Why vegetarian? ...3- Environment

"Those who claim to care about the well-being of human beings and the preservation of our environment should become vegetarians for that reason alone. They would thereby increase the amount of grain available to feed people elsewhere, reduce pollution, save water and energy, and cease contributing to the clearing of forests…

When nonvegetarians say that “human problems come first” I cannot help wondering what exactly it is that they are doing for human beings that compels them to continue to support the wasteful, ruthless exploitation of farm animals."

Peter Singer, Animal Liberation, 1990

Another major reason for vegetarianism and veganism is the environment. Although some people may not right away recognize the direct link between a plant-based diet and a cleaner, more sustainable environment, the two are incredibly closely connected. In fact, veganism and animal rights are also very closely tied to human rights efforts.

Environmentalists argue that factory farms are beyond wasteful, creating more food than could ever used by those its available to, food that is then discarded every day. Most human rights activists agree with this argument against factory farms – an incredible amount of food is unnecessarily created every single day, bought by those who can afford it, and then discarded.

Vegan Action expresses this same view on their Web site, stating:
“Animal agriculture takes a devastating toll on the earth. It is an inefficient way of producing food, since feed for farm animals requires land, water, fertilizer, and other resources that could otherwise have been used directly for producing human food.”

Along with over-using valuable resources, this means that instead of just deforesting a few areas for a few crops to feed everyone, much more land is being deforested to grow crops in order to feed animals in order to feed them to humans. Animals require more nutrients from grain and other vegetables to bulk up for consumption as well, so not only is more land being used, but more food is also being used – to feed animals that feed much less of the human population.

Vegan Outreach includes findings on their Web site compiled from the Executive Summary by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2006:
“With rising temperatures, rising sea levels, melting icecaps and glaciers, shifting ocean currents and weather patterns, climate change is the most serious challenge facing the human race. The livestock sector is a major player, responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions measured in CO2 equivalent. This is a higher share than transport….Livestock* are also responsible for almost two-thirds (64 percent) of anthropogenic ammonia emissions, which contribute significantly to acid rain and acidification of ecosystems.”

Millions of gallons of liquefied feces and urine seep into the environment from collapsed, leaking or overflowing storage lagoons, like the one shown in the top left photo at a pig factory farm.
Waste runoff, like that shown in the middle left photo from Vegan Outreach's site, contributes to, among many other environmental problems, the contamination of humans' and animals' drinking water and the death of millions of fish and other water life.
The book "Diet for a Small Planet" argues for a vegetarian diet not just for environmental reasons, but for human rights and world hunger reasons as well.

The Summary also discusses water use, land degredation and deforestation. About water use, it states: “The livestock sector is a key player in increasing water use, accounting for over 8 percent of global human water use, mostly for the irrigation of feedcrops... The major sources of pollution are from animal wastes, antibiotics and hormones, chemicals from tanneries, fertilizers and pesticides used for feedcrops, and sediments from eroded pastures.”

The Summary goes on to talk about deforestation, stating that 70 percent of previous forested land in the Amazon is occupied by pastures, and feedcrops cover a large part of the remainder.

*"Livestock" includes all animals including pigs, chickens, egg-laying hens and dairy cows.

"A single dairy cow produces about 120 pounds of wet manure per day, which is equivalent to the waste produced by 20–40 people. That means California’s 1.4 million dairy cows produce as much waste as 28–56 million people."

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Notes from Underground," Fall 2001

Check out some of these sites to learn more about the environmental impact of a non-vegan lifestyle on our world:

Vegan Action
http://www.vegan.org/about_veganism/environment.html

Vegan Outreach
http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/environment.html

Vegan Society
Article: “Animal Products and the Environment”
http://www.vegansociety.com/html/environment/

Another great resource is the book “A Diet for a Small Planet,” available for just a couple dollars at Amazon.

Why vegetarian? ...2- Health

Vegetarianism isn’t just about the ethics of eating animals or about animal rights. Many people reduce or even completely eliminate their meat intake for purely health-related reasons. In fact, I’ve actually met more vegetarians and vegans who follow their diet for heath reasons than for ethical reasons.

