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Wyatt Shinkle

Prof. Barnes

English Comp. 1201

15 November 2020

What are the side effects of a vegan/vegetarian diet and is it sustainable

environmentally and economically?

In 2019, over 35 million people in the United States suffered from hunger, 10 million of

whom were children. Along with this, nearly 3 million cows were slaughtered for food last year

and this number only continues to grow as each year passes. However, is this starvation and

violence even necessary? When studying a purely plant-based diet, it becomes clear that it is a

very healthy alternative to traditional diets, which often lead to health problems later on in life,

and is more sustainable than normal diets because of the lasting effects large livestock farms

have on the environment. Plant-based diets are the healthier option for humans and an Earth that

is quickly approaching its demise with the threat of global warming.

Plant-Based diets have been around for as long as humans but the first “self-proclaimed

vegetarians were the Pythagoreans(Avey).” However, because of the nutritional value of regular

vegetables, they were not able to sustain this diet without the addition of fish, making it more

like a pescatarian diet. Benjamin Franklin also attempted to take part in a plant-based diet and

only ate bread for a short period of time. However more recently it has become easier to sustain a

plant-based diet due to ‘fortification’. A process that adds the vitamins and minerals that are not

typically in plants into foods like yogurt. This allows people to become vegetarians with little to

no side-effects and even a few extra benefits.

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There was once a time when traditional foods were healthier for you than vegan and

vegetarian alternatives but in today’s day and age, plant-based diets are much better for you than

diets that include meat. First of all, plant-based diets offer a decreased chance of several life-

threatening health issues. One article stated “Vegan and vegetarian diets have been associated

with lower risks of certain health problems, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol and

obesity(BMI). Type 2 Diabetes was also much less prevalent in vegetarian diets with “type 2

diabetes among vegans (2.9 percent) and lacto-ovo vegetarians (3.2 percent) was half that of

non-vegetarians (7.6 percent)(Palmer).” Finally, vegetarians and vegans showed a reduction in

risk for cancer than those who eat meat. However, these are not the only benefits a plant-based

diet gives you.

Another big portion of the benefits offered by this diet is weight loss. In a study that was

performed comparing different diets, “ A progressive weight increase was seen from a vegan diet

toward a non-vegetarian diet. "The average body mass index (BMI) for vegans was 23.6, lacto-

ovo vegetarians 25.7, pesco-vegetarians 26.3, semi-vegetarians 27.3, and non-vegetarians

28.8(Palmer).” According to the BMI Index, a BMI over 25 is considered overweight and

anything over 30 is obese. By eating a plant-based diet you are cutting out all of the

carbohydrates and cholesterol making it easier to lose weight passively. However, vegetarian

diets are not only healthier for humans, but also healthier for the environment.

In today’s society, you hear about global warming all the time and how fossil fuels are

the main cause of this. While they are the main reason, some of it can be attributed to the

livestock industry. In fact “The whole food production process of farm-to-plate totals 30% of all

global greenhouse gas emissions.” By eating a vegetarian diet you are helping the planet return

to its natural state. One example this gives is, “By eating vegetarian food for a year you could
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save the same amount of emissions as taking a small family car off the road for 6 months.”

While it is impractical to tell a whole family to stop using cars, it is not difficult for them to

transfer to a plant-based diet and reduce their carbon footprint that way. However, switching to a

plant-based diet does more than reduce carbon emissions.

Another area where a vegetarian lifestyle is beneficial to the earth is the livestock

industry. The livestock industry is nowhere near as efficient as the crop industry. For example,

one 8 oz chicken breast requires over 542 liters of water to be produced(VegSoc). This is enough

water to fill a bathtub 6 and a half times. Agricultural land is also used more efficiently for crops

because a vegetarian diet “requires two-and-a-half times less the amount of land needed to grow

food(VegSoc)” meaning we could be producing over double the amount of food we are

producing currently. The only downside to a plant-based diet is that unless planned out correctly,

it is very easy to forget about certain nutrients the human body needs, which in turn leads to a

lack of food choice.

