Hi, I joined Steemit less than a week ago and have read many articles throughout the week in order to get a flavour for what it's all about. This is by far my favourite article so far. I'm a vegetarian and I'm bringing my children up as vegetarian (until they are old enough to make their own minds up.) For me, it has always been a very personal thing; I simply feel better as a vegetarian than I did as a meat-eater. I feel lighter and healthier and I don't feel like my body 'needs' meat. I have never felt the need to ram my thoughts and opinions down other peoples' throats and I would never expect people to turn veggie just because I did.
However, reading about the over-all, global effects of vegetarian-ism is super-interesting and, in fact, up-lifting. At the end of the day, if nothing else, before people make their decision about being vegetarian or meat-eater, they should at least be informed. Informed about where the meat has come from and the processes that it has been through. Ignorance on that subject is something that I find somewhat annoying.
Thanks so much for this post :-)
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Then you might want to make an effort to fix your ignorance. Healthy vegetarianism is partially achievable only with artificial supplements. There is an astonishing amount of information on this subject. Please inform yourself, without the appeals to emotion. Forcing vegetarianism on children damages long term health.
Please look into albumen and production of parotid hormone, vitamins B12 and K2, and fat metabolism, among others. Vegans and vegetarians often experience a short term boost to their health, but most will see an eventual decline in the health of their teeth, bones and tissues, especially children.
This is not even to mention the need of having large numbers of roaming herbivores to maintain the land against desertification. The meat that has negative health effects is highly processed or production raised 'feed lot' meats. Pasture raised meats do not have the same negative effects as do GMO grain fed, antibiotic adulterated, hormone injected, feed efficiency drug fattened, and contaminated by confinement in close contact with their own wastes. Simply saying meat is not healthy is a vast oversimplification that ignores a huge amount of knowledge of health and the environment.
I don't think that either the scientific nor medical communities can actually agree about anything in respect of diet. One minute something is good for you, the next it's killing you. People have to make their own, informed choices and do what they think is best for their children. Our Paediatrician saw us shopping in the Supermarket one day - he was with a friend. He introduced us to her and said "these are patients of mine", referring to the kids and then said "but I never see them - ever!" Gesturing to the shopping trolley, full of fruit & vegetables, he added "that's why!"
I'm not vegetarian, but I fully support my kids not eating meat. If, once they're a little older, they wish to do so, then I hope they choose ethically-raised, good quality produce. Right now, they pass every health check with flying colours & eat a fantastic range of vegetables. Many of their friends won't touch anything that isn't fizzy, fried, processed - least of all the green stuff :) Perhaps better to begin this way. The way I see it, obesity is a much bigger issue for overall health - especially children and, strangely, most vegetarian children fare much better in that respect.
Our good friend and neighbour raises cattle. He's exceptionally concerned for the environment and recycles the manure into a methane plant. They're only fed his own-grown, organic grain & hay. But, he has a huge problem with water. In the driest early summer in living memory in Italy, the well that supplies their drinking water has run dry. He's had to connect to a 'town supply'. Their demand he says is more than 40 litres per day per animal. The crops he grows to feed them need equally vast quantities of water. He says that the process of raising animals such as these is anything but environmentally friendly - regardless of his best efforts.
Hey there, @lifeworship. Just wanted to point out that it's the vegan diet, not vegetarian (which can include consumption of dairy, eggs, and sometimes even fish), that may lack certain nutritional elements such as B12 and DHA/EPA. However, our bodies produce all the K2 we need from our dietary K1 (e.g., what we get from kale), so no one needs to supplement with K2 as long as they eat enough plants. Regarding DHA/EPA, it is possible we can make all we need from eating things like walnuts and flaxseeds, but to be safe, vegans can supplement with an algae-derived (NOT fish-derived) EPA/DHA. Unfortunately, fish is too laced with heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants and saturated fat to call it a health food. And @andyturner, the only reason we're confused about nutrition is that the big food companies and USDA keep us that way, figuring that as long as we're confused, we'll keep eating salt, sugar, fat, and animal products. None of those things are healthy, but they do make food companies lots of $$. Let me know if you would like scientific references for more info, and I will post links.