ENGL - Is vegetarianism a more healthful or a more ethical lifestyle than a meat-eating diet - Essay Example

Is Vegetarianism a Healthier and More Ethical Option to a Diet Containing Meat? Humans are omnivores and can consume both meat and plant foods. However, over time, humans have developed eating habits that have been influenced by many different factors (Palaniswamy, 2003) two of which are health and ethics. Vegetarianism can be defined as consuming a diet that is free of meat. Up to 2.5% of adults in the United States and 4% of adults in Canada consume vegetarian diets (Anonymous, 2003). While there are several degrees of variability within the term ‘vegetarian’, such as some people choosing to consume fish and other not consuming dairy products, it is the term that is normally used to include all non-meat eating people in the literature (Palaniswamy, 2003).

While humans have the physical capacity to consume meat, I will argue in this paper that vegetarianism is the healthier option and support this with data that supports this viewpoint.The effects of a consuming a vegetarian diet has been widely studied. A number of different studies have come to the conclusion that people consuming vegetarian diets have, in general, a longer life expectancy and seem to have lower rates of coronary heart disease, lower rates of hypertension and diabetes. They also seem to have lower body weight and a lower incidence of high cholesterol.

In addition, the presence of certain cancers is slightly lower than in people who consume meat (Fraser, 2009). It must, however, be noted that there is a wide disparity between the different types of vegetarians. The different types show different trends in health (Fraser, 2009).In fact, the American Dietetic Association (ADA) and the Dieticians of Canada have published papers suggesting that a vegetarian diet that is planned properly is healthy, provides enough nutrition and may contribute to the prevention of several conditions.

All the nutrients necessary for a person’s development can be obtained from a vegetarian diet. A vegetarian diet is said to be appropriate for any stage of life including, childhood, adolescence, pregnancy or lactation (Anonymous, 2003). The lowering of certain diseases is probably attributable to the fact that well-planned vegetarian diets have lower levels of cholesterol, saturated fats and animal fats as well as having plenty of carbohydrates, fibre, magnesium, potassium, folate and several vitamins (Anonymous,2003).

From an ethical view, a vegetarian diet has been said to be much more humane. 15% of vegetarians reported that they turned vegetarian for ethical reasons (Vegetarian Times, 1992 from Palaniswamy, 2003). People have been reported to not eat meat due to the cruelty inflicted on animals (Hoek et al., 2004; Lea and Worsley, 2001 from Fox and Ward, 2008). In addition, some people have reported a certain level of digestedness at the consumption of flesh and hence choose to be vegetarian (Kenyon and Barker, 1998; Rozin et al, 1997 and Santos and Booth, 1996 from Fox and Ward, 2008).

It must be mentioned that in the past, vegetarians were scarce and even the study of vegetarian diets was not considered to be important (Fraser, 2009). This was due the assumption that meat was an integral part of a person’s diet. In fact, even the ADA initially expressed doubts as to whether a vegetarian diet was adequate for health (Position paper on the ‘vegetarian approach to eating’, 1980 from Fraser, 2009). To conclude, it seems the vegetarian diet is now being accepted as being sufficient for humans to survive on.

In recent years, research has indicated that it is actually healthier than consuming a meat based diet if planned properly. There is a lower incidence of several conditions such as coronary heart disease and diabetes in vegetarians. In addition, there are ethical aspects associated with the consumption of meat which can altogether be avoided if vegetarian diets were adopted by a greater number of people.Works CitedAnonymous. Position paper of the American Dietetic Association and the Dieticians of Canada: Vegetarian Diets.

Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, 64.2(2003): pp 62-81.Fox, N. And Ward, K. Health, ethics and environment: A Qualitative Study of Vegetarian Motivations. Appetite, 50.2/3. (2008). pp 422-429. Fraser, G.E. Vegetarian diets: what do we know of their effects on common chronic diseases? American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 89 (2009): pp 1607-1612.Palaniswamy. U.R. Vegetarianism and Human Health. Hortechnology, 13.2 (2003): 243-251.