Vegetarianism: Encyclopedia - Vegetarianism

Vegetarianism

Vegetarianism is the practice of not eating meat, beef, poultry, fish or their by-products, with or without the use of dairy products or eggs [1]. The exclusion may also extend to products derived from animal carcasses, such as lard, tallow, gelatin, rennet and cochineal. Some who follow the diet also choose to refrain from wearing products that involve the death of animals, such as leather, silk, feather, and fur. It should be noted that although many vegetarians abstain from all animal by-products, others make exceptions in their diet and attire. Vegetarians may consume dairy products; a stricter diet is veganism and the strictest is fruitarianism.

Vegetarianism - History

Vegetarianism has been common in the Indian subcontinent, since possibly the 2nd millennium BC for spiritual reasons, such as ahimsa (nonviolence) and reducing bad karmic influences. Hinduism preaches that it is the ideal diet for spiritual progress and Jainism, which claims between eight to ten million adherants, enjoins all its followers to be vegetarian. Buddhist monks of Mahayana school have also historically practiced vegetarianism. In looking for parallels in Jewish and Christian antiquity for these practices, some Christian vegetarians feel a kinship with Nazirite, Essene and Ebionite practices.

Many Hindu scriptures advocate the diet. The secular literature of Tirukural in Tamil Nadu, India, proclaimed over 2000 years ago: "Perceptive souls who have abandoned passion will not feed on flesh abandoned by life. How can he practise true compassion, he who eats the flesh of an animal to fatten his own flesh?" ^[2]

Vegetarians in Europe used to be called "Pythagoreans" ^[3], after the philosopher Pythagoras and his followers, who abstained from meat in the 6th century BC. These people followed a vegetarian diet for nutritional and ethical reasons. According to the Roman poet Ovid, Pythagoras said: "As long as Man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings he will never know health or peace. For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love." ^[4]

In 1847, the first Vegetarian Society in Ramsgate, England, agreed that a "vegetarian" — from the Latin uegetus "lively", and suggestive of the English word "vegetable" — was a person who refuses to consume flesh of any kind.

Seventh-Day Adventists and Rastafarians, denominations founded in the 19th and 20th centuries, are also frequently vegetarian. African Hebrew Israelites only eat an organic vegetarian diet that also excludes dairy products such as milk.

Vegetarianism - Recent trends

Indian vegetarians, primarily lacto-vegetarians, are estimated to make up more than 70% of the world's vegetarians. They make up 20 to 30% of the population in India, while occasional meat-eaters make up another 30%. ^[5] Most Asian countries had a predominantly vegetarian diet until the past few decades, when increasing industrialization and westernization changed that. A famous vegetarian group is the Hunzas that reside near the Himalayas. These people are believed to live to be over a 100 years old and have an exclusively vegetarian diet.

In the Western world, the popularity of vegetarianism steadily grew over the 20th century as a result of nutritional, ethical, and more recently, environmental concerns. In the U.S., as of 2000, 2.5 to 3% said they never eat meat [6], which may mean they are vegetarian, while 5 to 6% said they do not eat meat [7]. This represents an increase over the last decade [8] and a great increase since 1950 when vegetarianism was very rare, although per-capita meat consumption has increased considerably since then, as the price of meat has fallen due to factory farming, and the average income has risen.

Vegetarianism - Terminology and varieties of vegetarianism

Different practices of vegetarianism include:

• Lacto vegetarianism — Lacto vegetarians do not eat meat or eggs but do consume dairy products. Most vegetarians in India and those in the classical Mediterranean lands, such as Pythagoreans, are or were lacto vegetarian.

• Lacto-ovo vegetarianism — Lacto-ovo vegetarians do not eat meat but do consume dairy products and eggs. This is currently the most common variety in the Western world.

• Ovo vegetarianism — Ovo vegetarians do not eat meat or dairy products but do eat eggs.

