Vegetarianism: For and AgainstEssay Preview: Vegetarianism: For and AgainstReport this essayVegetarianism: for and againstVegetarianism is the practice of a diet that excludes all animal flesh, including poultry, game, fish, shellfish or crustaceans, and slaughter by-products. A generic term for both Vegetarianism and Veganism as well as for similar diets is “Plant-based diets”. There are variations that admit dairy products, eggs and/or products from animal labor such as honey. The following table includes the most common types of Vegetarianism.
Diet NameMeat (including fish and poultry)DiaryHoneyOvo-lacto VegetarianismLacto VegetarianismOvo vegetarianismVeganismThe earliest records of vegetarianism as a concept and practice amongst a significant amount of people concern ancient India and the ancient Greek civilization in southern Italy and in Greece. In both instances the diet was closely connected with the idea of nonviolence towards animals and was promoted by religious groups and philosophers. Following the Christianization of the Roman Empire in late antiquity, vegetarianism practically disappeared from Europe. Several orders of monks in medieval Europe restricted or banned the consumption of meat for ascetic reasons, but none of them eschewed fish. So these monks were not vegetarians, but some of them were pescetarians (the person will not eat the flesh of any animal except for seafood). Vegetarianism was to reemerge somewhat in Europe during the Renaissance. It became a more widespread practice in the 19th and 20th centuries.
In 1847 the first Vegetarian Society was founded in England; Germany, the Netherlands and other countries followed. The International Vegetarian Union, a union of the national societies, was founded in 1908. In the Western world, the popularity of vegetarianism grew during the 20th century as a result of nutritional, ethical, and more recently, environmental and economic concerns. Today, Indian vegetarians, primarily lacto vegetarians, are estimated to make up more than 70% of the worlds vegetarians.
They make up 20—42% of the population in India, while less than 30% are regular meat-eaters. Surveys in the U.S. have found that roughly 1—2.8% of adults eat no meat, poultry, or fish.
There are several reasons why people might choose a Vegetarian lifestyle. Religion and spiritual reasons are two of those.In Hinduism vegetarianism is thought to be the norm. Three principles justify this. One: that they do not harm animals. Two: that they only offer a deity pure food. Three: their belief holds that non-vegetarian food is harmful for the mind.
In Buddhism only the monks are advised to be vegetarian, however even they can accept meat if it is offered to them. Non-monks can eat whatever they choose to.
In Jainism, just like in Hinduism, vegetarianism is the ideal diet, they firmly believe in an all-round non-violence towards animals; this includes not eating underground-growing vegetables because they might harm small animals when the root is pulled up.
In Sikhism there is no strict rule about one’s diet. The Gurus only recommend a simple meal, but this could include meat. The Sikhs however are prohibited from eating any ritually slaughtered meat (Kutha, Halal) because they believed slaughtering an animal in the name of God is simple ritualism that should be avoided.
In Judaism there is a strict rule which type of meat can be consumed. Only special types of mammals are permitted to be slaughtered in a manner that minimizes their suffering.
In Islam only “halal” meat is allowed (meat that is slaughtered by Islamic standards). Vegetarianism is not common in Islam because the consumption of meat is connected to the religious sacrificing of animals. However, one is allowed to abstain from meat-eating if so.
In Christianity vegetarianism is not common however there are numerous indications in the Bible that Jesus for example was vegetarian. In the Old Testament before the fall of men both animals and humans were vegetarian.
Other reason why people choose vegetarianism these days is health care.Evidence suggests that vegetarians are generally healthier and live longer than non-vegetarians. They have lower rates of coronary heart disease, obesity, hypertension, and some forms of cancer. Vegetarian diets tend to be rich in carbohydrates, dietary fiber, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium and magnesium. They are generally low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein.
The study found that the mortality ratio was the lowest in fish eaters (0.82) followed by vegetarians (0.84) and occasional meat eaters (0.84) and which was then followed by regular meat eaters (1.0) and vegan (1.0).
Many people live healthy lives as vegetarians and though it is commonly argued that vegetarians have higher rates of mineral or vitamin deficiencies, these nutrients can be found in green leafy vegetables, grains, nuts, and fortified juices or soymilk. Studies suggest that a vegetarian diet may help keep body weight under control and reduce the risk of heart disease.
However, vegetarian diets can sometimes be relatively low in protein, iron, zinc, vitamin B12, calcium and other nutrients. Nonetheless, well-planned vegetarian and vegan diets can meet all these nutrient requirements and are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence.
Several bacterial infections and diseases are linked to animal meat. E.coli bacteria in beef, avian flu in poultry, foot-and-mouth in sheep, mercury in fish, generally high dioxin concentrations in animal products, and artificial growth hormones, antibiotics in cows.
Many people that became vegetarian decided so because of ethical reasons. They feel that it is absolutely unethical the way animals are treated at farms and the way they are slaughtered. In developed countries, ethical vegetarianism has become popular particularly after the spread of factory farming, which has reduced the sense of husbandry that used to exist in farming and which has led to animals being treated as commodities. Vegetarians believe that the treatment that animals undergo in the production of meat and animal products obliges them to never eat meat or use animal products. For example according to a report done on a KFC poultry facility it was found out that the hens are kept in the dark, blinded, and separated from one another
In France, it has now become common practice to have a small number of vegetarians (in the north) go on strike.
In Sweden, farmers in a region that has an exceptionally low level of animal suffering are demanding that their farmers go through a “meat-free” campaign that involves a vegan diet which allows their animals to live as normal without being punished by the farmer. They urge the farmer and the public to sign an agreement to make all animals in the area pay the equivalent of about a half million euros to avoid the suffering. In many parts of rural Sweden the public is forced by law to pay for a vegan diet, some of it by the state and some by the country, but there are a small number of vegetarians who pay for the vegan diet and are not compelled to do so.
An interesting thing about animal rights that they think are going to become a new norm is that if you believe in animals that are in a state of death and suffering, you probably won’t like the animal rights movement.
There is some reason for this, certainly because, from a libertarian perspective, there are different cultures that can and will take on animal rights and they have a different cultural view on animal rights, so it’s often assumed a person is going to join groups that don’t actually care about animals. It can be argued that maybe you are going to join a society in which there are not any animal protection groups and many people believe that if you don’t agree with them then that you’re not going to participate in those groups. If you think about any organization outside of the animal welfare community which is a movement that is opposed to animal rights and it’s a small group of people that you could form and start working with is not going to stand a chance, it’s going to attract a lot of people that don’t want to be part of the movement because they don’t know that they aren’t allowed the chance to be part of that movement. This seems to just be a case of people feeling they are no longer represented in those organizations.
This sort of approach does not really address the issue of animals. To me it is the reason why, as in many areas, it is not a problem unless you are part of a small, small-minded movement that does not fully understand that it is morally wrong to do something that is wrong to humans.
It’s possible for many people to join groups that are just trying to get in on the action because I think many people are getting lost in these organisations. There are several times where we have heard that the only way to make a difference is to not participate in the movement.
You mentioned that most of the time a vegan is going to be a part of what is called ‘the vegan march’ and that this is about that. People who are vegan seem to be more organized and it seems to me that some of these things are less radical. I think there are a lot of changes in how people look at