Some health issues that arise from meat and dairy consumption include high cholesterol, clogged arteries, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, Mad Cow Disease, salmonella infection, E.Coli and many more diseases, with new risks being discovered fairly frequently. Recent studies report health issues including bone disease, osteoporosis, Alzheimers disease and prostate, colon and breast cancer.

A whole other group of health vegetarians don’t necessarily have a problem with eating meat or with the main health risks with meat specifically, but worry about the drastically increasing amount of steroids and chemicals found in meat and dairy products today. Steroids injected into animals to bulk them up, and then found in the packaged meat products, are then ingested by humans, causing bacteria to become immune to those steroids (antibiotics), contributing to creating the “super bugs” we’re facing today.

A cow is injected with steroids to ward off
diseases that infest factory farms and
to create more meat for after slaughter.

Research shows that the steroids children ingest from meat are gradually causing children to go through puberty at much younger - unhealthy - ages and is being linked to childhood obesity. Some studies even link them to depression and other increasingly common childhood “disorders.”

Rather than go through every single health risk people believe is associated with meat and dairy consumption, here’s a list of some of the key issues:

1. Steroids
The issue about steroids I touched on briefly above, but visit The Food Web for some more detailed information.

2. Disease, bacteria
This I also mentioned above, but the site "Eating Meat Makes You Sick" is a great place for information about diseases and illnesses from various kinds of meat.

3. B12
B12 is a vitamin that is essential for life. Our bodies naturally produce the vitamin, but to have enough, we must consume it on a daily basis. B12 is most commonly found in the earth. The second best source used to be in meat (because animals eat the grass that grows from the earth), but with factory farming being the main source of meat today, B12 has become quite scarce. Very low B12 levels can cause anaemia and nervous system damage. Enough B12 in a person’s diet can help minimize the potential risk of heart disease and pregnancy complications. For this reason many people choose to reject meat and get their B12 and other essential vitamins and minerals from non-fatty sources instead, such as fortified soy milk.

4. Calcium
The kind of calcium found in cow’s milk is a very different form of calcium than that found in vegetables such as kale or broccoli. Dairy calcium, from a glass of milk for instance, actually requires more of the body’s calcium and other resources to digest it than a person will actually gain from drinking that glass of milk.

5. Dairy
Many people argue that it’s not healthy to drink cow’s milk because it’s not a natural food for human beings. No other species (other than humans) drinks milk past infancy. Also, no other species drinks another species’ milk. Many scientists argue that it is extremely unhealthy for humans to be drinking such a fatty substance after infancy; milk is full of fat because babies need all the vitamins, minerals and fatty acids they can for early development and growth. However, scientists argue, 40-year-olds (or even 10-year-olds) do not need this and should not be consuming such a high amount of fat. “The China Study” is a book based on a study done on Asian people and their diets. Most Asian people cannot digest dairy products. The researchers suggest that this is because human beings are actually not designed to be able to digest another species’ milk, but that we’ve evolved over time and become tolerant of it. Their argument actually makes a lot of sense, especially considering there are still many people in the U.S. that are to this day lactose intolerant. Check out NotMilk.com to read up on all the heath issues and risks scientists are discovering about milk.

There are several more main reasons that people choose to become vegetarian or vegan for health. Check out “Inner Self” more information about the advantages of vegetarianism. The article is in no way trying to persuade readers to become vegetarian, just to inform about the health risks involved with some meat products. It’s a very unbiased and really informative report.

Why vegetarian? ...1- Ethics

Seeing as there seem to be so few vegetarians in this area, I've decided to step back for a second and discuss the motives behind vegetarianism. There are countless reasons why a person may become vegetarian, vegan or even fruitarian. Some of the most popular reasons include health, ethics, the environment and religion.

