This is the last entry you can comment on for the month of November.
Is there too much tension between those who eat meat and those who do not? Is this partly due to secret guilt on the part of meat eaters? Did William Sitwell's comments justify his dismissal? Is vegetarianism here to stay, or even to grow? (The video connected to this article is also worth watching.)
Is there too much tension between those who eat meat and those who do not? Is this partly due to secret guilt on the part of meat eaters? Did William Sitwell's comments justify his dismissal? Is vegetarianism here to stay, or even to grow? (The video connected to this article is also worth watching.)
Cutting off meat is becoming very fashionable. In history, not many people could afford to eat lavishly, so the rich expressed their wealth by eating hard to get food, mostly meat. Meat, however, contains cholesterol and is very hard on the digestive system, so eating it is not considered healthy. As the times went on, people got more used to eating meat, and this lifestyle got more and more usual. Nowadays, very few people can imagine their lives without eating meat. What is more interesting, is that as eating meat became more usual, eating healthy became more unique. Shopping at farmers' markets or growing your own vegetables are activities, which went from being for the poor in the past, to being for the rich in the present. Today, bio-shops, vegan restaurants or even vegan food options all come with a price, that only a few can afford. However, we see more and more people promoting this kind of lifestyle. In the age of eating fast food, humans certainly have a tendency to express their superiority in different ways and in this case, it is by eating healthier than everyone else.
ReplyDeleteThe convenience of eating whatever you want makes people hesitant towards veganism. People tent to stick to what they are used to. Why would a person eating meat their whole life change their diet, if the food they are eating is tasty and brings them joy? People know that eating a quarter-pound hamburger with extra cheese is unhealthy but resisting eating it requires far more renunciation. As it was said in the article: "Changing the way that you cook and eat, even for just a day or two a week, means searching for new recipes. It means stocking up on new ingredients, experimenting with different spices and generally setting supermarket tills ringing.". Switching to veganism simply requires far more effort, that not many people are willing to commit to.
As a person living in a vegetarian household, I can say that cutting off meat is not that hard as it seems to be. It does indeed require more effort, but it is worth it. The improvement in your health or the energy gain is very visible, even if you just decrease your meat intake. I'd suggest for people who are curious to try a week without meat and see for themselves. After all, when you fry cauliflower in certain spices, it tastes just like chicken, so you'll still have some compensations.
Emma, thank you for your comment this month!
ReplyDeleteI would like to react to your comment. In my opinion what you are arguing makes sense. You try to take the fashion aspect of the whole thing and I like that. However, I believe that there is a different side to the coin as well. According to to Mr. Mark Hyman, meat and vegetables should be mixed together and do not repel each other whatsoever. Studies showing that meat is cancer-inducing and vegetables are a lot better are very biased. Take this, research is conducted for people in USA due to their high consumption of meat per day. However, did the researchers take into consideration other factors that could affect the outcome of the study? What if the Americans were drinking too much alcohol, leading an unhealthy lifestyle by eating too much candy or drinking Coke everyday? These factors were not taken into consideration in most studies making them partially inaccurate.
I want to point out the fact that the conventional "meat is bad for you" doesn't necessarily have to be true, on the contrary it could prove to be spurious.
Tomáš Csémi
Thank you for your feedback Tomáš!
DeleteI must agree with what you said about the studies, that do not consider all of the influencing factors when conducting a research. However, there is still positive correlation between meat-based diet and heart diseases. When you look at meat from a molecular level, it contains saturated and trans-unsaturated fats, which are more likely to stick to the walls of arteries. Clogged arteries often lead to heart attacks or strokes. Plants, on the other hand, contain more cis-unsaturated fats, which are less likely to cause this problem. Knowing this, we still cannot say with certainty that there is causation. Indeed, there are more factors to consider.
Provided this information, I really do think that meat leads to health problems. I may be biased by my previous opinions but seeing the changes in my health after cutting off meat just ensure my view of vegetarianism. After all, choosing to eat or not to eat meat does not define the person, it is just a diet.
I've been vegetarian for four years now and I think it is essential to talk about this popular phenomenon. Over the last few years, not only plant-based diets have been promoted in every media possible, there are still many discussions going on whether veganism could be the way of saving our planet.
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned in the article, is it everyone’s choice what they want to eat. I personally do not understand why so many people do have something against veganism. Nobody forces them to switch their diet, the only thing vegans (and non-meat eaters in general) try to reach is, people to understand the consequences of eating meat. It is also mentioned, that a lot of these “vegan-haters” are angry only because deep inside, they feel slightly guilty. I can only agree with that, I think that many people have just problems admitting that the perks of vegan diet are real and effective. I would suggest every meat eater to try not to eat meat at least for a while and see the benefits themselves.
As a vegetarian, I can’t see any negatives of not eating meat. Not only it is a lot healthier, also the meals are tastier, easy and quick to prepare. Another example is my personal observation. Before I switched to vegetarianism, I used to eat meat almost with every meal. However, I was always tired afterwards, and I ended up taking a nap. As soon as I decided to try few days without meat, I started to feel healthy, full of energy and most importantly- happy. Vegetarianism is not only about helping yourself, it is also about the ethical aspects, for instance the animal and environment protection. It is now proven that plant-based diets, in comparison with the meat-based ones, undeniably more ecological. These days, I find it important to care about our Earth and not just about our needs.
I eat meat. However, I believe there are some limits to it. The number of people in this world is increasing every day. Some sources state that the world population will be higher than 9 billion by the year 2050. The meat production has increased so much over the past years. The factory farmed animals live in terrible conditions and are often injected with antibiotics to make them grow faster. The consumption of such meat is not the healthiest. Cows produce methane, which contributes to the global warming. That is why I don’t eat meat every day. And when I do, it is mostly a chicken.
ReplyDeleteThe tension between those who eat meat and those who do not is completely unnecessary. I believe veganism is good for our planet and I hope more people will start to consume less meat. The only problem I have with veganism is its mainstream, commercial side. The vegan products come at unreasonably high price and people actually buy it. It is crazy how people are willing to pay extra for something just because it is marked bio. On the other hand, I understand that there are still not as many people buying this kind of products and therefore their prices need to be higher. I hope that in the future living a more natural lifestyle will be more common.