By Thomas Wong
In 2006, the amount of meat North Americans ate accounted for one third of the entire world’s meat consumption! It’s easy to say then that in Canada, we love our meat. Over the last decade though, there has been a steady rise in the number of individuals who are turning to vegetarianism for environmental, health and other reasons. So why are all these people turning to plant-based diets? Should the rest of us meat eaters do it too?
WHAT IS IT?
Vegetarians are people who eat primarily plant products and exclude all animal products such as beef, fish and poultry from their diets. There are many different types of vegetarians. For instance, basic vegetarians only avoid eating animal meat and flesh. Vegans, on the other hand, follow the strictest vegetarian diet and do not allow themselves to consume any animal products of any kind. This includes all food that has been prepared using animal labor, such as eggs, dairy and honey. Vegans even avoid using any animal products in their daily lives; they often do not wear leather because it comes from cows, silk because it comes from silkworms, or wool because it comes from sheep.
HEALTH WISE
Many vegetarians choose their lifestyle because it offers certain health benefits. If you don’t eat animal meat, you cut out the fat from your diet that is found in meat. This helps reduce the risk of heart and vascular diseases, which collectively are the most commons causes of death in Canada. Meat products are also said to contain a number of toxins such as lead and mercury, which can accumulate in your body and cause possible health problems later in life. Growth hormones and antibiotics are also fed to animals to help them grow and to fight diseases. It has not been determined yet whether or not ingesting meat products that contain these types of chemicals will lead to complications in humans.
SAVE THE ANIMALS
People choose the vegetarian way of life based on religious or personal reasons too. These people consider the production of meat and other animal products to be a cruel and unethical practice. This is primarily due to the way in which animals are killed during the production process. These individuals believe that all living creatures should be considered equal to human beings and should not be harmed or put through unnecessary pain.
THE FLIP SIDE
There are also some disadvantages to excluding meat from your diet. Vegetarians could be missing out on a number of essential vitamins and nutrients like omega 3 fatty acids (found in fish), iron (found in all meat) and calcium (from milk) if they are vegans. All of these nutrients can be found in other food sources. However, it is often difficult to find a source that contains as many of them and in such high amounts as in a comparable serving of meat. It is important for vegetarians to ensure that they are getting all of their essential vitamins and nutrients. Failure to do so could lead to health complications.
CHEW ON THIS
If you’re thinking about becoming a vegetarian, consider this:
| Nutrient You Could Be Missing | Make it Up with a Non-Meat Alternative |
| Omega 3 fatty acids | Soy, walnuts, hempseed and flaxseed |
| Essential amino acids | Rice, beans and hummus |
| Iron | Dark green leafy vegetables like spinach and broccoli |
| Vitamin B12 | For Vegetarians- Dairy products and eggs
For Vegans – Fortified soy, rice and almond drinks |