There is an incredible amount of polls conducted each year to calculate how many people are vegetarian and why they choose to be so. Most people seem to choose a meatless diet because of either animal rights issues or health issues. A poll conducted by the Toronto Vegetarian Association claims that most Canadian vegetarians choose a meat-free lifestyle because of animal suffering (Click the graph for more polls on vegetarianism from the TVA). A poll conducted in the U.S. showed that those polled chose vegetarianism for health reasons over the others, but that the majority chose the diet for multiple reasons.






Common arguments for vegetarianism based on ethical reasons include beliefs such as: "animals are not for humans to use as they wish," "the reasons to eat animals don't outweigh the unjust treatment and suffering of animals" and "humans are unfairly treating different species unequally (ie: keeping dogs and cats as pets, eating cows and pigs)."

There is an incredible amount of evidence and arguments for and against these above stances, none of which I will go into. I've realized over the years that people will believe what they want, and they'll come up with any argument possible to validate those beliefs. But if you'd like to learn more about vegetarianism and veganism from an ethical standpoint, there's no shortage of Web sites and books out there packed with great information. Check out a couple sites to learn more:

1. Animal Rights and Vegetarian Ethics
This site tackles some really great issues and questions surrounding vegetarianism, some I'd never even considered before. The site's author does an amazing job of covering all the angles and trying to answer all questions relating to each ethical issue.

2. Viva!
There's great information all over Viva!'s site, but the above link goes directly to a mini-slideshow about the ethical issues of eating meat. The presentation of it is a little dramatic - but there's absolutely nothing inaccurate about it.

3. PETA
Again, there's great information all over PETA's Web site too, but this link goes directly to an article entitled "Why Animal Rights?" The type is small and it's kind of lengthy for on-line reading, but I highly recommend reading through it.

PETA's Web site also includes countless videos exposing animal injustices. Click the link to see some of their most recent videos. PETA's "Meet your meat" video is listed in the top right corner of the page as one of their top five videos. It's the single-most influential video for animal rights according to vegetarians and vegans on Veggieboards.com.

Some images from PETA's videos:

Animal experimentation







A lab rat at a Petsmart testing facility








A fur farm







A video of China's dog and cat fur trade (fur that activists' reports show is re-labeled as other species' fur and sold to U.S. merchants)

To Debate or Not? ...Avoiding Confrontation

I've learned over the years that there are some very simple ways to keep my diet out of conversation. The only real way to figure out how to handle these situations is to experience them and learn from what does and doesn't work, but I've compiled a list of some things that have worked for me in the past that might be worth giving a shot.

1) Know the restaurant's menu before going out to eat, if you can. If you don't have to struggle with the menu and the waiter, you won't draw nearly as much attention to yourself.

2) Try not to order something too complicated. This helps, for one, because the chances are better your meal will come out of the kitchen correctly and you won't have to deal with whether to send it back or not. But more importantly, this helps because, by not playing 20 questions with your waiter, you're not bringing any unnecessary attention to your "needy" diet.

3) Okay, this may incredibly seem silly, but it's something I've been doing for years: Don't order a salad. For whatever reason, non-vegetarians seem to think that all a veg*an can eat is salad. The salad shows up on your plate, and the pity party begins. I've seen it happen too many times. I've also noticed that since I started ordering things other than salads at restaurants, my friends have made more positive comments like "Man, I didn't know that was vegan, that's not bad." Like I said, this may seem silly, but I hardly get the "That stinks that all you can have is the house salad" pity party anymore.

4) If someone does ask about your diet, it would help to stay vague about your beliefs. Of course, if you're with friends and enjoy debate, dive in head first. But with total strangers (or your partner's parents, for example), keep your comments short and simple. Saying something quick like "It's for my health" or "It's environmental reasons" is easily discarded or accepted. But by going into a lengthy explanation right away, you’re only asking for people to feel like they have to continue the conversation.

5) Sarcasm does not do well in debates, whether you’re trying to spark it or end it. You’re going to make people mad, and people don’t think so rationally when they feel attacked. If someone says something offensive and you’d rather just end the conversation before it turns into a debate, a quick sarcastic comment isn’t going to end it. Try to bite your tongue, let the comment slide, and just be glad the conversation was cut short before you said something you’d later regret.

