Vegetarians: the good, the bad, and the fruit loops (By John)

So, here is my first post with some substance. I am often asked, “What is a healthy diet?” This is a huge question, so I will take one part at a time and start with vegetarianism.

First, the definitions…

Semi-Vegetarians: These people eat anything other than red meat. They still eat little fishies and fluffy fowl (and their eggs), do I can’t technically call them vegetarians.

Ovo-Lacto Vegetarians: These guys eat only plants with the addition of eggs (ovo), dairy products (lacto), or both (ovo-lacto).

Vegans: This group will eat no animal products or by-products (i.e. cheese, eggs, or honey, etc.).

Raw/Living Foodists: They eat only raw food, duh! They think that cooking destroys good enzymes in food. I believe this group only eats plants though, so sushi is not on the menu.

Fruitarians: Or as I like to call them… the fruit loops. They eat only what the plant will willing give up without being murdered – sorry, I mean destroyed. Apples, tomatoes, nuts, and berries, that’s about it.

Believe it or not, I have met and talked to someone in every group, and they have given a lot of reasons to be a vegetarian. The main ones being:

1. It’s healthier.
2. God designed us to be vegetarians.
3. It’s kind of gross to eat an animal when I stop and think about it.
4. Eating an animal is wrong.

So let me discuss these reasons in reverse numerical order.

Eating an animal is wrong. They tell me animals have souls just like us. My question is, “Says who?” They either just know it (i.e. they made it up), or they are Hindu or another religion that teaches this. This is not the time to discuss epistemology or theology, so I’ll stop here. Suffice it to say, I don’t agree with this argument.

It’s kind of gross to eat an animal. This one rather irks me. The main reason for this is because so many urbanites and suburbanites have lost touch with where our food originates. Poor little kids, many of whom have never even seen a farm animal in real life, are horrified when they are told that Ronald McDonald kills cute little cows. They have no idea how corn grows on a stalk or that potatoes and peanuts grow underground. They think that a chicken egg is good, but a duck egg is gross. I could go on, but I think you get the point.

God designed us to be vegetarians. I have only heard this argument from Hindus and Christians. Hindus were mentioned above, and you would be right to assume I do not agree with many of their spiritual beliefs. But Christians on the other hand use the Garden of Eden to passionately proclaim their dietary stand, but they forget things changed drastically after the Fall of Man. Look it up in Genesis, and you will see that God told Noah that all animals are to be added to the diet (he later created the more restrictive Jewish Dietary Laws which I will discuss at another time). Also, our intestinal tract is not designed to be strictly vegetarian like a cow, nor is it designed to be strictly carnivorous like a lion. It is very similar to the pig, moderate in length, perfect for the omnivorous diet (eater of plants and animals).

It’s healthier. So, here is the big one… the main reason people give for being a vegetarian. Americans eat a lot of meat - 70 lbs of beef, 49 lbs of chicken, and 17 lbs of fish per person per year, and a whopping 28 pigs in their lifetime. With the common cuts of meat being high in saturated fat which may lead to heart attacks and strokes, there is no surprise people say it is healthier to avoid meat all together.

But consider this: humans need Vitamin B12 to live, and it only comes from animals. Claims have been made that it can come from some algae, soy products, or even yeasts. Research shows this is only half right. B12 is there, but it is not bioavailable (meaning, you can’t absorb it). Now some of you may ask, “In countries where there is a high Hindu population, why don’t they have B12 deficiency?” The answer is rather gross, but true. In those areas insects, insect eggs, animal, and unfortunately human, feces contaminate their food and water supply. One study showed that when Indian Hindus migrated to England, where the food supply is cleaner, they came down with pernicious anemia (B12 deficiency). Vegetarians must take B12 supplements, the only useful ones come from animal sources, and in a sense this defeats their plan.

Now there is also a myth out there that vegetarians live longer. In every study that I could find, no one has ever proven that. Now, they do live longer than the “average” person, but when you compare vegetarians and non-vegetarians with the same demographics (age, sex, race, salary, etc), they live the same number of years.

Closing thoughts

Vegetarianism is not the best medical choice, but the typical American diet is not the best medical choice either. So what is left? I’ll leave that for another post.