A person may choose to follow a vegetarian diet for various reasons, including health issues, environmental concerns, or religious beliefs. Regardless of the reason, it is important to consider a few things before becoming vegetarian.

For instance, people should know which foods to avoid and what to include in their diet to ensure that they are meeting their nutritional requirements.

Keep reading for more information on what to expect when becoming vegetarian, the potential risks, and how to make the transition.

A person may choose from several different types of vegetarian diet, which differ in terms of the foods that they include or exclude. The main types include:

A basic vegetarian diet excludes meat, poultry, and fish from the diet. However, there are subcategories of the vegetarian diet, which get their names from the food types that they include:

A partial vegetarian will exclude most meats from their diet but will include either fish or poultry. For example, a pescatarian will eat fish but avoid other meats. A pollo-vegetarian, or pollotarian, will include poultry but no other meats.

A flexitarian primarily eats a vegetarian diet. Where they differ from other vegetarians is that they will occasionally eat small amounts of meat, poultry, eggs, and fish.

A vegan will avoid consuming any animal products, including meat, fish, poultry, dairy, eggs, and honey.

Learn more about the differences between vegetarianism and veganism here.

There are some potential health benefits of becoming vegetarian. However, these are dependent on what a person includes in their diet. For example, if a person's diet includes mainly processed foods, they are unlikely to get as many benefits as someone who primarily eats fresh vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.

Research has shown that a person may gain the following benefits from eating a vegetarian diet:

Following a diet that is overly restrictive in any way can lead to health issues. A person should plan any new diet carefully before starting it and discuss it with a healthcare professional to make sure that they are getting all of the nutrients that they need.

Although a vegetarian diet can be a good choice for a person's overall health, it is possible to be a vegetarian and eat poorly. Many unhealthful foods are vegetarian because they do not contain animal products, and eating too many of these foods can be detrimental to overall health.

Although plant-based diets are typically rich in low calorie foods, such as vegetables and fruits, it is still possible to overeat, which can cause a person to gain weight.

It is important for a person switching to a vegetarian diet to make sure that they eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, healthful fats, and whole grains. Eating only vegetarian foods can put a person at risk of not getting enough of certain nutrients, including proteins, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin B-12.

A person should plan their diet to include sources of these and other nutrients that are essential to overall health. In some cases, supplementation may also be necessary, especially for people following more restrictive plant-based diets that cut out most or all animal products.

A person may be at risk of certain nutritional deficiencies when making the switch to a strictly vegetarian or vegan diet.

The specific nutrients that a person may be lacking will depend largely on the type of vegetarian diet that they eat.

For instance, a person who still eats dairy, fish, eggs, or a limited amount of meat may not have any issues with nutritional deficiencies. Conversely, people who follow vegan diets may need to supplement with vitamins and minerals, depending on their dietary intake and restrictions.

Some of the nutrients that are most likely to be lacking include:

Most people get their protein from meat, fish, or poultry. Lacto, ovo, and lacto-ovo vegetarians can get protein from both plant and animal sources. People who follow a vegan diet will not get protein from animal products. Some substitutes can include:

Read more about some of the best meat substitutes for vegetarians here.

Iron is another nutrient that is present in red meats and other animal-based products. However, a person can get iron from other sources, such as:

Read more about the best iron-rich foods for vegetarians and vegans here.

Calcium is primarily in milk and other dairy products. Some potential replacements for people following a vegetarian diet that does not include dairy include:

The body produces vitamin D when the skin gets direct exposure to sunlight. However, certain factors can make it difficult to get enough vitamin D in this way. For example, in many countries, there is not much sun during the winter months, and people tend to cover up.

Also, many people prefer to limit the time that they spend in direct sunlight to reduce the risk of sunburn and skin cancer.

As the dietary sources of vitamin D are mostly animal products, vitamin D supplements are the best way for many vegetarians and vegans to get consistent, absorbable vitamin D.

Zinc is another nutrient that is important for a person's body. Many animal-based foods are high in zinc, including meat, seafood, eggs, and dairy. However, there are also plant-based sources of zinc, such as:

Omega-3 fatty acids are present in fish, such as salmon. These healthful fats are important for overall health, especially brain health.

