Environmental vegetarianism is the belief that the production of meat and animal products at current and likely future levels is environmentally unsustainable. Industrialization has lead to intensive farming practices and diets high in animal protein, primarily in first world countries and mainly the United States. According to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) "Most of the world's population today subsists on vegetarian or near-vegetarian diets for reasons that are economic, philosophical, religious, cultural, or ecological." [15] Thus, the main protest of environmental vegetarians is primarily of intensive farming in first world countries.

According to the United Nations Population Fund "Each U.S. citizen consumes an average of 260 lbs. of meat per year, the world's highest rate. That is about 1.5 times the industrial world average, three times the East Asian average, and 40 times the average in Bangladesh." [16] As well "The ecological footprint of an average person in a high-income country is about six times bigger than that of someone in a low-income country, and many more times bigger than in the least-developed countries." [17]

All modern, intensive farming practices consume heavy amounts of fossil fuel and water resources and have lead to emissions of harmful gases and chemicals. As well, they consume heavy amounts of fossil fuel and water resources and destroying far greater areas of habitat (large industrial monoculture corn and soy fields, etc.) than is found in more sustainable farming practices such as organic farming, permaculture, arable, pastoral, and rainfed agriculture.

Animals fed on grain, and also those which rely on grazing, need far more water than grain crops [18]. According to the USDA growing the crops necessary to feed farmed animals requires nearly half of the United State's water supply and 80 percent of it's agricultural land. As well animals raised for food in the U.S. consume 90 percent of the soy crop, 80 percent of the corn crop, and a total of 70 percent of it's grain. [19]. In tracking food animal production from the feed trough to the dinner table, the inefficiencies of meat, milk and egg production range from 4:1 energy input to protein output ratio up to 54:1. [20] The result is that producing animal based food is typically much less efficient than the harvesting of grains, vegetables, legumes, seeds and fruits.

Environmental vegetarianism can be compared with economic vegetarianism. An economic vegetarian is someone who practices vegetarianism from either the philosophical viewpoint concerning issues such as public health and curbing world starvation, the belief that the consumption of meat is economically unsound, part of a conscious simple living strategy or just out of necessity. According to the WorldWatch Institute "Massive reductions in meat consumption in industrial nations will ease the health care burden while improving public health; declining livestock herds will take pressure off of rangelands and grainlands, allowing the agricultural resource base to rejuvenate. As populations grow, lowering meat consumption worldwide will allow more efficient use of declining per capita land and water resources, while at the same time making grain more affordable to the world's chronically hungry." [21]

Social

Some people are vegetarian because they were raised in a vegetarian household. Others may have become vegetarians because of a vegetarian partner, family member, or friend. Some people live in a predominantly vegetarian society (such as India), and so adopt this practice to avoid ostracism, or for the difficulty of buying meat in such a society .

Spiritual

Many Eastern religions claim that spiritual awareness and experiences are greatly enhanced on a vegetarian diet. They believe that vegetarianism helps an individual to explore deeper levels of consciousness and establish a connection with the Divine, through such practices as meditation, yoga or whirling. In the Western world there are also individuals like James Redfield who, independent from any specific religious beliefs, share the same sentiment. In the West this motivation is regarded by many as a New Age reason for being vegetarian.

Physiological

There is considerable debate over whether humans are physiologically better suited to a herbivore or omnivore diet. Some, such as Albert Einstein, regard an evolution to a vegetarian diet as part of our human evolution, with each new generation moving slowly away from the necessity of eating meat. Others study statistical information, such as comparing life expectancy with regional areas and local diets. For example, eskimos whose carnivore diet consists of only seal meat and fish have one of the lowest life expectancies on Earth [22] (cancer is one of the highest causes of death, although this could equally be due to the harsh climate in which they live), while the Chinese whose diet is basically semi-vegan have some of the oldest living people in the world [23]. Other examples include looking within countries themselves. For instance, life expectancy is considerably greater in southern France where a semi-vegetarian Mediterranean diet is common (fresh fruit, vegetables, olive oil, goats cheese and fish), than northern France where an omnivore diet is more common (which also includes pork, beef, butter, cows cheese and cream) [24] [25]. Although it must be noted that many other influences come into life expectancy, such as clean water, sunshine, pollution, genetics and lifestyle (alcohol, smoking, stress etc), so it is difficult to provide conclusive proof of a link between regional diets and life expectancy. It is also worth pointing out that these comparisons assume food is available and there is no malnutrition, which is an overriding life expectancy influence in parts of the developing world for instance.

