Giving up meat foods in favor of eating only plant ones characterizes a vegetarian way of life. As a rule, such people lead a more conscious, relaxed, and healthy lifestyle. At the same time, more people are converting to vegetarianism or even strict veganism. Thus, the fundamental question of nutrition is how safe and effective it is to give up meat products.
In fact, vegetarianism is associated with a more effective lifestyle than eating meat. Notably, eating plants is rarely a forced necessity but instead reflects an individual’s deep moral and ethical values (Smith et al., 2018, p. 227). Thus, from a cognitive science perspective, vegetarians and vegans have an attitude of respect for wildlife and the soul and are therefore more kind, restrained, and caring than those who can eat dead flesh (TheAnimalHolocaust, 18:30). Including vegetarians are more likely to engage in spiritual practices and health-promoting yoga (Katz-Feinstein, 2020). However, this does not mean that everyone should give up meat just since they want to be closer to nature. Giving up meat is only a tool to achieve intimacy with nature, but meat-eaters can use other methods as well.
Additionally, it is important to understand that vegetarianism itself is a belief system with multiple ramifications. While a culture of avoidance of animal foods forms the foundation of vegetarianism, eliminating specific foods from one’s diet determines the shape of that eating habit (McPhillips, 2020). For example, the avoidance of all animal foods other than chicken eggs and milk is commonly referred to as ovo-lacto vegetarianism.
Eating meat only from cold-blooded animals forms the idea of pescetarianism. The strict exclusion of any animal products is called veganism, while the occasional, infrequent intake of meat products characterizes the diet of flexitarians. One radical way of vegetarianism is plant-based raw eating, but this approach has serious medical caveats. Ultimately, vegetarianism should not be viewed as an ordinary, monotonous system. On the contrary, this style of eating generalizes various ideas of giving up a particular animal product.
A significant issue is determining whether a vegetarian lifestyle is safe for the consumer. The strongest arguments in favor of eating meat argue that plant foods cannot provide a complete diet of nutrients, including essential amino acids (Chapter 6, 2019). In addition, a vegetarian diet makes it more difficult to absorb vital micro and macronutrients: zinc, calcium, and vitamins B and D (Rizzo et al., 2016). Moreover, vegetarianism can create a false sense of security in which the consumer, after giving up meat and animal products, continues to consume unhealthy non-meat products: fries, sodas, large amounts of sugary fruits, and starchy vegetables.
Thus, it is unhealthy for the body and can be compared to the usual American diet (Satija et al., 2017). On the other hand, this eating style carries important benefits, including a reduced risk of colorectal cancer and chronic heart disease (Smith et al., 2018, p. 229). Furthermore, avoiding meat makes it easier to control body weight because plant-based foods are, on average, less caloric (Satija et al., 2017). It should also be recognized that the compulsion not to eat meat causes the need to dilute the diet, so vegetarians have a richer diet.
To conclude the above, it is important to note that vegetarianism refers to a form of food culture in which the individual eschews animal products. In doing so, vegetarianism forms a whole system of attitudes and orientations. It has been shown on this blog that giving up meat products has both significant advantages and serious disadvantages. Nevertheless, I believe that one should not be a vegetarian alone, since any restriction is unhealthy. Instead, combining and balancing animal and plant foods in the diet seems to be the right strategy.
References
TheAnimalHolocaust. (2012). The food matrix –101 reasons to go vegan [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Chapter 6: Proteins. (2019). McGraw Hill Education.
Katz-Feinstein, A. (2020). Do you have to be vegetarian to do yoga? Wellness52. Web.
McPhillips, K. (2020). The 8 types of vegetarians all get down with plant-based eating in different ways. Well + Good. Web.
Satija, A., Bhupathiraju, S. N., Spiegelman, D., Chiuve, S. E., Manson, J. E., Willett, W.,… & Hu, F. B. (2017). Healthful and unhealthful plant-based diets and the risk of coronary heart disease in US adults. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 70(4), 411-422.
Smith, A. M., Collene, A., & Spees, C. K. (2018). Wardlaw’s contemporary nutrition. McGraw-Hill Education.
Rizzo, G., Laganà, A. S., Rapisarda, A. M. C., Ferrera, L., Grazia, G. M., Buscema, M., Rosetti, P., Nigro, A., Muscia, V., Valenti, G., Sapia, F., Sarpietro, G., Zigarelli, M., & Vitale, S. G. (2016). Vitamin B12 among vegetarians: status, assessment and supplementation. Nutrients, 8(12), 767-787. Web.
Turner-McGrievy, G., Mandes, T., & Crimarco, A. (2017). A plant-based diet for overweight and obesity prevention and treatment. Journal of Geriatric Cardiology, 14(5), 369-374.