includes rice, bread, pasta, hot or cold cereal,
corn, millet, barley, bulgur, buckwheat groats and tortillas. Build each of
your meals around a hearty grain dish. Grains are rich in fiber and other
complex carbohydrates, as well as proteins, B vitamins and zinc.
Vegetables: Vegetables are packed with nutrients; they provide vitamin C,
beta-carotene, riboflavin and other vitamins, iron, calcium and fiber. Dark
green, leafy vegetables such as broccoli, collards, kale, mustard and turnip
greens, chicory or bok choy are especially good ources of of these important
nutrients. Dark yellow and orange vegetables such as carrots, winter squash,
sweet potatoes and pumpkin provide extra beta-carotene. Include generous
portions or a variety of vegetables in your diet.
Legumes: Legumes, which is another name for beans, peas and lentils, are all
good sources of fiber, protein, iron, calcium, zinc and B vitamins. This group
also includes the daals in Indian cuisine, pulses, chickpeas, baked and refried
beans, soy milk, tofu, and texturized vegetable protein.
| Number of |
Food Group | Servings | Typical Items and Serving Size
- - - - - - | - - - - - | - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Fruits | 3 or more | 1 medium piece of fruit + 1/2 cup cooked fruit
- - - - - - | - - - - - | - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Whole Grains | 5 or more | 1/2 cup hot cereal + 1 ounce dry cereal
| | + 1 slice of bread
- - - - - - | - - - - - | - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Vegetables | 3 or more | 1 cup raw + 1/2 cup cooked
- - - - - - | - - - - - | - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Legumes | 2 to 3 | 1/2 cup cooked beans + 4 ounces tofu or tempeh
Also get sources of vitamin B-12 such as fortified cereals and vitamin pills.
shirey@acm.org 30 Oct 1999
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