• Veganism — Those who avoid eating any animal products, including eggs, milk, cheese, and sometimes honey, are known as dietary vegans. Those who avoid eating or using animal products, such as leather and some cosmetics, are called vegans.

The following are less common practices of vegetarianism:

• Raw food diet involves food, usually vegan, which is not heated above 46.7°C (116°F) ; it may be warmed slightly or raw, but never cooked. Raw foodists argue that cooking destroys enzymes and/or portions of each nutrient. However, some raw foodists believe certain foods become more bio-available when warmed slightly as the process softens them, which more than negates the destruction of nutrients and enzymes. Other raw foodists, called "living foodists", activate the enzymes through soaking the food in water a while before consumption. Some spiritual raw foodists are also fruitarians, and many eat only organic foods.

• Macrobiotic diet involves a diet consisting mostly of whole grains and beans and is usually spiritually based, like fruitarianism.

• Natural Hygiene, in its classic form, involves a diet principally of raw vegan foods.

• Fruitarianism involves a diet of only fruit, nuts, seeds, and other plant matter that can be gathered without harming the plant. Some fruitarians eat only plant matter that has already fallen off the plant. This typically arises out of a holistic philosophy. Thus, a fruitarian will eat beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, and the like, but will refuse to eat potatoes or spinach. It is disputed whether it is possible to avoid malnutrition with a fruitarian diet, which is rarer than other types of vegetarian or vegan diet.

The following similarly named diets are not considered full vegetarianism:

• Semi-vegetarianism — Some people choose to avoid certain types of meat for many of the same reasons that others choose vegetarianism: health, ethical beliefs, etc. For example, some people will not eat "red meat" (mammal meat – beef, lamb, pork, etc.) while still consuming poultry and seafood. It may also be used as an interim diet by individuals who are on a path to becoming fully vegetarian.

• Flexitarianism — Flexitarians adhere to a diet that is mostly vegetarian but occasionally consume meat. Some, for instance, may regard the suffering of animals in factory farm conditions as their sole reason for avoiding meat or meat-based foods and will eat meat or meat products from animals raised under more humane conditions or hunted in the wild.

• Freeganism — Freegans practice a lifestyle based on concerns about the exploitation of animals, the earth, and human beings in the production of consumer goods. Many tend towards veganism, but this is not an inherent practice. Those that eat meat generally support the arguments for vegetarianism, but as freeganism is concerned about waste, freegans prefer to make use of discarded commodities than to allow them to go to waste and consume landfill space. [9]

Vegetarianism - Motivation

Vegetarianism - Religious

The majority of the world's vegetarians, according to the Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians, follow the practice for religious reasons. Many religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, the Bahá'í Faith, Sikhism, and especially Jainism, teach that ideally life should always be valued and not willfully destroyed for unnecessary human gratification. Smaller denominations that prescribe the diet include the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Rastafari movement and Sufism.

Hinduism, Jainism and Ayyavazhi (a religion that originated in 19th century India) hold vegetarianism as the ideal. They believe that food shapes the personality, mood and mind. Meat is said to promote aggressiveness and a mental state of turmoil known as "Rajas" while a vegetarian diet is considered to promote Satvic qualities, calm the mind, and be essential for spiritual progress. They believe that animals have souls (a manifestation of the eternal monistic consciousness Brahman) and killing animals have karmic repurcussions that are bound to be reaped later by oneself. Also, the principle of Ahimsa (non-violence) compels one to refrain from injuring any living creature, physically, mentally or emotionally. Most of the secular motivations for vegetarianism such as ethical considerations and nutrition apply to Hindu & Jain motivations as well.

Chinese Mahayana Buddhism strongly denounced meat eating and their monks are vegetarian. Tibetan Buddhists, as well as the majority of Japanese Mahayana and Theravadan Buddists, on the other hand, do not believe that a vegetarian diet is essential to their practice.

