Pros and Cons of Becoming a VEGETARIAN

Millions of people currently subsist on a
diet free of meat, and millions more do so on a diet completely free of any animal produce
whatsoever. For some reason, what a person chooses (or
rather in this case, chooses not) to eat is a weirdly contentious issue online. So we compiled a list of 5 pros and 5 cons
of a vegetarian or vegan diet you you may want to consider if not eating meat is something
thats ever appealed to you. *Note: There is an unbelievable amount of
misinformation about the topic of vegetarian diets online from both sides of the aisle.

To be clear, this article neither supports
nor condemns the idea of abstaining from eating meat. Its an interesting topic that has become
highly politicized and we just wanted to challenge that with an article that takes a more balanced
approach. CONS 5. Vegetarian diets cost more (if youre poor) Although a diet consisting solely of pizza,
fries, and super-sized cups of soda technically constitutes a vegetarian diet, the image in
most peoples heads when they hear the word vegetarian is one of a cornucopia of
fresh fruit and vegetables.

Which is a problem, because fresh produce
costs a lot of money. Now this is the point in conversation where
someone would interject to say well, actually, if you go to the farmers market, you can
get a weeks worth of groceries for a fraction of the price you can in the store. Which is a perfectly valid point that means
nothing to the millions of low income families who simply dont have the kind of scratch
necessary to drive 30 miles on a weekend to buy chard. Something militant vegetarians seem to have
a hard time understanding is that to some people, crappy junk food is cheaper than fresh
fruit and vegetables.

A study exploring the inherent difficulties
of maintaining a nutritionally balanced diet on a low income supports this, stating: When incomes drop and family budgets shrink,
food choices shift toward cheaper but more energy-dense foods. The first items dropped are usually healthier
foods  high-quality proteins, whole grains, vegetables and fruit. Factor in that poorer families often have
less free time to actually cook food, and a healthy vegetarian diet is not only difficult
to maintain for a poorer person, but almost impossible. Because  oh yeah  one of the real difficulties
of being a vegetarian is that 4.

Vegetarian diets are worse healthwise (if
you dont do it properly) Its often said that vegan diets are bad
for you because you cant get essential vitamins and minerals that are present in
meat into your body. This isnt true, and it is possible to get
everything your body needs with a no meat or no animal products diet. The problem is its very difficult, to the
point of being nearly unsustainable for some people. Again, this is where someone would jump in
saying But I dont eat meat and Im perfectly healthy! I just replace beef and chicken with [insert
farty sounding buzz-food here].

To be clear, were not saying that its
impossible to be healthy and vegetarian. Every major health authority we consulted
notes that a vegetarian diet can be healthy; however, it requires a sustained effort and
you guessed it  time and money to make it work (two things some people sadly have
precious little of). For example, just consider one nutrient, vitamin
B-12. This vitamin is found nearly exclusively in
animal products and most unbiased health authorities highly recommend vegans and even vegetarians
take supplements to make sure they get enough of it in their diet.

These supplements cost money, and while some
may scoff at 10 dollars a week to save all the animals, there are families and individuals
out there living paycheck to paycheck who could really use that 10 dollars. Besides, eating a varied vegetarian diet is
also a problem because 3. Demand for exotic produce can be harmful to
the environment, in specific circumstances A popular vegetarian talking point is that
if the world suddenly stopped eating meat, a plethora of good things would happen. Global emissions would be reduced, people
would live longer, thered be less disease, and everyone would get to high five the celebrity
of their choice.

Research supports these claims; however, it
also notes that this would require a massive, global shift in lifestyle and attitude, which
is just not going to happen. Like it or not, people like eating meat. Which is why such claims should be taken with
a pinch of salt, instead its better to look at what would happen if a considerable
percentage of people became vegetarian but not enough to upset the established system
of food production already in place. In this scenario, which is more likely because
its already happening, things arent as hunky dory as they are in the previous
paragraph.

In particular, research has shown that in
some specific circumstances growing the equivalent amount of vegetables is more resource intensive
than just raising animals for meat. A key problem is that not every fruit or vegetable
can be grown year round without a major investment of resources. Likewise, the demand for more exotic health
foods like quinoa has a major impact on the environment because it has to be shipped across
the ocean, along with all the bananas youre cramming into a smoothie. If you really care about the environment its
almost guaranteed that a steak from a farm 10 miles down the road has caused less overall
damage to the environment that a kiwi fruit shipped halfway around the world and driven
300 miles across the country.

Its also worth keeping in mind that the
truck carrying your kale probably hit like 3 birds on its way to the store because 2. A vegetarian diet still harms tons of animals A problem with producing food on the scale
that Western humanity does is is that its impossible to rule out, with any certainty,
any foodstuff you buy isnt responsible for at least one animal death. Whether its field mice being hurled into
a thresher alongside a couple thousands stalks of corn or the natural habitat of woodland
creatures being razed to the ground to make way for fields, all farming harms animals,
however ethical. A researcher named Steven Davis felt this
brought up an interesting ethical quandary.

Is it more morally defensible to kill millions
of animals accidentally every year than it is to purposely kill them to consume their
flesh? Were not even going to pretend were
qualified to answer that question. We simply felt that, in an article like this,
we had to mention that (as David puts it) Nobodys hands are free from the blood
of other animals, not even vegetarians. So at the very least, if you do become a vegetarian
for moral or ethical reasons, maybe hold off on acting too high and mighty about it. 1.

