Vegetarian diets do not include any kind of flesh from any animal. Non-vegetarian diets, on the other hand, include at least some kind of flesh, although the amounts and source animals may vary. Although this is perhaps the most definitive distinction between vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets, there are other vital differences as well. Consult your doctor before beginning any new diet.
Attitudes and Practices Regarding Animal Flesh
"Vegetarians see meat as death and meat-eaters see meat as life," Carol J. Adams observes in her book "The Sexual Politics of Meat." For many non-vegetarians, animal flesh is not simply pleasing to the palate. It represents a source of protein indispensable to their health and strength. They associate going without meat with illness and weakness. To many vegetarians, on the other hand, meat signifies the unjust misery and killing of sentient animals. However, they do not regard vegetarianism as simply a negative, the exclusion of flesh from the diet. They insist that the word "vegetarianism" is not derived directly from the word "vegetables," but from the Latin phrase "homo vegetus," meaning "whole, sound, fresh, or lively person."
Human Health Outcomes
Poorly planned vegetarian diets can lead to deficiencies in protein, calcium, vitamin B12 and zinc, which are seldom seen in meat-eaters. However, the scientific evidence overall shows that vegetarian diets can be just as healthy as, and often are healthier than, non-vegetarian diets. According to the American Dietetic Association, "well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes." Vegetarians tend to have fewer problems with, for example, obesity, high blood cholesterol, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease and certain cancers. According to research from Wales and England, vegetarians have lower mortality rates than the general, primarily non-vegetarian population.
Environmental Impact
According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, the global livestock industry, particularly the raising and slaughter of meat animals, generates almost one-fifth of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming --- more than the transportation sector. Producing a half-pound of hamburger generates the same quantity of greenhouse gases as driving a car 10 miles. The livestock industry also causes widespread degradation of land and water quality. Concentrated animal-feeding operations, also called factory farms, are especially polluting.They are also criticized for labor and animal abuses. All of these environmental problems are projected to skyrocket with growing global meat demand. Non-vegetarians identify reduced, more careful meat consumption and more ecologically sustainable ways of raising meat animals as solutions. Vegetarians call for wider adoption of vegetarian diets.
Cultural Status
In prosperous Western countries like the United States, meat eaters are decidedly in the majority and vegetarians in the minority. An estimated 8 percent of U.S. adults and 7 percent of youth never eat meat. Not surprisingly, even though vegetarians are gaining in numbers and recognition, non-vegetarians are defined and treated in American culture as "normal" and vegetarians as "different." However, in India, a substantial part of the population has long followed vegetarian diets, often for religious or spiritual reasons. Perhaps fewer than one-third of Indians regularly consume animal flesh, and then usually only once or twice a week, the "Indian Weekender" newspaper reported in 2010. Vegetarianism is thus the norm.
References
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Livestock a Major Threat to the Environment; Nov. 29, 2006
- "The Lancet"; Food, Livestock Production, Energy, Climate Change, and Health; Anthony J. McMichael, et al.; Oct. 6, 2007
- "Indian Weekender"; Why Is India So Vegetarian-Friendly?; Ram Lingam; Jan. 12, 2010
- "Journal of the American Dietetic Association"; Position of the American Dietetic Association: Vegetarian Diets; 2009
- Rodale Institute: Three Big Factory Farm Lies
- "The Sexual Politics of Meat"; Carol J. Adams; 1990, 2010
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