When my oldest daughter Anna decided to become a vegetarian at age six, (yes six) it threw our family for a bit of a loop. However, after researching it we learned that increasing our intake of vegetarian fare would be a healthier way to go for our entire family, and that Anna could grow healthy and strong on a well balanced vegetarian diet. I get a lot of questions about being a vegetarian, so I thought I would dive into it a little.

First let’s define vegetarianism. Vegetarians do not consume meat but they do consume animal products (cheese, eggs) as long as it is not animal flesh. Vegans on the other hand do not consume any animal products.

The history of vegetarianism dates way back to ancient India and Greek civilizations in 6th century BCE. The primary reason why these civilizations ate no meat was to avoid violence against animals. Interesting since this was Anna’s primary reason as well…

Today there are many reasons:

Aesthetics: Some people just have no desire to eat an animal that was once alive. It is aesthetically-sight, smell, thought, unpleasant to them.

Economics: A vegetarian diet is less expensive than diet that includes meat. Vegetarian protein sources (lentils, beans, legumes) can be purchased for a quarter of the cost of most meat.

Health: Vegetarians have less exposure to chemical carcinogens, food additives, drugs (penicillin, antibiotics) synthetic hormones and bacteria (botulism) because they do not eat meat. They tend to have a low cholesterol, low saturated fat, high fiber diets which work to slow the progress of heart disease and lead to lower incidence of colon cancer, breast, ovarian and endometrial cancer. Vegetarian diets are also high in folate, anti-oxidant vitamins like C and E, carotenoids, and phytochemicals. Overall, vegetarians have substantially reduced risks for obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, osteoporosis, and certain cancers. Vegetarian diets that are low in saturated fats have also been successfully used to reverse severe coronary artery disease.

Ethics: There are many who believe the process used to raise and slaughter animals on factory farms is inhumane. We have lost that respect and relationship we used to have with animals on the family farms. Kids don’t know where meat comes from…half the time neither do we. A great objective book on this is Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dillema.

There is also the ethical question of using land and resources to feed animals for human consumption instead of growing crops for human consumption.. It takes 16 pounds of grain to create every 1 pound of meat. 70% crops in the US go to feed animals for consumption and the U.S. livestock population consumes enough grain and soybeans to feed more than five times the entire U.S. population. One acre of pasture produces an average of 165 pounds of beef; the same acre can produce 20,000 pounds of potatoes. If Americans reduced their meat consumption by only 10 percent, it would free 12 million tons of grain annually for human consumption. That alone would be enough to adequately feed each of the 60 million people who starve to death each year.

Environmental:

Large animal farms have devastating effects on the environment. Fecal run off from factory farms off pollutes more water than all industry combined (Smithsonian Institute). The equivalent of 7 football fields are bulldozed every day to make room to farm animals (260 million acres), and growing one pound of red meat uses as much energy as driving an SUV 40 miles.

What about protein? It’s a very common question, one I also had as Anna and I were researching the vegetarian lifestyle

It is actually difficult to become protein deficient unless you quit eating all together. Just about all unrefined foods contain significant amounts of protein. Potatoes are 11% protein, oranges 8%, beans 26%, and tofu 34%. A statistic that has always been interesting to me is that breast milk only contains 5% protein, and infants grow more in their first year of life –adding more mass and muscle, than any other time.

Strict vegetarianism is not for everyone. However, decreasing your meat consumption can only do good for your body and the environment. Try substituting 1-2 meat meals a week with vegetarian fare. There are so many delicious vegetarian meals. Start experimenting with some. Vegetarian chili, soups (avocado, bean,) vegetable curry, vegetable stews. grilled vegetables, lentils and rice, Greek salads, hummus, guacamole-are some great ways to start. Most restaurants also offer great vegetarian choices on their menus. Find more recipes online at websites like http://www.vegcooking.com/

If you do continue to consume meat, buy from a local organic farm, where the animals are free range, free of hormones, free of antibiotics and treated kindly. You can find a local family farm at www.Localharvest.org

Happy eating!

Famous vegetarians:

Leonardo Da Vinci, Charles Darwin, Socrates, Plato, Sir Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison, Clive Barker, David Duchovny, Drew Barrymore, Candice Bergen, Kim Basinger, Paul McCartney, Chelsea Clinton, Woody Harrelson, Steve Vai, Eddie Vedder, Lisa Simpson, Hank Aaron, Alec Baldwin, Bryan Adams, Peter Gabriel, Mary Tyler Moore, Leonard Nimoy, Alicia Silverstone, Liv Tyler, Jerry Seinfeld, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, Henry David Thoreau, Sheryl Crow, Beyonce, Jason Mraz, Uma Thurman.

RESOURCES:

Ann Mangels, Virginia Messina, and Vesanto Melina, “Position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada: Vegetarian Diets,” Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Jun. 2003, pp. 748-65. Elizabeth Somer, “Eating Meat: A Little Doesn’t Hurt,” WebMD, 1999. Neal Barnard, M.D., The Power of Your Plate, Book Publishing Co.: Summertown, Tenn., 1990, p. 26. Veg.com

2. Gold and Porritt. Robbins, p. 298.

Mark Gold and Jonathon Porritt, “The Global Benefits of Eating Less Meat,” 2004, p. 22. Ibid.