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.
Nutrition
A healthy vegan or vegetarian diet, or any diet low in animal products, requires awareness of certain issues.
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12W is an issue in vegetarian and vegan diets (and often even in non-vegetarian diets) and a supplement is often required. Lack of B12 leads to fatigue, impairment of mental functioning and other serious effects.
B12 in the typical modern diet is generally found only in animal products. Actually B12 is produced only by certain types of bacteria, never directly by plants, animals or fungi, and it is found in animal products because those bacteria grow inside animals. Unfortunately there are not enough of such bacteria in the human digestive system to meet our needs (or the bacteria are too low in our digestive system) and we must get our B12 from elsewhere. B12 for supplements is produced by bacteria[verification needed] and so such supplements should be vegan (assuming there are no other animal products added - check the label).
In traditional diets, soil (which may contain B12-producting bacteria) insect parts and droppings of insects and other animals were likely to "contaminate" food, providing essential vitamin B12.
Today, vitamin B12 deficiency is serious and widespread. A Tufts University study found that, of the individuals of the general population they studied, "nearly 40 percent had levels of B12 that were low enough to cause neurological symptoms"[1], making this a widespread issue, not only a vegan one.
In modern times with less "dirt" in our diets, vegan diets contain little B12. Small amounts are contained in mushrooms that are grown in manure, and may be contained in drinks such as kombucha (if the culture included B12-producting bacteria).
It is also worth noting that different people have different requirements for B12. 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][2]
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 and babies
One 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.)
See also
Interwiki links
External links
- Vegetarian is the New Prius - on CommonDreams.org, by Kathy Freston, January 20, 2007 the Huffington Post.
- Vegetarianism and the Environment, Animal Liberation Inc. (South Australia) - includes interesting graphs of the relative impacts of various human activities.
- Environmental aspects of Animal Liberation: Real conservationists don't eat meat, Animal Liberation Inc. (South Australia) - a talk by by Geoff Russell, prepared for a vegetarian conference, Adelaide, March 1997.
- Scientifically-credible info on plant-based human diets
- news:alt.food.vegan.science
References
- ↑ Getting Enough B12?
- ↑ Based on a conversation with a vegetarian physician and mother, based on her research on Medline. Specific references welcome.