Jews, Christians, and Muslims are left with the biblical ideal of the Garden of Eden diet, which from all appearances is fruitarian. However, only a relative minority within these religions practice such diets, since the book of Genesis later gives permission to Noah to consume animal flesh further citing that God gave Adam and Eve dominion over them.

Vegetarianism - Nutritional

Most nutritionists claim that a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables but low in animal fat and red meat offers numerous health benefits, including a significantly lower risk of heart disease, cancer, renal failure and stroke. The American Dietetic Association, the largest organization of nutrition professionals , states on its website "Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein as well as higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals. Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer." [10] [11] The American Heart Association's website states "Many studies have shown that vegetarians seem to have a lower risk of obesity, coronary heart disease (which causes heart attack), high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus and some forms of cancer." [12] Studies show that a vegetarian mother's breast milk has significantly lower levels of pesticide residue than a non-vegetarian's.

Some vegetable protein sources lack in one or more "essential" amino acid. For example, Grains and nuts are low in lysine and legumes are low in methionine. While everyone should eat a variety of foods to ensure a balanced nutrition, the body’s requirement for essential amino acids now appears to be much less important than researchers once believed. Vegetarians get all the protein and amino acids they need from eating a normal variety of whole grains (whole wheat bread, oatmeal, brown rice), beans, nuts, and soy (tofu, veggie burgers/hotdogs, edamame, etc). The intake of such foods has to be larger since the protein percentage in these foods are comparatively lower than in a similar serving of meat. Attaining sufficient protein intake is rarely a problem in developed countries and the lower protein intake of vegetarians has even been suggested as a possible cause of some of the health benefits above. A vegetarian diet does not include fish - a major source of Omega 3, though some plant-based sources of it exist such as soy, hempseed, pumpkin seeds, canola oil and, especially, walnuts and flaxseed.

Some suggest that vegetarians have higher rates of deficiencies in those nutrients which are found in high concentrations in meat. Surprisingly, studies endorsed by the ADA found that this was not the case for iron or calcium. On the other hand, Vitamin B-12 and zinc from vegetarian sources other than dairy products and eggs are not readily absorbed by the body and a vegan diet usually needs supplements. [13]. Nonetheless, these nutrients are now commonly supplemented in milks and cereals in the western world, and is not necessarily a problem in a vegetarian diet.

Vegetarianism - Ethical

Many vegetarians consider the production, subsequent slaughtering and consumption of meat or animal products as unethical. Reasons for believing this are varied, and may include a belief in animal rights, or an aversion to inflicting pain or harm on other living creatures. 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 led to animals being treated as commodities. Many believe that the treatment which animals undergo in the production of meat and animal products obliges them to never eat meat or use animal products.

Vegetarianism - Environmental

Environmental vegetarianism is the belief that the production of meat and animal products at current and likely future levels is environmentally unsustainable. Industrialization has lead to intensive farming practices and diets high in animal protein, primarily in first world countries and mainly the United States. According to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) "Most of the world's population today subsists on vegetarian or near-vegetarian diets for reasons that are economic, philosophical, religious, cultural, or ecological." [14] Thus, the main protest of environmental vegetarians is primarily of intensive farming in first world countries.

According to the United Nations Population Fund "Each U.S. citizen consumes an average of 260 lbs. of meat per year, the world's highest rate. That is about 1.5 times the industrial world average, three times the East Asian average, and 40 times the average in Bangladesh." [15] As well "The ecological footprint of an average person in a high-income country is about six times bigger than that of someone in a low-income country, and many more times bigger than in the least-developed countries." [16]

All modern, intensive farming practices consume large amounts of fossil fuel and water resources and have lead to emissions of harmful gases and chemicals. The habitat for wildlife provided by large industrial monoculture farms is very poor, and modern industrial agriculture is a threat to biodiversity compared with farming practices such as organic farming, permaculture, arable, pastoral, and rainfed agriculture.