Although plant-based omega-3 fatty acids also occur naturally in chia seeds, algal oil, and flax, these are a type called alpha-linolenic acids, which the body has a limited ability to convert to active forms. Therefore, a person may wish to look for fortified products or talk to their doctor about omega-3 supplements.

Vitamin B-12 is important for many functions in the body, including red blood cell production. A vegetarian can obtain vitamin B-12 from:

Many people choose to follow a vegetarian diet for health reasons, but there are other reasons why a person might make the switch. Some reasons may include:

A person should start with a general plan of how they want to become vegetarian. Anyone with specific health concerns should talk to a healthcare professional before starting a new diet. A healthcare professional should be able to give them advice on what foods to include in the diet or what supplements to take.

From there, a person should decide what foods they will include or exclude. Some people approach becoming vegetarian by immediately stopping the consumption of all meat. Others prefer to include small amounts of meat as they transition from eating meat frequently.

It may help a person to try new foods that fit with a vegetarian diet as they decrease their intake of animal products. Learning about substitutions, such as olive oil in place of butter, can help. Also, a person may want to familiarize themselves with vegetarian-friendly cookbooks, meal plans, and recipes.

People who want to become vegetarian will need to start reading product labels if they do not already do so. They should check for ingredients, such as dairy, eggs, and other animal products, depending on the type of vegetarian diet that they choose to follow. Nutrition labels can also provide information on what nutrients the food includes.

A person should also plan on eating a well-balanced diet that includes nutrient-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables.

A vegetarian diet does not have to necessitate the removal of all animal-based products. A person can choose a diet that includes eggs, milk, poultry, fish, or no animal products at all.

By starting with a carefully considered diet plan, a person eliminating certain food types is more likely to maintain a balanced and nutritious diet and avoid nutritional deficiencies.

Regardless of a person's reason for becoming vegetarian, maintaining a balanced diet is crucial for health.

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Going vegetarian: What to know - Medical News Today

B.R. Ambedkars 1948 work The Untouchables: Who Were They and Why They Became Untouchables? has been re-issued as Beef, Brahmins and Broken Men: An Annotated Critical Selection from The Untouchables, published by Navayana with an Introduction by Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd. This excerpt is from the chapter that deals with the conflict between Brahmanism and Buddhism and how it led to the Brahmins first giving up eating beef, and then turning vegetarian.

For generations the Brahmins had been eating beef. Why did they give up beef-eating? Why did they, as an extreme step, give up meat eating altogether and become vegetarians? It is two revolutions rolled into one. As has been shown it has not been done as a result of the preachings of Manu, their Divine Law-maker. The revolution has taken place in spite of Manu and contrary to his directions. What made the Brahmins take this step? Was philosophy responsible for it? Or was it dictated by strategy? Two explanations are offered. One explanation is that this deification of the cow was a manifestation of the Advaita philosophy that one supreme entity pervaded the whole universe, that on that account all life, human as well as animal, was sacred. This explanation is obviously unsatisfactory. In the first place, it does not fit in with facts. The Vedanta Sutra which proclaims the doctrine of oneness of life does not prohibit the killing of animals for sacrificial purposes as is evident from II.1.28. In the second place, if the transformation was due to the desire to realize the ideal of Advaita then there is no reason why it should have stopped with the cow. It should have extended to all other animals.

Another explanation more ingenious than the first, is that this transformation in the life of the Brahmin was due to the rise of the doctrine of the Transmigration of the Soul. Even this explanation does not fit in with facts. The Brahadaranyaka Upanishad

upholds the doctrine of transmigration (VI.2) and yet recommends that if a man desires to have a learned son born to him he should prepare a mass of the flesh of the bull or ox or of other flesh with rice and ghee. Again, how is it that this doctrine which is propounded in the Upanishads did not have any effect on the Brahmins up to the time of the Manusmriti, a period of at least 400 years. Obviously, this explanation is no explanation. Thirdly, if Brahmins became vegetarians by reason of the doctrine of transmigration of the soul how is it that it did not make the non-Brahmins take to vegetarianism?

To my mind, it was strategy which made the Brahmins give up beef-eating and start worshipping the cow. The clue to the worship of the cow is to be found in the struggle between Buddhism and Brahmanism and the means adopted by Brahmanism to establish its supremacy over Buddhism. The strife between Buddhism and Brahmanism is a crucial fact in Indian history. Without the realization of this fact, it is impossible to explain some of the features of Hinduism. Unfortunately, students of Indian history have entirely missed the importance of this strife. They knew there was Brahmanism. But they seem to be entirely unaware of the struggle for supremacy in which these creeds were engaged and that their struggle which extended for 400 years has left some indelible marks on religion, society and politics of India.

This is not the place for describing the full story of the struggle. All one can do is to mention a few salient points. Buddhism was at one time the religion of the majority of the people of India. It continued to be the religion of the masses for hundreds of years. It attacked Brahmanism on all sides as no religion had done before.

Brahmanism was on the wane and if not on the wane, it was certainly on the defensive. As a result of the spread of Buddhism, the Brahmins had lost all power and prestige at the Royal Court and among the people. They were smarting under the defeat they had suffered at the hands of Buddhism and were making all possible efforts to regain their power and prestige. Buddhism had made so deep an impression on the minds of the masses and had taken such a hold of them that it was absolutely impossible for the Brahmins to fight the Buddhists except by accepting their ways and means and practising the Buddhist creed in its extreme form. After the death of Buddha his followers started setting up the images of the Buddha and building stupas. The Brahmins followed it. They, in their turn, built temples and installed in them images of Shiva, Vishnu and Ram and Krishna etc. all with the object of drawing away the crowd that was attracted by the image worship of Buddha. That is how temples and images which had no place in Brahmanism came into Hinduism. The Buddhists rejected the Brahmanic religion which consisted of yajna and animal sacrifice, particularly of the cow. The objection to the sacrifice of the cow had taken a strong hold of the minds of the masses especially as they were an agricultural population and the cow was a very useful animal. The Brahmins in all probability had come to be hated as the killer of cows in the same way as the guest had come to be hated as Goghna, the killer of the cow by the householder, because whenever he came a cow had to be killed in his honour. That being the case, the Brahmins could do nothing to improve their position against the Buddhists except by giving up the Yajna as a form of worship and the sacrifice of the cow.

That the object of the Brahmins in giving up beef-eating was to snatch away from the Buddhist Bhikshus the supremacy they had acquired is evidenced by the adoption of vegetarianism by Brahmins. Why did the Brahmins become vegetarian? The answer is that without becoming vegetarian the Brahmins could not have recovered the ground they had lost to their rival namely Buddhism That in an agricultural population there should be respect for Buddhism and revulsion against Brahmanism which involved slaughter of animals including cows and bullocks is only natural. What could the Brahmins do to recover the lost ground? To go one better than the Buddhist Bhikshus not only to give up meat-eating but to become vegetarians which they did. That this was the object of the Brahmins in becoming vegetarians can be proved in various ways.

If the Brahmins had acted from conviction that animal sacrifice was bad, all that was necessary for them to do was to give up killing animals for sacrifice That they did go in for vegetarianism makes it obvious that their motive was far-reaching. Secondly, it was unnecessary for them to become vegetarians. For the Buddhist Bhikshus were not vegetarians. This statement might surprise many people owing to the popular belief that the connection between Ahimsa and Buddhism was immediate and essential This is an error. The fact is that the Buddhist Bhikshus were permitted to eat three kinds of flesh that were deemed pure

As the Buddhist Bhikshus did eat meat the Brahmins had no reason to give it up. Why then did the Brahmins give up meat-eating and become vegetarians?

The giving up of the yajna system and abandonment of the sacrifice of the cow could have had only a limited effect. At the most it would have put the Brahmins on the same footing as the Buddhists. The same would have been the case if they had followed the rules observed by the Buddhist Bhikshus in the matter of meat-eating. It could not have given the Brahmins the means of achieving supremacy over the Buddhists which was their ambition. They wanted to oust the Buddhists from the place of honour and respect which they had acquired in the minds of the masses by their opposition to the killing of the cow for sacrificial purposes. To achieve their purpose the Brahmins had to adopt the usual tactics of a reckless adventurer. It is to beat extremism by extremism. It is the strategy which all rightists use to overcome the leftists. The only way to beat the Buddhists was to go a step further and be vegetarians.

