Becoming
vegetarian is one of the most important and effective actions you can
take to ease the strain on our Earth's limited resources, protect the
planet from pollution, prevent global warming, and save countless
species from extinction. Vegetarian diets offer a number of
nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat,
cholesterol, and animal protein, as well as higher levels of
carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants
such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals. Vegetarians have been
reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, as well
as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; vegetarians also
show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower
rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon
cancer." You can avoid food additives and health problems they
may cause by eating fresh, unprocessed foods grown by local farmers.
Since these foods are not transported thousands of miles, they don't
need to be packaged or pumped full of preservatives before reaching
you. And since they are whole and unprocessed, they won't contain
colorings or artificial flavors. When shopping in your grocery store,
check labels for additives. Buy more whole foods and fewer
"convenience foods," such as ready-made meals. The time you
spend preparing an additive-free meal will pay off in fresh flavor
and increased food safety for you and your family.
Hey Emily- Regarding being a vegetarian, although I believe that it is a very effective solution, several people need protein. Buying locally is extremely beneficial, but are there any options for individuals who cannot afford the farm land grown crops?
ReplyDeleteGoing meatless even one day a week may reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help reduce your carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and fossil fuel. One thing I would suggest for people who can't buy organic(It is very expensive) to always check labels and really look where your food has been before your super market.
ReplyDeleteHi Emily,
ReplyDeleteYour information on vegetarians is very familiar to me. I began a vegetarian diet in grade 7 that lasted for 3 years, and the reason I started was because I had read things like what you posted about vegetarians having a lower body mass index and so forth. I think this information can be misleading because vegetarian diets simply mean diets without meat, right? Meat can easily be replaced with high proccessed foods like white pasta, so there are "good" and "bad" vegetarian diets. Eating vegetarian doesn't necessarily mean you will eat healthy foods. Therefore it is not simply "vegetarian", or meatless diets that need to be promoted but diets filled with fruit and vegetables etc.
Do you think the government should promote "good" vegetarian diets? Also, do you think the benefits of products from local farmers should be advertised more? Would it actually change the buying habits of consumers? Like Selam pointed out local farm products can be pricey. How can we solve this issue? What is making it more costly?
Hi Mina, Thank you for your comment. I haven't really thought of it like that but it really makes sense. I have always just assumed that if you take meat out of the diet then you have to replace it with something else with high protein. also to me I thought of it as being VEGEtarian meant you ate VEGEtables. But you bring across a good point. Yes I think the government should promote "good" vegetarian diets as well as organic food but they never will because too many people would be put out of jobs and the same for non organic food stores. Organic food is more pricey because it is harder to grow and less of it and the farmers need a profit.
ReplyDelete