Animals fed on grain, and also those which rely on grazing, need far more water than grain crops [17]. According to the USDA growing the crops necessary to feed farmed animals requires nearly half of the United State's water supply and 80 percent of it's agricultural land. As well animals raised for food in the U.S. consume 90 percent of the soy crop, 80 percent of the corn crop, and a total of 70 percent of it's grain. [18]. In tracking food animal production from the feed trough to the dinner table, the inefficiencies of meat, milk and egg production range from 4:1 energy input to protein output ratio up to 54:1. [19] The result is that producing animal based food is typically much less efficient than the harvesting of grains, vegetables, legumes, seeds and fruits.

Environmental vegetarianism can be compared with economic vegetarianism. An economic vegetarian is someone who practices vegetarianism from either the philosophical viewpoint concerning issues such as public health and curbing world starvation, the belief that the consumption of meat is economically unsound, part of a conscious simple living strategy or just out of necessity. According to the WorldWatch Institute "Massive reductions in meat consumption in industrial nations will ease the health care burden while improving public health; declining livestock herds will take pressure off of rangelands and grainlands, allowing the agricultural resource base to rejuvenate. As populations grow, lowering meat consumption worldwide will allow more efficient use of declining per capita land and water resources, while at the same time making grain more affordable to the world's chronically hungry." [20]

Vegetarianism - Social

Some people are vegetarian because they were raised in a vegetarian household. Others may have become vegetarians because of a vegetarian partner, family member, or friend. Some people live in a predominantly vegetarian society (such as India), and so adopt this practice to avoid ostracism, or for the difficulty of buying meat in such a society.

Vegetarianism - Spiritual

Some adherents of Eastern religions, such as Mahatma Gandhi, claim that spiritual awareness and experiences are greatly enhanced on a vegetarian diet. In the Western world there are also individuals like James Redfield who, independent from any specific religious beliefs, share the same sentiment. In the West this Spirituality motivation is regarded by many as a New Age reason for being vegetarian.

These people believe that vegetarianism helps an individual to explore deeper levels of consciousness, find inner peace and establish a connection with the Divine, through such practices as meditation, yoga or whirling.

Vegetarianism - Physiological

There is considerable debate over whether humans are physiologically better suited to a herbivore or omnivore diet. Some, such as Albert Einstein, regard an evolution to a vegetarian diet as part of our human evolution, with each new generation moving slowly away from the necessity of eating meat. Others study statistical information, such as comparing life expectancy with regional areas and local diets. For example, eskimos whose carnivore diet consists of only seal meat and fish have one of the lowest life expectancies on Earth [21] (cancer is one of the highest causes of death, although this could equally be due to the harsh climate in which they live), while the Chinese whose diet is basically semi-vegan have some of the oldest living people in the world [22]. Other examples include looking within countries themselves. For instance, life expectancy is considerably greater in southern France where a semi-vegetarian Mediterranean diet is common (fresh fruit, vegetables, olive oil, goats cheese and fish), than northern France where an omnivore diet is more common (also including pork, beef, butter, cows cheese and cream) [23] [24]. Although it must be noted that many other influences come into life expectancy, such as clean water, sunshine, pollution, genetics and lifestyle (alcohol, smoking, stress etc), so it is difficult to provide conclusive proof of a link between regional diets and life expectancy. It is also worth pointing out that these comparisons assume food is available and there is no malnutrition, which is an overriding life expectancy influence in parts of the developing world for instance.

Some vegetarian beliefs (such as Hare Krishna and Modern Buddhism) suggest that human beings are "designed" to consume vegetable matter rather than meat. The reasons are mainly associated with the differences between predators and plant-eating animals.

Predators usually have sharp teeth or claws to tear fresh meat. Dogs, cats or lions are examples, while plant-eating animals have no sharp teeth or claws to tear meat. Horse, deer, sheep and human beings have no sharp teeth and claws.

