Several epidemiological studies reveal that vegetarians have reduced morbidity and mortality from chronic degenerative illnesses," the Utah Beef Council acknowledges. Vegetarians only account for around 2% of the population now, but that number is growing as more and more individuals try tofu or stop eating meat altogether.
What, other moral concerns, do you think motivates individuals to stop eating meat? Environmental protection and human health.
Vegetarians have fewer health problems than the general population
Vegetarians who maintain a healthy weight, blood pressure, and body fat percentage have been shown in hundreds of studies to have decreased incidences of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and several malignancies.
According to Registered Dietitian Winston Craig, Americans spend between $30 and $60 billion annually on healthcare expenditures attributable to high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, gallstones, obesity, and meat-related food related diseases. Craig claims that a reduction in cholesterol, blood pressure, and obesity may be achieved by a vegetarian diet.
World Research Fund introduced its vegetarian diet recommendation in 1997. Heart disease is far less common among vegetarians (24% lower) and vegans (57% lower). The Seventh-day Adventists, who are mostly vegetarian, were shown in a recent research to have significantly lower rates of many chronic diseases compared to the general population (2001).
In addition, a study conducted by Cornell University found that reducing meat consumption was more effective in preventing osteoporosis than consuming more calcium.
Can a partial vegetarian diet enough, or must one be vegetarian to get the rewards?
Multiple research on the effects of vegetarian and vegan diets on mortality were pooled together in a meta-analysis that year (1999). The data from these investigations were pooled and re-analyzed. The study's authors found that cutting down on meat consumption, even temporarily, might have a major impact on health. Researchers found that even a once-weekly meat consumption decreased mortality by 10% and lowered the risk of cardiovascular disease-related death by 20% among study participants.
People who consumed just fish had a 34% reduced risk of dying from heart disease and an 18% lower risk of dying from any cause.
Vegan and vegetarian diets benefit the environment.
Consumers' annual spending on beef helps sustain the cattle farming sector. These operations divert farmland from human food production to the production of feed for livestock. Most people are aware that cows emit a lot of methane gas, which is harmful to the environment. Keeping cattle also requires a significant amount of water.
Animal-free diets and the Amazonian Rain Forest
However, what you may not realise is that the devastation of the rain forests is correlated with your own meat consumption. Companies are raising cattle in Central America, where labour and other expenses are lower, to supply the region's demand for fast food hamburgers like the Big Mac and Whopper at reduced prices. Beef production in Central America is causing eager locals to clear their land of its original rain forests.
Reduced carbon dioxide emissions and vegetarianism
Researchers have calculated that vegetarians save 1.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually per person. According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, ten times as much fossil fuel is needed to produce a calorie of animal protein as a calorie of plant protein. Wow! According to New Scientist, a vegan diet decreases carbon dioxide emissions even more than does driving a hybrid automobile.
Conservation of water and vegetarian diets
The fact that almost 55 square feet of rain forest had to be cleared for every hamburger made using beef from a cow raised in the rain forest is particularly upsetting. In addition, scientific research has shown that it takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce just one pound of beef. There are enough daily showers in a week that could be taken with the water required to manufacture one hamburger patty.
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