To many people, living without meat seems like a completely insane concept. Meat plays such a key role in our society that it’s hard for many to understand why anyone would choose to eliminate it from their diet; however, in many parts of the world vegetarianism and veganism are extremely prevalent.
There are many questions the average person has when first examining the meat-free lifestyle: What do you eat? Why give up meat? Where do you get protein? What exactly is the difference between a vegan and a vegetarian?
A vegetarian does not consume meat products, but will still eat things like dairy products, eggs, and sometimes fish. Vegetarianism can be broken down into smaller sectors based on preference. People who classify themselves as vegetarian might choose to eat some of these products and not others, but either way they don’t consume animal flesh.
Vegans are a bit more of an extreme. They do not consume any animal products at all. This may seem like it leaves a very small window of options, but in actuality it creates so many more. When it comes to snack foods, there are many that are “accidentally vegan.”
When presented with all of the benefits that a plant based diet has, it’s hard to understand why more people in our society don’t choose a vegetarian lifestyle. There are a number of worldly issues that being meat-free solve.
This lifestyle is an easy way to lighten your “ecological footprint.” According to PETA, of all the agriculture in the US, eighty percent is used to feed livestock. Imagine, those crops could be used to fight world hunger! Also, it takes more than 2,400 pounds of water to produce one pound of cow flesh. These wasted resources could be used for so many other goods.
When it comes to health, many people believe that it isn’t possible to receive all of the nutrients needed in a plant based diet. In terms of protein, in most cases there is actually more in plants than in meat. For example, in one hundred calories of broccoli there are 11.2 grams of protein compared to the 5.4 grams in steak. In the same comparison, there are 182 milligrams of calcium in broccoli and 2.4 milligrams in steak. These are only a few of the many benefits.
Overall, plant based diets are becoming more common in the United States; however, it is still a growing group. To some people this minority seems unrealistic, but that may be because they are not aware of the facts. Learning the benefits may change to opinions of even the biggest meat eater.