The intestines of predators are relatively short compared with those of plant-eating animals. This allows meat eaten by predators to pass more quickly though the intestines. Since meat rots much faster than vegetables, it is necessary for predators to have short intestines to prevent meat rotting inside the body that could harm the creature. Herbivores, however, need a much longer intestine to allow sufficient time for the digestion of vegetable fibres. Human kind could have the same digestive system with the plant-eating animals.

According to The Straight Dope, this is not actually factually correct [25] as humans have evolved to be omnivores. Human intestinal length is, taken as a ratio, half way between carnivores (such as cats and dogs) and herbivores (such as cows and horses).

If there is a need for predator's intestines to be short enough to digest meat and excrete it as soon as possible before it is harmful(rotten) to the predators, any considerable longer intestine length could still harm the eater. The human digestive system may have evolved to have shorter intestine than those herbivores as an alternative measures to reduce harmful effect from eating meat. As the food sources for humans became wider, humans became less dependant on the blind gut that digests fibres. Those omnivores may be "forced" to consume meat(herbivores) or consume vegetables(predators) provided there was a food shortage. Consuming meat may harm the herbivores with long intestine length. Predators' short intestines may not be capable to digest vegetables that need more time to digest. Any form of omnivores may be an alternative way to confront environment difficulties. Either shorter or longer intestine would be well suited for either eating meat nor vegetables. There seems no mid-way in-between.

The way in which predators and plant eating mammals drink is another reason that is suggested. Predators like dogs, cats or lions use their tongue to drink water as digesting meat does not consume as much water compared with digesting vegetables. Plant-eating animals like horses, deer or sheep, suck water as do humans.

Some Modern Buddhism proponents even hypothesize that human ancestry were ultimately vegetable eaters. During the last ice age, much of human ancestry could not have survived by eating vegetables exclusively. As there was a lack of vegetables at that time, human beings would have had to change their diet (consume meat). The dead bodies of the large animals in the ice age that did not rot would have provided a stable food supply. This eating habit continued in humans after the ice age, as eating both meat and vegetables would have ensured a larger food supply.

Vegetarianism - Aesthetic

Many vegetarians choose to be so in part because they find meat and meat products unappetizing. Proponents assert that human beings are not instinctively attracted to eating live or dead meat in nature. For example, the carcass of a cow lying in a forest would attract a real carnivore like a wolf or leopard, but would disgust most human beings. If one gives a three-year-old child in a crib an apple and a live chicken, the child would instinctively play with the chicken and eat the apple, while the same apple and chicken is given to a young cat of equivalent maturity, it will play with the apple and eagerly kill and eat the chicken, all by itself. [26]

Vegetarianism - Vegetarian cuisine

This generally means food which excludes ingredients under which an animal must have died, such as meat, meat broth, cheeses that use animal rennet (some vegetarians will eat all cheeses and others none, because of its milk content), gelatin (from animal skin and connective tissue), and for the strictest, even some sugars that are whitened with bone char (e.g. cane sugar, but not beet sugar) and alcohol clarified with gelatin or crushed shellfish and sturgeon.