Some vegetarian beliefs (such as Hare Krishna and Modern Buddhism) suggest that human beings are "designed" to consume vegetable matter rather than meat. The reasons are mainly associated with the differences between predators and plant-eating animals.

Predators usually have sharp teeth to tear fresh meat. Dogs, cats or lions are examples, while plant-eating animals have no sharp teeth to tear meat. Horse, dear, sheep and human beings have no sharp teeth to consume meat.

The intestines of predators are relatively short compared with those of plant-eating animals. This allows meat eaten by predators to pass more quickly though the intestines. Since meat rots much faster than vegetables, it is neccessary for predators to have short intestines to prevent meat rotting inside the body that could harm the creature. Herbivores, however, need a much longer intestine to allow sufficient time for the digestion of vegetable fibres. Human kind could have the same digestive system with the plant-eating animals.

According to The Straight Dope, this is not actually factually correct. [26] as humans have evolved to be omnivores. Human intestinal length is, taken as a ratio, half way between carnivores, like cats and dogs and herbivores like cows and horses.

If there is a need for predator's intestines to be short enough to digest meat and excrete it as soon as possible before it is harmful(rotten) to the predators, any considerable longer intestine length could still harm the eater. Human digestive system may have evoluted to have shorter intestine than those herbivores as a alternative measures to reduce harmful effect from eating meat. As the food source for human become wider, human become less depend on the blind gut that digesting fibres. Those omnivores may be "forced" to consume meat(herbivores) or consume vegetables(predators) provided there was a food shortage. Consuming meat may harm the herbivores with long intestine length. Predators' short intestines may not capable to digest vegetables that need more time to digest. Any form of omnivores may be an alternative way to confront enivronment difficulties. Either shorter or longer intestine, would be well suit for either eating meat nor vegetables. There seems no mid-way in-between.

The way in which predators and plant eating mammals drink is another reason that is suggested. Predators like dogs, cats or lions use their tongue to drink water as digesting meat does not consume as much water compared with digesting vegetables. Plant-eating animals like horses, deer or sheep, suck water as do humans.

Some Modern Buddhism proponents even hypothesize that human ancestry were ultimately vegetable eaters. During the last ice age, much of human ancestry could not have survived by eating vegetables eclusively. As there was a lack of vegetables at that time, human beings would have had to change their diet (consume meat). The dead bodes of the large animals in the ice age that did not rot would have provided a stable food supply. This eating habit continued in humans after the ice age, as eating both meat and vegetables would have ensured a larger food supply.

Vegetarian cuisine

Main article This generally means food which excludes ingredients under which an animal must have died, such as meat, meat broth, cheeses that use animal rennet (some vegetarians will eat all cheeses and others none, because of its milk content), gelatin (from animal skin and connective tissue), and for the strictest, even some sugars that are whitened with bone char (e.g. cane sugar, but not beet sugar) and alcohol clarified with gelatin or crushed shellfish and sturgeon.