These are just five of the many things that have worked for me in the past. Check out some Internet sites (such as 49 Reasons For Being a Vegetarian) and online message boards (such as VeggieBoards or Vegan-Forum) for more information and suggestions on what to do in these potentially uncomfortable situations.

To Debate or Not? ...Debate with intelligence, respect

Debating with my friends about my diet while out to eat has become a fairly common thing.
It started out pretty simple, with innocent questions such as why I don't eat meat and how I survive without cheese. These days, I can't seem to ask the waiter a single question without someone commenting "What! You don't eat that either?"

I don't mind these restaurant debates between friends. It can be fun as long as the entire night's conversation doesn't revolve around the issue. But when I'm out with people I don't know so well, these conversations quickly turn into very uncomfortable situations. There's nothing like getting into a heated debate about ethics and philosophy with people you've just met. It's definitely not something that I personally recommend.

If you're the kind of person who doesn't run around announcing your dietary decisions and would really rather not discuss it with your dinner company, it can be difficult to avoid - and end if it does start - the debate about your diet.

However, if you are the kind of person who enjoys bombarding new dinner guests with interesting statistics and information about vegetarianism, it’s important to know what you’re talking about.

I’ve only met one other vegetarian while in Georgia that I actually enjoyed discussing my diet with. On the other hand, I’ve met countless “vegetarians” who either ordered a meat dish when we went out to eat or were so abrasive (and honestly, very misinformed) that I – a fellow vegan – couldn’t stand their company.

If another vegetarian can’t even stand your company because you’re rude – or factually incorrect – in your debate, a non-vegetarian definitely isn’t going to enjoy eating with you.

So if you are the kind of person who thrives on debate, check out some sites that give arguments for vegetarianism to gain some knowledge before stepping into the ring:

1) Should you be a vegetarian? Time Magazine Online

2) 20 Questions About Vegetarianism. Nutrition Made Easy

3) Why Vegetarianism? 'Brett's Page'

4) Why Veganism? Vegan Outreach

5) If you’re feeling especially studious, try out “Food for Thought: The Debate Over Eating Meat.” You can find the book at Amazon for only $15.

Enjoy Going Out to Eat: The Ordering Process

Anyone who's been veg*an for an extended period of time has had to deal with what is possibly one of the most uncomfortable moments in a veg*ans life: eating at a typical restaurant with non-veg*ans.

Ordering at a non-veg*an restaurant can be very confusing, and definitely frustrating. If you've looked up the menu options before going out to eat, you've taken most of the work out of the process. But I think it's probably safe to say that doesn't happen most of the time. Unless you have the time to dedicate to looking up all the restaurants in your area - and actually happen to remember the menu items for the particular restaurant you end up at on any given day - you're going to have to wing it.

One thing I do feel very strongly about: do not bring up the fact that you're veg*an to your waiter. It won't make the process any easier and honestly, he probably really doesn't care. On top of that, the general population is actually fairly confused about what vegetarians and vegans do and don't eat. Some "vegetarians" eat fish. Some eat chicken. Some "vegans" aren't concerned with hidden dairy and cheese ingredients. And, by the way, if you're a strict vegan, your waiter has absolutely no idea what kinds of ingredients you avoid. They haven't done the research you have. It's your diet and no one else should be made responsible for it. You're going to have to spell out what you do and don't want in your food very clearly - and simply.

Things you should ask your waiter - that he'll actually be able to answer - include, for example, "Are (veggies, etc.) cooked in butter?" or "What kind of broth is (soup, etc.) made with?" or "Does (salad, etc.) come with cheese, bacon bits, etc?" If you can't find a menu option that can be easily changed into a veg*an friendly meal, I would definitely suggest choosing a simpler menu option. It's been my experience that overly-complicated meals rarely come out of the kitchen the way you instructed.

