Vegetarianism is a diet or life-style choice to forgo the consumption of animal products. People may implement this to varying degrees. Some vegetarians are more 'strict' than others.

Some of the common reasons for vegetarianism include:

  • moral reasons (animal welfare) - sometimes rejecting all meat-eating, sometimes rejecting the cruelty of modern farming practices.
  • environmental reasons ("green living") - the greater resource use required to produce meat in many cases; depletion of fishing stocks.
  • personal health - some people have conditions that are made worse by the eating of some kinds of meat; some people feel better after adopting different vegetarian diets.
  • religion - some religions or belief systems forbid eating animals or certain animals.

Many vegetarians will still eat eggs and/or dairy, sometimes restricting these to free-range or organic products. (Organic certification often includes a greater emphasis on animal welfare than conventional factory farming). Vegans eat no animal products.

A vegan is a particular adherent to a stringent vegetarianism, where even animal derived products, including dairy and eggs are not consumed. Many vegans avoid all animal products, such as leathers, furs, feathers, bone, etc.

Protein requirements

There is some controversy over the quality and quantity of protein available to vegans.

The nutritional value of plant-based diets in relation to human amino acid and protein requirements, Millward DJ. (Proc Nutr Soc. 1999) - PubMed Result] - This study suggests that "high-lysine maize supports similar weight and height growth to that of casein. Inadequate amino acid supply is not an issue with most cereal-based diets."

Human adult amino acid requirements: (1-13C) leucine balance evaluation of the efficiency of utilization and apparent requirements for wheat protein and lysine compared with those for milk protein in healthy adults, Millward et al. concluded that "The results show that adaptive mechanisms of lysine conservation allow wheat protein to be utilized more efficiently than expected."

Interwiki links on protein in vegan diets

Suitability for children

An extreme case of neglect ("a diet largely consisting of soy milk and apple juice.") in providing a proper diet resulted in the death of a 6-week-old baby.[1]

This led to claims in some quarters that veganism is unsuitable for children - however no conclusions about the suitability of a carefully planned diet can be drawn from such a case. It should also be noted that breastfeedingW is strongly advised

for such a young child and in the absence af human milk, a special formula is needed. Cow's milk is not ideal, but soy milk and apple juice are clearly unsuitable. (See Response to NY Times Story: Death by Veganism for one rebuttal.)

Breastfeeding

Nursing babies are particularly sensitive to vitamin B12 deficiency - in rare cases, where vegan and vegetarian mothers have had inadequate B12 in their diet and/or were not taking proper B12 supplements, the babies have suffered brain damage and even death.[verification needed][1] Although very rare, it is important to avoid - especially for vegan diets (which contain no B12, except for small amounts from mushrooms grown in manure) and for vegetarian diets with low quantities of animal products. It is also worth noting that different people have different requirements for B12.

Interwiki links

External links

References

  1. Based on a conversation with a vegetarian physician and mother, based on her research on Medline. Specific references welcome. --~~~

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