Vegetarianism - Country specific information

• In India vegetarianism is usually synonymous with lacto vegetarianism, although lacto-ovo vegetarianism is practiced as well. 20 to 30% of Indians are estimated to be vegetarians and vegetarian restaurants (almost always lacto vegetarian) abound ^[27]. There are usually many vegetarian (Shakahari (~plant-eater) in Hindi) options available in all restaurants ('hidden' meat ingredients such as lard, gelatin, meat stock are not used in the traditional cuisine).
• In the United States, vegetarianism is usually synonymous with ovo-lacto vegetarianism. However, vegetarians are sometimes wrongly assumed to be pesco/pollo vegetarians who will tolerate some meat. Many restaurants and caterers provide vegetarian options to patrons, often explicitly indicated as such. It is also possible to order a vegetarian meal and be served meat. Polls find that 2.8% of Americans are vegetarian as of 2004 [28]. In addition, vegetarianism in the United States generally reflects regional cultural differences. It is more difficult to find vegetarian options in rural restaurants than in urban ones. The same applies to Midwestern city restaurants compared to West Coast restaurants. This seems to be slowly changing as vegetarian market innovations (such as veggie burgers) attain wider acceptance, demand, and distribution.
• In the UK, voluntary labelling of vegetarian foods is widespread, but far from universal. Many manufacturers will label food as "suitable for vegetarians" though there is currently no agreed definition of this. In addition, the Vegetarian Society operates a scheme where foods that meet its strict criteria can be labelled as "Vegetarian Society-approved". Cheese is often labelled as well, making it possible to identify cheeses that have been made with non-animal rennet. Flavourings in ingredients lists do not need to specify if they come from animal origin, which can make identifying vegetarian foods difficult if they are not otherwise labelled as such. 5% of the UK are estimated to be vegetarians. The British Vegetarian Society regards a product as vegetarian if it is free of meat, fowl, fish, shellfish, meat or bone stock, animal or carcass fats, gelatin, aspic, or any other ingredient resulting from slaughter, such as rennet. Where eggs are used, they must be free range, and the product should not have involved animal testing. [29]
• In Ireland, food labelling is in place.
• In Spain, most vegetarian meals will be served with egg, or even tuna. Stock is normally used in vegetable soups and many sauces.
• In France the situation is similar to that in Spain, but is slightly less unfavourable.
• In Germany, the confusion of vegetarianism with pesco/pollo vegetarianism is also common. There is no food labelling in place, and buying only vegetarian foods can involve having to read the fine printed ingredients list ("Zutaten") on many food products. However widespread Wholefood emporia provide sources for vegetarian foods in even remote areas.
• In Australia the same conditions apply as in Germany. Some manufacturers who target the vegetarian market will label their foods, however except for foods intended for export to the United Kingdom, this labelling can be inconsistent. Flavourings in ingredients lists do not need to specify if they come from animal origin. As such, natural flavour could be derived from either plant or animal sources.

Vegetarianism - Vegetarian societies

Vegetarian societies (apart from India) were first formed in majority meat eating European countries both as a means to promote the diet and to gather together vegetarians for mutual support. By 2000, most western and developing nations had functioning vegetarian societies. The countries that were first to establish societies are still the ones most likely to have the greatest proportion of vegetarians within their populations.

The first societies were:

• 1847 — United Kingdom
• 1850 — United States of America
• 1867 — Germany
• 1880 — France
• 1886 — Australia
• 1889 — India
• 1890 — Ireland
• 1893 — Switzerland
• 1894 — Netherlands
• 1895 — Sweden
• 1896 — Denmark
• 1896 — Hungary
• 1899 — Belgium
• 1900 — Austria

The International Vegetarian Union [30], a union of all the national societies, was founded in 1908.

Vegetarianism - Criticism

There are four main criticisms of vegetarianism, based on health, environment, morality and politics.

Vegetarianism - Vegetarian diet and longevity

Life Expectancy is arguably the most objective and quantifiable measure of health. Most recent studies consistently show that vegetarian sample populations have longer life extectancies than the general populations. However, it has been pointed out that people who are vegetarian tend to contain people with higher socio-economic status, which is associated with a healthier life style in regard to smoking, alcohol, exercise and "better diet" (such as increased intake of fruits and green vegetables which does not relate to the decision not to eat meat). The question is whether being vegetarian alone could account for any increase in life expectancy when these factors have been taken out.

"In Mortality in vegetarians and nonvegetarians: detailed findings from a collaborative analysis of 5 prospective studies", five major studies (three in Britain, one in Germany, one in U.S and one in Italy) of this kind has been cross examined. It was found that the mortaility ratio was the lowest in fish eaters (0.82) followed by occasional meat eaters (0.84) and vegetarians (0.84)which was then followed by regular meat eaters (1.0) and vegans (1.0). These statistics do not mean that fish eating is the healthiest diet. In "Mortality in British vegetarians", it was concluded that "British vegetarians have low mortality compared with the general population. Their death rates are similar to those of comparable non-vegetarians, suggesting that much of this benefit may be attributed to non-dietary lifestyle factors such as a low prevalence of smoking and a generally high socio-economic status, or to aspects of the diet other than the avoidance of meat and fish."