If there's honestly no choice on the menu to easily make veg*an, my advice is to create a meal. For example, I attended a wedding reception that was catered, so they only offered four menu choices: chicken, beef or fish over pasta, or a vegetarian lasagna dish. I'm vegan, so none of those options were going to work for me. Since the meals were served over pasta, I asked the waiter if the chef wouldn't mind bringing me a plain pasta dish with some red sauce, no meat, no cheese, no butter. The chef went above and beyond and brought me pasta cooked in olive oil with tons of herbs and a few vegetables. While you won't always get so lucky, no chef will object to making a quick and simple dish like this. Another great make-your-own-meal idea is a simple veggie strir-fry. Your waiter should only charge you for a side dish since it's such a simple meal.

This may seem very obvious, but please - make sure to thank your waiter for going out of his way for you. They have to take extra time from their other tables to explain your meal to the chefs. Too many people today seem to view veg*ans as being picky, pushy and demanding. A sincere "thanks" to your waiter for helping you get the meal you want will surely be appreciated, and will hopefully be a step toward changing many peoples' negative perceptions of veg*ans.



An example of a simple spaghetti dish you can have made-to-order if there's nothing else on the menu you can easily make veg*an.



An example of a quick and easy veggie stir-fry the chef can make you. If you're vegan, definitely don't forget to ask if your vegetables can be cooked in vegetable oil instead of butter or margarine.



A portabella mushroom sandwich - one of my favorite meals to order when I'm out because of how easy it is to get them and how simple ordering can be. If you like mushrooms, you can find a mushroom burger on most menus. Just ask your waiter to leave off the burger and add more portabellas as its replacement.

Check out some of the following sites for more advice on going out to eat:
1. The Vegetarian Resource Group's Frequently Asked Questions
2. Veggie Boards
3. Vegan Forums

Enjoy Going Out to Eat: Before You Go

Going out to eat with friends can be stressful if you're the only vegetarian/vegan in the group. But it doesn't have to be the uncomfortable situation many veg*ans often feel we just have to get used to. There are a few simple things you can do to make going out to eat the enjoyable activity it should be.

First and most importantly, you should really take a couple minutes to look up the restaurant's menu online before going out, if you're able. This step is especially crucial for strict vegans, as there are hidden dairy ingredients everywhere today in places you'd never expect. It's a step vegetarians really should take too, though. Most menu items are pretty clear-cut - there's either a hamburger on your plate or there isn't. But there are still hidden meat ingredients out there, such as anchovies and bacon bits in dressings, and beef, fish and chicken flavoring in soups (including vegetable soups).

Once you look up a few restaurants and try a few out, you'll quickly come to find which ones have the best options for you and which you can order from with the least amount of confusion. Don't stop when you find one or two good restaurants. Try to experiment a little bit so you know what you can eat at several places, even it they might not be your favorite restaurants.

If you're new to Statesboro, check out Yellowbook online to find restaurants you might like to try out in the area. If you already know which restaurants you'd like to check out, visit their individual Web sites for menu information (you can find them easily enough through Google) or try the Online Vegetarian Restaurants Guide, which lists a lot of the popular restaurant chains that we have in the 'Boro.

If you're unable to find what you're looking for online for a particular restaurant (some don't list their specific ingredients online) don't feel weird about e-mailing them. E-mailing a company is pretty much guaranteed to get you the credible information you need. First, try simply asking the company if they can send you a pamphlet or menu that lists all of their meals' ingredients. If they don't have something already written up that they can mail or message you, you'll need to ask them some more detailed questions. Don't go overboard, though - You don't need to explain that you can't eat any of the hamburgers or chicken entrees. Keep it simple by asking about only the ingredients you really aren't sure about, like the bread rolls, pasta, dressings, etc.

This isn't as confusing as it might sound. I've never had to spend much time in the past figuring out which restaurants offer which kinds of veg*an-friendly or easily-substitutable meals. But if you're not too thrilled about having to spend a few minutes searching for restaurants' Web sites, check out a vegetarian or vegan message board and ask others who have already done the research. My favorite message board for finding out about menu options is Veggieboards. There are so many people on the boards constantly, you'll never have to wait long for a response, and many of the people who respond will send you great new links where they found their information.

