WHY IS THE NUMBER OF VEGETARIANS INCREASING SO RAPIDLY?

There seems to be an increasing number of articles in the media about the
dangers of eating meat: pesticides, antibiotics, bacteria, Mad Cow disease
and harmful fats. But people were always eating meat; what is different
now? How should one react to such articles? Why not to close one's eyes and
hope that everything will once again be OK? Are there not enough more
important issues in the world? And is the situation really as bad as is
described?

From these types of articles people whose eating style includes substantial
intake of meat naturally experience the feeling of a loss: if not meat,
then what to eat? Amazingly, many people who ceased eating meat do not view
this as a restriction but rather as an opportunity to discover a variety of
delicious foods which they never tried before.

Indeed, there is a greater variety of fruits, grains, vegetables, nuts,
mushrooms than that of meats.

While years ago vegetarians (people who do not eat animal flesh) were often
considered "abnormal", today many food stores and restaurants carry food
specially for vegetarians. Who are these vegetarians? Why do they choose
this style of eating, and what do they actually eat except potatoes and
salad?

Until the middle of the 19th century vegetarians were known as
Pythagoreans. The name came from the Greek philosopher and mathematician,
Pythagoras (580-500 b.c), whose writings became the basis for vegetarianism
in his day. Well-known ancient Greek and Roman philosophers such as
Herodotus, Socrates, Diogenes, Seneca, Plutarch, Plautus, and Plato were
vegetarians.

At present about 1 million Americans each year are adopting the vegetarian
choice. By 2005 it is conceivable that some 25 million Americans will be
vegetarians. Some data shows that the percentage of vegetarians among
college students is even higher. Moreover, there is an increasing number of
vegans, who not only avoid eating any animals but all animal products
(milk, butter, cheese, eggs, etc.) as well.

What makes all these people arrive at their decision?

A poll showed that about 78% of vegetarians choose this life-style because
of the health benefits (a vegetarian diet is known to reduce the risk of
many illnesses), 69% for ethical reasons (it feels good to know that you
are not participating in violence and killing, and thus you can promote
kindness and compassion without any hypocrisy), 35% for ecological reasons
(we have only one Earth to live on); other reasons include religious,
philosophical, or economical (vegetarian food in general is cheaper).
(Since 78%+69%+35% exceeds 100% it is clear that some people indicated more
than one reason.)

As early as in 1961, the Journal of the American Medical Association stated
that 90-97% of heart disease, the cause of more than one half of deaths in
America, could be prevented by a vegetarian diet.

Neal Bernard, MD (Director of the Physicians Committee for Responsible
Medicine) writes, "The beef industry has contributed to more American
deaths than all the wars of this century, all the natural disasters, and
all automobile accidents combined. If beef is your idea of 'real food for
real people', you'd better live real close to a real good hospital".

Here are some facts about factory farming, its effect on our health and on
the planet.

Every year about 41.8 million beef cattle, 115 million pigs, 8.8 billion
chicken and 268 million turkey are slaughtered for human consumption in the
United States. On factory farms, animals are confined to extremely small
spaces, which allows farmers to maximize production. For example, 90% of
the US eggs comes from chickens who are crammed 5 or 6 to a cage 16 by 18
inches. In order to prevent cannibalism inherent in overcrowding, chickens
have part of their upper beaks cut off with a hot iron without anesthetics.
Without going into details about raising and killing of farm animals let us
quote the well-known vegetarian Sir Paul McCartney who said, "If
slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian."

Since such conditions breed incredible stress and disease, animals are
routinely fed growth hormones, antibiotics, tranquilizers and sprayed with
pesticides. A growth hormone DES (diethylstilbestrol), which is banned in
32 countries as carcinogenic, is used by the U.S. meat industry. According
to the FDA, it saves meat producers more than $500 million annually. Banned
pesticides, including DDT, are routinely sold to Third World countries,
where they are used in growing food that is imported to the US and end up
on our dinner plates. According to scientists and physicians, the rampant
use of antibiotics in farming animals leads to human diseases resistant to
known treatments.

According to the FDA, poultry is the number one source of food-borne
illnesses, causing an estimated 1,680 deaths per year and millions of cases
of "stomach upset" or "food poisoning." Up to 90% of all chicken flesh sold
in the U.S. is likely to be contaminated with leukosis (chicken cancer) and
about 90% of factory-farmed chickens have salmonellosis or other harmful
bacteria. An inspector has only two seconds per bird to check for signs of
contamination.