Vegetarianism - Vegetarian diet is not a healthy diet

It is already long established in science that a number of life style choices such as smoking, exercise and alcohol influence health and longevity. However, scientific studies so far fail to show that the decision to forgo meat contributes independently to people's life expectancy. Moreover, the fact that humans evolved as consumers of both animal and vegetable, it is difficult to think that such a result could be found. The scientifically positive statement that vegetarianism is a healthy diet is false. If someone believes so, the person is likely to be confusing correlation with causation, where longer life expectancy of vegetarians are wrongly attributed as the proof for such case. Another claim repeatedly made by vegetarian advocacy groups is that vegetarians suffer less from heart problems. This claim is true as was in the case of mortality rate. Studies which include the above, consistently confirm that vegetarians suffer less mortality from ischemic heart disease. Since there is no evidence that vegetarian diet causes longer overall life expectancy, one cannot equate decreased mortality rate from ischemic heart disease to overall decrease in mortality or overall health, which is another case of logical fallacy. Moreover, the occasional meat eaters also achieve statistically similar mortality rates indicating that this does not relate to the decision to exclude meat completely. However, more worrying is the performance of vegan in mortality statistics. Once the life style factors is taken into account, they achieve the lowest life expectancy among the groups. It implies that vegan diet could be inherently unhealthy or that many vegans are failing to achive a required standard of healthy eating, probably due to the practical difficulty of the vegan diet. Yet, both vegetarian and vegan advocacy groups invariably promote their diet as healthy while at the same time insuniating that the diet which includes meat and/or fish is somewhat inherently unhealthy. Critics argue that these groups are engaging in scientic misrepresentation in direct opposition to public interest by diverting people's attention from already scientifically proven health factors. These include moderate exercise, moderate alcohal intake, not smoking and sufficient intake of fruits and green vegetables which has nothing to do with the decision to forgo meat but again mistakenly used to imply that svegetarian diet is healthy. In the case of the vegan diet, to present this diet as "easy" or "healthy" is not just scientifically incorrect, it is grossly iressponsible. Therefore, there is no case for vegetarianism or veganism on account of health and to argue so is scientifically false and contrary to the public interest.

Vegetarianism - Environment

Vegetarian and vegan advocacy groups generally overlook the environmental damage from the modern mechanical, chemical and pesticide intensive farming of vegetables. These organisations might point out that they always endorse and encourage organic farming. This is true. But they do not attribute modern chemically, mechanically intensive farming to the inherent fault of crop farming. But they consistently and repeatedly attribute the fault of modern intensive production of meat as the inherent fault of meat production which is patently untrue. Given that free range, organic and enviromentally friendly meat is available and can be expanded as demand grows, this accusation is an another case of false attribution of the cause. And understandably, they do not endorse or encourage people to go organic in the case of meat.

Some question the assumption that food given to livestock could instead be used to feed humans. In developing countries particularly, such food is usually of poor quality and not fit for human consumption, though the land it utilizes could be turned over to human food production^{[citation needed]}. However, Cornell scientists have advised that the U.S. could feed 800 million people with grain that livestock eat [31]. Also, there exist some types of terrain (such as mountains) that are suitable for grazing animals, but not suitable as farmland.

Other criticisms of vegetarianism comes from people who exclusively eat meat and dairy products produced locally in humane conditions. They consider that vegetarians are undermining the market for these products and tacitly supporting factory farming.^{[citation needed]}

Vegetarianism - Animal Right

See also

• Christian vegetarianism
• Breatharianism
• Fruitarianism
• Natural Hygiene
• Simple living
• Veganism
• Vegetarian cuisine
• List of vegetarians
• List of vegans

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Vegetarianism", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki