Probably, some of you
have conceived of going vegetarian or vegan at least once in your life. Maybe
that happened while cooking a burger or eating a nice succulent sirloin, am I
right?
We all know that
vegetarianism and veganism are becoming more and more popular nowadays and
people are getting more sensitive with animal suffering. Many proponents of vegetarianism say that eating meat harms health,
wastes resources, causes deforestation, and creates pollution. They argue that
killing animals for food is cruel and unethical. Many opponents of a vegetarian
diet say that meat consumption is humane and producing vegetables causes many
of the same environmental problems as producing meat.
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| Pythagoras advocating vegetarianism. Rubens & Snyders (1618-1630) |
Putting to one side ethical or environmental opinions, what about
health? Is a vegetarian diet healthier than a non-vegetarian diet? It is known
that even though vegetarian people have some struggle to get iron, vitamin D,
vitamin B12 and calcium from the diet, they have lower risk of suffering
diabetes, stroke and obesity. However, going vegetarian or vegan is not a bed
of roses.
A recent study from the Journal of Molecular Biology and Evolution found
that long-term vegetarian diet raises risk of cancer and heart disease.
Researchers from the USA and India have discovered a mutation in people who
have followed a vegetarian diet for generations that makes them susceptible to
inflammation. The not-easy-to-remember mutation is called rs66698963 and is
found in the FAD2 gene (fatty acid desaturase 2), which controls the synthesis
of fatty acids in the body, especially arachidonic acid, the precursor of
pro-inflammatory molecules such as prostaglandins and leukotrienes. In such
individuals, vegetable oils will be converted to more pro-inflammatory
arachidonic acid, increasing the risk for chronic inflammation that is
implicated in the development of heart disease, and exacerbates cancer.
To make the problem worse, the mutation also hinders the production of
beneficial omega-3 fatty acid, which is protective against heart disease.
How dare WHO say that processed and red meat raises the risk of getting
cancer? And now vegetables too?
My questions are simple: are you vegetarian or carnivorous and why? What
do you think about people who go vegetarian or vegan in terms of health and
development?
You can check the
links below to the news article and the scientific paper:
News article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/03/29/long-term-vegetarian-diet-changes-human-dna-raising-risk-of-canc/
Adrià.
Another interesting topic in our blog. Thank you, Adrià.
ReplyDeleteAnswering your question, I consider myself an omnivorous person.
I don’t know if you watched a documentary considering the environmental issues of eating meat, it’s called “The cowspiracy” and is very fascinating. I have to admit that more than the health issue, I worry about the ecological problems surrounding the meat industry. It really has a negative impact on our planet. Other than that, I fret the way animals are treated by this companies. I think it is a problem that numerous associations try to bring to light, but the laws aren’t protective enough of other beings (meant for food) suffering.
For these reasons, I have, like you said, thought of going vegetarian for a few times.
Regarding our health, I believe the key is not on what you eat, but on how much of everything you eat. There is no doubt that we need meat in our diet, it is extremely important because we obtain vital nutrients from it. So, my solution would pass by controlling more these industries, buy as much biological products as we can and be conscious about consumerism.
I really want to watch that documentary! I've heard that is quite impressive and consciousness raiser.
DeleteI am a ovo - lacto vegetarian. Why? Well, if I'm honest I've no idea. My mother began to pay more attention and to be vegetarian because she couldn't eat certain foods. After that, follow her. When I was a child I found that my family didn't eat meat or fish and I've become accustomed to this diet. I really never have had the need of meat or fish.
ReplyDeleteThere have been some times that, for X reason, I was in some situations that I ate meat because I had no other solution. But I wasn't feeling well, I felt more irritable. Now it seems as if my body rejected these foods accidentally.
I find it right that some people become vegetarian for health. As there are people who eat meat and nobody pay attention to that group, I do the same to this other group of people. Obviously if the change doesn't mean that someone will harm neither involves a deterioration of our health, of course.
It's the first time I hear someone that has been vegetarian her whole life. It is quite fascinating! And it is indeed more fascinating when you eat any kind of meat and your body experiences that "rejection" to it.
DeleteHi Adrià,
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty happy that you've chosen this topic! I actually became a vegetarian recently, so for me it's very interesting to read about health problems related to this kind of diet.
You are asking us about health and I agree that we should talk about that, as it is our knowledge field. But I think that enviromental problems are so linked to health that we can't ommit them. As the USEPA (United States Enviromental Protection Agency) says, the agriculture sector is the primary source of CH4 emissions. Cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels produce large amounts of CH4 as part of their normal digestive process. Moreover, when animals manure is stored or managed in lagoons or holding tanks, CH4 is produced. Because humans raise these animals for food, the emissions are considered human-related and take part in that 60% of pollution which is due to humans.
That means that the excessive amount of meat that we need to produce to feed all human population (mainly in the developed countries) is causing a huge enviromental problem. Methane is one of the known as "greenhose" gases, the ones that absorb sun's heat and warms the atmosphere. This effect contributes to the feared Climate Change. As the WHO (World Health Organisation) publishes in its website, "although global warming may bring some localized benefits, such as fewer winter deaths in temperate climates and increased food production in certain areas, the overall health effects of a changing climate are likely to be overwhelmingly negative. Climate change affects social and environmental determinants of health – clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food and secure shelter". Some of the medical problems related to climate change are infections, such as malaria, which is caused by Anopheles mosquitoes that are likely to grow better with higher temperatures. This disease kills 600000 people per year (mainly african kids below 5 years old) and it has been seen that the number of infections could grow if temperatures continue rising. Another disease related is asthma, which is suffered by 300 million people nowadays. It is thought that there is more and more pollen due to climate change, this fact can trigger asthma, so the heat could rise the respiratory problems caused by this disease. Those are just some examples, but the point is that the WHO estimates that household air pollution, causes some 4.3 million deaths per year, and ambient air pollution, causes about 3.7 million deaths every year. Those numbers are scary, aren't they?
To sum up, I agree with the article, vegetarian diet is not the healthiest option if we see health as an indivudual issue. Nevertheless, I think that the world would be better if we were aware about the fact that when we take an small action somewhere in the world, it can trigger a huge consequence in another part of it. Each action has it consequence and we need to think about them if we want to be fair and ethical. I'm not saying that everyone should leave eating meat, but we are eating more meat than the world can supply and this is leading to dire consequences. We should all reduce meat consumption and as long as I don't see that we all do it, I won't eat any meat as I don't want to contribute in this kind of harmful and selfish capitalism.
Hi Carlota,
DeleteIt's true that primary production is responsible of most of the greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, but they take part in a little percentage of that 60% that you talked about.
Studies have shown that the impact of giving up animal husbandry on total GHG emissions could result,at maximum, in about 7% reduction in total emissions for all consumption. To have any impact on the actual volume of GHG emissions through changed food consumption would require large-scale changes among the whole population and a shared view of the extent of the necessary changes. (1)
Furthermore, another interesting study from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) shows that the production of soy-based proteins such as tofu could contribute more to greenhouse gas emissions than eating locally produced meat. (2)
What I want to say is that I agree with you when you say that small actions can trigger a huge consequence, but I think that we can contribute to improve the current environmental situation in other ways that can be more effective. I also agree with you on that we are eating more meat than the world can supply and this is leading to serious consequences. That's why I, myself, decided to reduce my meat consumption, but I think I could never become vegetarian.
(1) Helmi Risku-Norja, et al., "Dietary Choices and Greenhouse Gas Emissions - Assessment of Impact of Vegetarian and Organic Options at National Scale," Progress in Industrial Ecology, 2009.
(2) World Wildlife Fund (WWF), "How Low Can We Go? An Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the UK Food System and the Scope for Reduction by 2050", wwf.org.uk, Jan. 18, 2010.
What a nice debate you've created here Carlota!
DeleteI also read these articles and many others. It's true that the first one is about Finland, but the thing here is that the results show that giving up only in livestock would reduce only 7% of GHG emissions, so there are more factors in the primary production that contribute to those emissions such as soil and fertilizers (used mainly in cultivated fields) and others. And I would like to point out that this study considers methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) as GHG.
Referring to soy production, it's not only about the GHG emissions that generates its transportation (80% of soy is produced in the USA, Brazil and Argentina), but also the harmful consequences that its cultivation causes:
1.- Deforestation: extensive natural areas are destroyed in order to cultivate soybeans, leading to climate change pejoration and destruction of natural habitats.
2.- Soil erotion and compaction: this is also caused by deforestation and leads to loss of fertile lands. The use of pesticides is also leading to this problem, contaminating the soil and the water threatening people's and wildlife's health.
3.- Social impact: massive soybean plantations have pushed farmers and communities off those lands.
Finally, I would like to add that I don't like how animal husbandry is performed in most of the industrial farms worldwide. Cruelty is not the way I want this world to be ruled by. Unfortunately, nowadays I'm still a student that cannot afford "eco" products. So, for now, I will reduce my meat consumption and be more conscious about the environment.
I am a convinced omnivor. If human being has developed its intelligence and supremacy among the rest of species, it is because our versatility in our food resources.
ReplyDeleteFor example, back in the prehistory, we could eat either from berries or from a small mammal, a widespread variety. Later on, when we developed our potential, we crafted tools in order to subjugate larger animals to our desire. And believe me, they didn't die either peacefully or painlessly.
Nowadays we farm our animals, just retrieving from them what we require in a rather pleasant way. When they go into the slaughter house, they just die in a fast and painlessly way.
We need nutrients, we need what we have had since the evolution of Homo Sapiens.
It is true that meat is not on the lower step of the food pyramid, in fact it is more than evident that it increases the risk of colonic cancer, even though red meat has to be consumed in large quantities.
But on the other side, totally restricting the consumption of meat may result in a lack of vitamines which are essential for the body functioning. Moreover, there are some papers that highlight the risk of being vegetarian or vegan, as Adrià has quoted in his redaction.
I fully respect someone's choice to become vegetarian or vegan, but I could not respect that they force their children to undertake this journey. Freedom to choose is the milestone of any society.
I also consider myself omnivorous, but nowadays I try to reduce my meat consumption as much as I can.
DeleteI see that your point is that eating meat has been an essential part in human evolution for more than 2 million years. I totally agree with that and also with freedom to choose.
However I can tell you that most of the industrial farms don't treat animals in a pleasant way. Here's a link of a video that became viral in social media and shows how cows are treated in order to get milk from them (not to get meat!).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcN7SGGoCNI
Quite describing of the milk industry, isn't it?
Thank you, Adrià for bring us this interesting article, I didn't hear anything about rs66698963 mutation before!
ReplyDeleteNowadays, vegetarianism has become a really controversial issue and because of that, this practice has caught the attention and interest of many proffesionals, especially it has been very important in field of medicine.
I think there are a lot of different reasons to adopt a vegetarian diet: religion, animal rights, environmental...among other reasons. And everyone is free to choose this practice like lifestyle. But for me, the important question here is: is this practice healthy?
All of us, as future doctors, should inform and read about vegetarianism because people who adopt this type of diet could have some problems to get vitamin D, vitamin B12, protein, calcium, iron...and these deficiences would result in a pathology which would be serious.
But I believe it’s possible to meet nutrient needs with a vegetarian diet, but I do not think it’s possible to meet nutrient needs on a vegan diet without supplements. In spite of that, all of us are free to do with our bodies what we want, so if you want to be vegetarian or vegan it's your right, so go on.
But, before choose this kind of diet, make sure to be well-informed about the steps you have to follow in order to stay healthy. And what it's more important: if you have a child, never take him into a vegetarian diet because the effects of, just to name an example, B12 deficiency that are especially alarming on kids.
In conclusion, I respect people who are vegetarism or vegan, but I could never be one of them because I think there are other different ways to focus on, in order to take care of environment or animal rights that do not involve my health, for example trying to force our goverment to enact laws which help to preserve the environment or improve the conditions of animal from livestock farming.
Cannot be more agree with this sentence: "before choosing this kind of diet, make sure to be well-informed about the steps you have to follow in order to stay healthy".
DeleteThat is the problem nowadays with people who become vegetarian or vegan because it's in fashion. They don't realize that this diet could lead to many nutritional deficiencies!
Adrià, you have chosen a current and interesting topic! I am an omnivorous person but in the last years I have considered this decision several times.
ReplyDeleteThis article talks about the consequences of following a vegetarian diet over generations, but I think that becoming vegetarian is not a familiar decision. I do not agree with the idea of parents decide if their children have to be vegetarian or omnivorous.
Setting aside moral matters, I believe that before adopting a vegetarian diet it is important to consider all aspects about health. There are many diseases associated with vegetarian or veganism diets such us anaemia or vitamin D and B12 deficiency. However, these sickness are evitable if you learn how to keep yourself healthy. You can obtain B12 in soya bean or in some cereals, iron may be taken by food like lentils, nuts, grapes or mango.
Nevertheless, in my opinion becoming vegetarian or vegan because of environmental reasons is a weak argument. As Adrià said primary production is responsible for a little percentage of pollution, so I think there are other ways to reduce pollution more effectively. Moreover, fertilisers and insecticides used in fruits and vegetables production, generate high amounts of nitrogen which is the responsible of groundwater’s pollution.
To sum up, I strongly believe that being vegetarian or vegan is not a risk for your health if you know how to suitably eat.
Hi Adela and thanks for answering.
DeleteI also think that people who become vegetarian or vegan for environmental reasons could do more for the environment doing another things that could be helpful as well.
However, I can understand why some parents impose their diet to their child. Why not? I mean, they've become vegetarian because they thought was healthier or more ethical. Education and religion, for instance, are also imposed by our parents. The thing is that parents should be as understanding as possible if their child decide to change their diet habit.
In my case I am a carnivorous person, for this way saying it. In my home everybody has always eaten meat and we have consumed products derived from animals. In fact I can assure that my parents and overcoat my father, would take me for mad if I decide to follow a vegetarian diet. Nevertheless I can also say that the majority of our meals are only made by vegetables. Moreover I do not like all the types of meat and I prefer eat fish.
ReplyDeleteI think that in the balance there is the solution, this one clearly that the abuse of the meat is not of benefit to our health. In addition I think that the vegetarian diet has a lot of good things. I think that the majority of fats and pastry cook's shops are not included in the vegetarian diet, for what we can say that it is a healthy diet. There are a great variety of products that the vegetarian can eat and they will be totally healthy. I can even say that nowadays people who are vegan can have a totally healthy diet thanks to the great variety of products that exists in the supermarkets.
Besides I agree that meat consumption could contribute to animal abuse, nevertheless I don’t think that the solution be to stop to eat meat. We can protect animals with severe laws and make aware to the population that we have to eat less meat.
In the society in which we live I think that it is possible to take a healthy and balanced diet being vegetariano or vegan. However for now I will continue being carnivorous.
Hi guys!
ReplyDeleteThank you all for answering my post. I hope you found it interesting and it made you think about something as usual as eating and how our diet has an effect on our health and environment.
Most of my colleagues are omnivorous; they eat both meat and vegetables. Only two of them are totally vegetarian and none is vegan. That's quite representative of the current society: most of the people eat meat because it has been this way for million years, an increasing minority are becoming vegetarian due to social awareness of animal treatment and pollution and a small part of society is vegan.
We have agreed that, in terms of individual health, vegetarian diet can lead to many deficiencies that in children are more severe than in adult people. But also, it is known that meat consumption abuse (especially red and processed meat) also causes severe diseases such as cancer and obesity. However, nowadays, we tend to relate vegetarian diet with environmental consequences and that has become clear with some of the answers. This means that people are realising that our diet is closely linked not only to our own health but also our planet's health.
We can try to reduce meat consumption but we have to keep in mind that some nutrients and vitamins are more easily found in meat. In conclusion, I think that both extremes have their pros and cons but power lies in balance.
Adrià