Fast Food Issues: Hidden Ingredients

Now that I’ve covered the veggie options that fast food restaurants offer, it’s time to cover the things they don't – and unfortunately, many of the things that appear to be veggie friendly are far from it.

Below is a list of the many hidden ingredients and vegetarian un-friendly foods found at fast food restaurants. I’ve used the same five fast food restaurant examples as from my previous post – all of this information can be found for other restaurants at the Online Vegetarian Restaurants Guide.

Keep in mind this is only a list of the foods I’ve researched and discovered. If you’re a strict vegetarian or vegan, it’s always a good idea to look up a new restaurant before trying it out.


The “NOs” of fast food:

McDonalds

If vegetarian:
Fries and hashbrowns – They’re cooked in veggie oil, but both are actually made with beef flavoring from real beef.
Fish – I just have to clear this one up real quick. If you consider yourself to be vegetarian, fish should not be on your plate. It's not considered vegetarian.
Hamburgers – Another one that seems silly to mention, but I feel I really have to clear this up as well. There's an awful rumor going around that the McDonald’s hamburgers are made with mostly soy, so there's hardly any meat (or even no meat) in them. That's COMPLETELY false.
Salad dressings – Many of their dressings contain anchovies and eggs – stick to the vinaigrette dressings to be safe.

If vegan:
Pretty much everything is a “no” for vegans at McDonalds – except the apple pies and salads (with ginger or vinaigrette dressings)


Burger King

If vegetarian:
Milk shakes – They contain animal-derived gelatin. Not all vegetarians avoid gelatin, however; that decision is yours.
Cheese – This is another debatable one. The cheese at Burger King contains rennet (from calve stomach), which many vegetarians avoid.
Veggie burgers – I’m still not clear on this one honestly. Their veggie burger is Morningstar, which is a vegetarian brand, yet on Burger King’s Web site they state: "Burger King Corporation makes no claim that the BK VeggieTM Burger or any other of its products meets the requirements of a vegan or vegetarian diet."

If vegan:
Bread/buns and croissants – The buns are made with milk and egg products.
Onion rings – They contain dairy and egg ingredients.
Bagels – They also contain dairy and egg ingredients.
Desserts (all, including the pies) – They all contain dairy products.


Arby's

If vegetarian:
Spicy brown honey mustard – Contains anchovies.

If vegan:
Danishes – They contain gelatin. (And again, gelatin is something vegetarians might also want to avoid.)


Moe’s Southwest Grill

If vegetarian:
Everything’s a “yes” on Moe’s menu except the meat. You can still order any meal on the menu, either for cheaper with no meat, or with grilled veggies or tofu as a meat substitute.

If vegan:
Nearly everything is fine for vegans also. Other than the meat, the only food you’d need to avoid is the cheese and sour cream. Also, the chipotle ranch salad dressing contains dairy products.


Subway

If vegetarian:

Cheese – The cheese at some Subway restaurants contain rennet. However, most Subways offer vegetarian cheese.
Asiago Caesar dressing – Contains anchovies. Some other dressings may contain animal-derived ingredients.

If vegan:

(Some bread) – The parmesan/oregano and deli style rolls contain eggs and dairy products. The wheat bread contains honey (a debatable ingredient).
Honey mustard and Southwest Ancho sauces – Contain honey and eggs.
Cookies – Contain eggs.



Some great links about hidden ingredients:

The Vegetarian Resource Group has a wonderful section on their site listing the most common “hidden ingredient” questions. Although they won’t tell you the specifics about menu items at restaurants, they do provide one of the best sources for figuring out what ingredients to look out for.

The Online Vegetarian Restaurants Guide is a great site for locating the closest veggie-friendly restaurants in your area. It also lists specific restaurant chains and analyzes their menus, including which foods are considered veg*an and which aren’t.

The Vegan Society lists the exact criteria for food to be labeled as “vegan.” This site if for the super serious vegan. I don’t recommend this site to just-beginning vegetarians or vegans. If you haven’t been living veggie for a good while, this list might be a little overwhelming.