Though parents have told children to eat their vegetables for ages, vegetarian diets have recently grown in popularity, perhaps in part due to the vast array of online information available to help people make informed decisions about eating a plant-based diet. Research suggests that vegetarian diets are healthy when well-planned. Advocates of vegetarianism and its benefits also argue that plant-based diets are friendlier for the environment and more sustainable than meat-based diets, and new research into the benefits of vegetarianism may support their claims.
The American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recently updated their 2009 position on plant diets, with a special emphasis on diet planning and beginning vegetable diets in childhood. They also more fully explored the effect of vegetarian diets on the environment and concluded that production of vegetables for vegetarian diets is more sustainable and less destructive than producing meat.
Why Vegetables Are Better for You
The health benefits of vegetarianism can be many. Vegetarian diets that are well-planned, including lactovegetarian, vegan, and pescatarian diets, lower the risk of obesity and diabetes in children and adults. Because vegetarians lose some essential nutrients by forgoing meat, meals must be planned to be well-balanced in nutrition.
Low Risk of Diabetes and Cancer. One of the health benefits of being a vegetarian is that it lowers your risk for harmful health conditions. Nutritionist Susan Levin and the co-authors of the new paper posit that risk of diabetes is 62% lower in men and women who choose a plant-based diet. Prostate cancer risk is 35% lower for men, and overall cancer risk for both sexes is 18% lower.
Better Cardiovascular Health. Heart attack risk drops by 32% on a vegetarian diet, and heart disease risk lowers by 10-29%. Blood pressure levels stay more normalized when nutrients from a vegetarian diet flow through the bloodstream, and body mass indexes tend to stay within a healthy range.
Less Inflammation. Another benefit of vegetarianism is that the inflammatory response in vegetarians is less intense and less harmful than it is in the bodies of meat eaters. For plant-based dieters, that means that pain and discomfort stay low overall.
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| People have many different reasons for choosing to be vegetarian, as suggested in this 2010 study, but there may be a wide variety of benefits to vegetarianism. Source: nih.gov |
Why a Vegetarian Diet Benefits the Environment. The environmental impact of meat and vegetable production remains largely unseen to those who do not work in the industry, but it is massive. However, the difference between producing essential nutrients through plants and animals is also enormous.
Less Fossil Fuel Use. Meat producers must transport, feed, house, and monitor the health of animals raised for slaughter. Each aspect of preparing an animal to become food calls for an enormous resource investment, and the investment increases exponentially to meet the demand for meat. Plants, however, need only to be fertilized, watered, harvested, and shipped, activities which call for nine times less fuel than what is required to make meat. A vegetarian diet can also decrease greenhouse emissions by 29%, and a vegan diet could lower emissions by 50%.
Less Watering. Land and water demands are shockingly higher for raising animals than they are for growing crops. In fact, it takes 18 times more land and 10 times more water to produce a single kilogram of meat protein than it does to produce a kilogram of kidney bean protein.
Fewer Pesticides. Going vegetarian can benefit the environment in several indirect ways. Farmers require ten times less pesticide to prepare vegetables for consumption by humans than to prepare food eaten by animals. The impact can be seen in both the air and in the soil.
Fewer Fertilizers. Fertilizers can also harm the soil and air. Many fertilizers contain chemical as well as natural ingredients, and even the natural ingredients can damage soil and emit harmful gasses. Producing vegetables requires 12 times less fertilizer than producing meat.
Is Change Coming?. An increased awareness of the nutritional and environmental benefits of vegetarianism, thanks in part to nearly global access to information, has pushed the number of Americans on plant-based diets to 3.3%. However, many people will likely not be persuaded of the benefits of vegetarianism until the environmental effects of meat production reach levels that affect the daily life and comfort of Americans. For this reason, the number of people on vegetarian diets is likely to rise extremely slowly.