While there are many benefits to a vegetarian diet, it has to be closely managed in order

to get all of the required nutrients. A strictly plant-based diet does not give enough Vitamin D,

Calcium, or vitamin B-12. A deficiency in any of these can cause serious health problems,

especially in children(Elliot). However, this is a problem of the past. With new techniques, these

nutrients can be added to a variety of plant-based foods. One technique that is widely used that is

called ‘Fortification’ is when food is fortified with these nutrients. “Many products, including

cereals and yeast extracts, now exist that have been fortified with B12 produced through

industrial fermentation of bacteria(Deckers).” Processes like this eliminate the problem of lack of

nutrients and give more freedom to the vegetarian community. The other problem many argue

against vegetarian diets is that by committing to a plant-based diet you are limiting yourself to
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just a few foods. While that may have been the case several years ago, many strides have been

taken to insure there is a variety of foods to eat.

When thinking about plant-based diets, many picture eating only green vegetables that

are very bare in taste and many people use this as an excuse to avoid trying vegetarian diets.

Companies like Beyond Meat and the Impossible Burger have been working towards a ground

beef alternative that has the same texture, feel, and taste as the original, but completely vegan.

When compared to regular ground beef, these alternatives were shown to be “a good source of

protein, vitamins, and minerals(Gelsomin)”. The only downside to these alternative meat types is

that they are slightly “high in saturated fat(Gelsomin).” The chart demonstrates the difference in
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nutrients between the alternatives and the originals.

Some important points to take away from this chart provided by Harvard Medical School

are how the alternatives to actual meat completely cut out all cholesterol and only give up a
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smaller amount of protein in order to do so. The alternative’s are also higher in fiber than the

traditional meat types.

In conclusion, vegetarian diets are going to be key as humanity moves forward. Not only

are they healthier for the human body, but they are also better for the Earth as well. Not only do

livestock farms contribute up to 30% of the world's carbon emissions, they are also very wasteful

with water. The livestock industry also uses significantly more land to create produce than the

typical crop industry does. The days of plant-based diets being an ineffective diet are over

because of new processes such as fortification and new alternative foods such as Beyond Meat

and the Impossible Burger which offer several benefits over traditional meats with very few

downsides. With statistics like these, there are very few reasons not to go vegan and start helping

the millions of people living with starvation in just the U.S today.
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Work Cited

Deckers, Jan. “Might a Vegan Diet Be Healthy, or Even Healthier?” Animal

(De)Liberation: Should the Consumption of Animal Products Be Banned?, U.S. National

Library of Medicine, 1 Jan. 1970, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK396513/ .

Elliott, Chris, et al. "Vegan diets are adding malnutrition in wealthy countries." Gale

Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2020. Gale In Context: Opposing

Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/BCVYKP281823231/OVIC?

u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=443a500f. Accessed 18 Oct. 2020. Originally published

as "Vegan diets are adding malnutrition in wealthy countries," The Conversation, 13 Dec.

2018.

Gelsomin, Emily. Impossible and Beyond: How Healthy Are These Meatless Burgers?, 8

Aug. 2019, www.health.harvard.edu/blog/impossible-and-beyond-how-healthy-are-these-

meatless-burgers-2019081517448.

Palmer, Sharon. "A Plant-Based Diet Has Impressive Benefits." Vegetarianism, edited by

Amy Francis, Greenhaven Press, 2015. Current Controversies. Gale In Context:

Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010705254/OVIC?

u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=157a43af. Accessed 18 Oct. 2020. Originally published

in Environmental Nutrition Newsletter, Jan. 2014.

“Plant-Based Diets: Pros and Cons According to NUNM.” National University of Natural

Medicine, 3 May 2019, nunm.edu/2019/04/plant-based-diets/.

“The Pros and Cons of a Vegan Diet.” BMI Healthcare,

www.bmihealthcare.co.uk/health-matters/health-and-wellbeing/the-pros-and-cons-of-a-

vegan-diet .
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“A Vegetarian Diet Is Better for the Environment: The Vegetarian Society.” Vegetarian Society,

vegsoc.org/info-hub/why-go-veggie/environment/.

Avey, Tori. “From Pythagorean to Pescatarian The Evolution of Vegetarianism.” PBS, Public

Broadcasting Service, 28 Jan. 2014, www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/evolution-

vegetarianism/.