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Why did the Brahmins become vegetarian? B.R. Ambedkar asks in this excerpt from 'Beef, Brahmins and Broken Men' - The Hindu

Discussing vegetarianism in school can impact student behavior outside of the classroom, says a recent study.

The study looked at more than 1100 undergraduates at the University of California, Riverside.

Researchers led by Eric Schwitzgebel, Bradford Cokelet, and philosopher Peter Singer asked half of the students to read a philosophy article in support of vegetarianism. After this, they participated in a group discussion and then watched an optional advocacy video.

Researchers placed the rest of the students in the control group. They were given the same scenario, but instead of meat-eating, the focus was charitable giving.

Researchers gave the students a questionnaire a few days after their seminars. Nearly 30 percent of the control group said they agreed that eating the meat of factory-farmed animals is unethical. In the vegetarianism group, 43 percent of participants said they agreed with the statement.

Outside of the classroom, the study authors looked at the dining purchases for 476 students. For the charitable giving group, 52 percent of their campus food purchases included meat before and after the session.

For those who had participated in the seminar on vegetarianism, meat purchases declined from 52 percent to 45 percent.

The study suggests that potentially, the more the ethics surrounding meat consumption is discussed in the classroom, the more conscious food decisions are made by students in their everyday life.

Singer an Australian moral philosopher and professor of bioethics believes students should start learning about the reality of the meat industry from an early age. He suggested that even kindergarteners could start learning about the ethics surrounding killing animals for food.

Singer told LIVEKINDLY, If it is done in an appropriate way, the fact that the animals many people eat are kept in cruel ways can be discussed very early, say at three or four.

He explained that teachers should start by sharing information about animal agriculture. They should raise questions about the treatment of animals and ask students for their thoughts.

He said, teaching is not indoctrinating. Students must be encouraged to think critically about our societys attitudes to animals. He added, they should also be free to argue against vegetarianism and veganism.

According to Singer, people eat meat because their desire to do so overpowers their reasoning capacities and empathy for other sentient beings. He added that its a common phenomenon.

Jonathan Haidt writes about it in The Righteous Mind, he explains. Although I think he somewhat overstates his thesis Im sure something like what he describes happens in the case of eating meat.

The Righteous Mind evaluates how society has evolved to live in moral matrices, which bind us together around sacred values and then blind us to the truth.

According to Singer, from an early age, humans focus their love for animals on only some animals, the ones we do not eat.

Dr. Melanie Joy calls this carnism. Joy is the founder and president of the US-based organization Beyond Carnism. According to its website, carnism is the invisible belief system, or ideology, that conditions people to eat certain animals.

Because carnism is invisible, people rarely realize that eating animals is a choice, rather than a given. In meat-eating cultures around the world, people typically dont think about why they eat certain animals but not others, or why they eat any animals at all, it continues.

But when eating animals is not a necessity, which is the case for many people in the world today, then it is a choice and choices always stem from beliefs.

Through research, presentations, videos, and its Center for Effective Vegan Advocacy, Beyond Carnism is trying to dismantle the dominant way of thinking about food.

Through knowledge, there is power. The more information children and indeed adults have about our food system and how it works, the more capable they are of challenging it. They can begin to make changes in their personal lives that positively impact the planet and our fellow living beings.

Beyond Carnism explains, Carnistic defenses are both powerful and fragile. They have a powerful impact on us when we are unaware of them, but they lose much of their power when they are made visible. So when we recognize carnistic defenses, we are able to make food choices that reflect what we authentically think and feel, rather than what we have been taught to think and feel.

Summary

Article Name

Philosopher Peter Singer on the Ethical Issues of Eating Meat

Description

Moral philosopher Peter Singer believes meat ethics should be taught to children in schools and students should be encouraged to questions their eating habits.

Author

Charlotte Pointing

Publisher Name

LIVEKINDLY

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Originally posted here:
Philosopher Peter Singer on the Ethical Issues of Eating Meat - LIVEKINDLY