The meat industry is the major cause of water pollution in the US since
animals raised for food produce 130 times more excrement than the entire
human population. Every year, the U.S. poultry industry produces
6,000,000,000 pounds of manure.

Raising cattle for food consumes over half of all water used in the U.S.

It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce a pound of meat but only 25
gallons to produce a pound of wheat. Chicken processing plants use up to
100 million gallons of water per day.

Rain forests are being destroyed at a rate of 125,000 square miles per year
to create space to raise animals for food. Rainforests are extraordinarily
important for the health and climate of the planet since they produce a
great deal of oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide.

Many people believe that we have to eat meat in order to get enough
protein. Unfortunately, animal protein in the process of metabolism
degrades to highly toxic nitrogenous residues (and then there is the
accumulation of environmental toxins, the chemicals fed to animals, in the
animals' flesh).

Another downside of eating animal protein is that it requires a lot of work
and energy from the digestive system. Everybody knows that after a good
meat-based dinner there is a downtime. On the contrary, after a good dinner
based on soy and grain one feels satisfied and energetic.

Soybeans not only contain complete protein but present also a source of
fiber, unsaturated fat, potassium, phytoestrogens and isoflavones. At the
same time, soy does not contain cholesterol and is low in calories in
comparison to meat. For centuries, soy has been an essential part of diets
in many Asian cultures. Studies show that consumption of soy protein has a
positive effect on cardiovascular health and bones. It appears to support
the health of menopausal and premenopausal women as well as promote a
healthy prostate in men.

It is usually believed that one can obtain enough calcium only from milk
products. Studies show that calcium found in some plant foods, such as
collard greens and kale, is absorbed nearly twice as well as the calcium in
milk. Other sources of calcium are extra firm tofu, spinach, broccoli,
almonds, asparagus, and cabbage. These foods also help us avoid consumption
of large amounts of antibiotics and hormones used by dairy farmers, the
high fat content of many diary foods, and cholesterol.

In his book "THE FOOD REVOLUTION -- How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life
and Our World", John Robbins writes, "The five countries with the highest
rate of osteoporosis are exactly the five countries with the highest milk
consumption. It's so funny that we are bombarded with those ads saying that
we need dairy products or our bones are going to erode. The data says
something very different."

Physical activity has a better effect on the bone density than the intake
of calcium. For example, a recent study, published in Pediatrics, found
that inactive teens have lower bone density by age 18 than those who
engaged in regular physical activity. The researches also found that the
amount of calcium consumed - from milk or other sources - had no effect on
bone density.

It is no big surprise that according to these studies, vegetarians have
much less risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, kidney
problems, and even appendicitis compared to meat-eaters. Do we really need
to wait for all the possible studies and "proofs" about the advantages of
vegetarianism?

Playwright George Bernard Shaw first tried to become a vegetarian at age
25. Shaw's doctors warned him that the diet would kill him. When he was old
and in good health, he was asked why he didn't go back and show them what
good vegetarianism had done him. He replied, "I would, but they all passed
away years ago."

There is plenty of literature on any aspect of a vegetarian style of life:
studies on the correlation between vegetarianism and health, prevention and
curing diseases by changing your eating habits, religious and ethical
aspects, recipes, etc. Concerning recipes, there is one simple remark: one
can easily substitute soy products for meat in stuffed vegetables, cutlets,
lazagna, and other popular dishes.

Similarly, one can substitute soy milk for milk. I recommend a strawberry
soy shake (blend "silk" soy milk with strawberry and banana, sugar is
optional), or a mango soy shake. As in the case of any products, soy
products from different brands vary by taste and ingredients, so find the
one you like the most.

Besides books, one can find on many web sites a lot of interesting
information about vegetarianism, order a free Starter Kit, watch a video,
find answers to frequently asked questions or ask new ones. Here are some
sites:

www.vegetus.info/health (has Russian, English and Italian versions)

www.veganoutreach.org

www.foodrevolution.org

www.goveg.com

www.pcrm.org

In conclusion let us return to Pythagoras who 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 seeds of murder and pain cannot
reap joy and love".

*Written by Tatiana Gelfand. (January 23, 2003).


courtesy of http://www.all-creatures.org/aip/nl-14apr2003-veg.html

In article ,
Joyce B. wrote:

WHY IS THE NUMBER OF VEGETARIANS INCREASING SO RAPIDLY?

Because better transportation get produce to global markets with
increased varity and freshness.


Chuck Demas

--
Eat Healthy | _ _ | Nothing would be done at all,
Stay Fit | @ @ | If a man waited to do it so well,
Die Anyway | v | That no one could find fault with it.
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