Vegetarians are more likely to suffer from
health problems We already noted in a previous entry that
vegetarians and vegans need to make a concerted, sustained effort to maintain a nutritionally
balanced diet. Although many vegetarians and vegans do, a
significant number do not, and this is where problems arise. A 2014 study of individuals who subscribed
to a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle found that they were more likely to be in poorer health
than those who didnt, mostly due to lack of essential nutrients found in their diets. Its not all bad, though, because the same
study also found that there are some benefits to not eating meat and that, overall, vegetarians
and vegans had a lower BMI than meat eaters.

Which segues beautifully into our counter
list of 5 pros of being a vegetarian or vegan, starting with PROS 5. Vegetarian and vegans are often thinner We already mentioned how, technically, you
could gorge yourself on junk food every day and still be a vegetarian. However, studies have shown that, by and large,
vegetarians and vegans tend to have a lower BMI than meat eaters. This is largely because fresh fruit and vegetables
seldom contain saturated fats, and the fats contained in things like nuts and seeds are
more easily metabolized by the body.

Vegetarians and vegans also, on the whole,
consume less cholesterol and eat more fiber, which mean both their arteries and colon will
be less clogged than a person who enjoys red meat on a daily basis. In other words, if youre looking to lose
weight, a vegetarian diet could help because it will naturally involve eating less fat
than an omnivorous one. In fact, a vegan diet can be incredibly beneficial
to many people looking to improve their overall health, provided they do one very important
thing and plan their freaking meals. Speaking of eating a diverse range of foods 4.

A (good) vegetarian diet is rich in lesser
consumed vitamins and minerals While its certainly true that, as mentioned
previously, vegetarians and vegans struggle to consume a healthy amount of certain, specific
minerals and vitamins more commonly found in meat products, the inverse is also true. By which we mean that, by the nature of eating
a diet rich in lesser consumed foodstuffs to get these vitamins and minerals, vegetarians
and vegans get the added benefit of also consuming less common nutrients that can be beneficial
to the body. For example, one study noted that A vegetarian
diet is associated with many health benefits because of its higher content of fiber, folic
acids, vitamins C and E, potassium, magnesium, and many phytochemicals and a fat content
that is more unsaturated. We wont get into detail about what all
of those long, impressive sounding words mean, but suffice it to say consuming adequate amounts
of them are all linked to good health and well-being.

Another less commonly touted fact about a
vegetarian or vegan diet is that 3. It can give you a better Antioxidant status Antioxidant is probably a word youve
heard thrown around a lot and assumed it was just some bogus medical-sounding jargon buzzword
companies slapped on boxes of tea to sell to hipsters who shop at Whole Foods. In actuality, antioxidants are pretty important
to the body as a whole and play a crucial role protecting you. In fact, scientists have tentatively claimed
that antioxidants have cancer fighting and prevention properties, as well as protecting
the body from a slew of other nasty ailments and problems.

So where are these magical antioxidants found? Well, mostly inside of fruits and vegetables,
which vegetarians and vegans consume on a much larger scale than omnivores, giving them
a better overall antioxidant status. Of course you could argue that omnivores could
get the same benefit with supplements, but then youd sound exactly like all those
gym bros arguing that vegans dont get enough protein in their diet. Also, doctors dont recommend taking antioxidant
supplements because there havent been enough studies done into whether theyre safe. For any vegetarians feeling pretty smug about
this, that might be because 2.

A vegetarian diet can improve your overall
mood (in the short term) As Bart Simpson once said, You dont
make friends with salad. Well to counter that flawless logic, theres
a study that shows you also dont have that good a time eating meat, either. To explain, a randomized study conducted in
2012 about what would would happen to the mood of individuals when placed on a restrictive
diet found that when omnivores abstained from eating meat, fish and poultry over a
two week period their mood increased significantly. Its important to note that this study was
rather small and had no conclusive results, but it may be worth keeping in mind that at
least one study has shown that eating a couple of extra apples and not having a colon clogged
with cow flesh made some people feel a little better.

We should also point out that there have been
studies showing the opposite of this, that a vegetarian diet is linked to poor mood and
even depression. However, most experts believe this to be a
side effect of iron deficiency, which arises as a result of poor meal planning on behalf
of some vegetarians  something weve already noted is a bad idea in general. Besides, the risk is probably worth it given
that 1. A vegetarian diet might protect you from dying
of a heart attack This is perhaps the most controversial item
on the list, so allow us to explain.

Theres a growing body of evidence that
suggests a vegetarian or vegan diet can protect you from a host of horrible diseases  in
particular heart disease. This is because one of the #1 things linked
to heart disease, besides smoking, is red and processed meat which, we dont know
if youve heard, vegetarians dont eat all that much of. In addition, eating a lot of processed meat
has been linked to all kinds of cancer, which are, well, bad. As vegetarians will, by default, never eat
either of these things, theyre naturally much less at risk of any of the potentially
life threatening side-effects of consuming it.

This isnt to say that vegetarians arent
at risk of heart disease or cancer, its just that their diet means theyre in a
much better place to avoid it. Think of it like walking on the sidewalk:
you can still be hit by a car, but theres more chance its going to hit the guy in
the middle of the road eating a steak. Of course, as this article has discussed in
detail, there are still major cons of a vegetarian or vegan diet you need to be mindful of. But at least now, hopefully, you have a more
nuanced opinion on the subject after reading this..