Country specific information

• In India vegetarianism is usually synonymous with lacto vegetarianism, although lacto-ovo vegetarianism is practiced as well. 20 to 30% of Indians are estimated to be vegetarians and vegetarian restaurants (almost always lacto vegetarian) abound ^[27]. There are usually many vegetarian (Shakahari (~plant-eater) in Hindi) options available in all restaurants ('hidden' meat ingredients such as lard, gelatin, meat stock are not used in the traditional cuisine).
• In the United States, vegetarianism is usually synonymous with ovo-lacto vegetarianism. However, vegetarians are sometimes wrongly assumed to be pesco/pollo vegetarians who will tolerate some meat. Many restaurants and caterers provide vegetarian options to patrons, often explicitly indicated as such. It is also possible to order a vegetarian meal and be served meat. Polls find that 2.8% of Americans are vegetarian as of 2004 [28]. In addition, vegetarianism in the United States generally reflects regional cultural differences. It is more difficult to find vegetarian options in rural restaurants than in urban ones. The same applies to Midwestern city restaurants compared to West Coast restaurants. This seems to be slowly changing as vegetarian market innovations (such as veggie burgers) attain wider acceptance, demand, and distribution.
• In the UK, voluntary labelling of vegetarian foods is widespread, but far from universal. Many manufacturers will label food as "suitable for vegetarians" though there is currently no agreed definition of this. In addition, the Vegetarian Society operates a scheme where foods that meet its strict criteria can be labelled as "Vegetarian Society-approved". Cheese is often labelled as well, making it possible to identify cheeses that have been made with non-animal rennet. Flavourings in ingredients lists do not need to specify if they come from animal origin, which can make identifying vegetarian foods difficult if they are not otherwise labelled as such. 5% of the UK are estimated to be vegetarians. The British Vegetarian Society regards a product as vegetarian if it is free of meat, fowl, fish, shellfish, meat or bone stock, animal or carcass fats, gelatin, aspic, or any other ingredient resulting from slaughter, such as rennet. Where eggs are used, they must be free range, and the product should not have involved animal testing. [29]
• In Ireland, food labelling is in place.
• In Spain, most vegetarian meals will be served with egg, or even tuna. Stock is normally used in vegetable soups and many sauces.
• In France the situation is similar to that in Spain, but is slightly less unfavourable.
• In Germany, the confusion of vegetarianism with pesco/pollo vegetarianism is also common. There is no food labelling in place, and buying only vegetarian foods can involve having to read the fine printed ingredients list ("Zutaten") on many food products. However widespread Wholefood emporia provide sources for vegetarian foods in even remote areas.
• In Australia the same conditions apply as in Germany. Some manufacturers who target the vegetarian market will label their foods, however except for foods intended for export to the United Kingdom, this labelling can be inconsistent. Flavourings in ingredients lists do not need to specify if they come from animal origin. As such, natural flavour could be derived from either plant or animal sources.

Vegetarian societies

Vegetarian societies (apart from India) were first formed in majority meat eating European countries both as a means to promote the diet and to gather together vegetarians for mutual support. By 2000, most western and developing nations had functioning vegetarian societies. The countries that were first to establish societies are still the ones most likely to have the greatest proportion of vegetarians within their populations.

The first societies were:

• 1847 — United Kingdom
• 1850 — United States of America
• 1867 — Germany
• 1880 — France
• 1886 — Australia
• 1889 — India
• 1890 — Ireland
• 1893 — Switzerland
• 1894 — Netherlands
• 1895 — Sweden
• 1896 — Denmark
• 1896 — Hungary
• 1899 — Belgium
• 1900 — Austria

The International Vegetarian Union [30], a union of all the national societies, was founded in 1908.

Quotations

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Vegetarianism

• Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet - Albert Einstein.
• The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men - Leonardo da Vinci
• I have no doubt that it is a part of the destiny of the human race, in its gradual improvement, to leave off eating animals - Henry David Thoreau
• A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite - Leo Tolstoy.
• I do feel that spiritual progress does demand, at some stage, that we should cease to kill our fellow creatures for the satisfaction of our bodily wants - Mahatma Gandhi. (Gandhi however saw the consumption of sterile eggs as acceptable.)
• To become vegetarian is to step into the stream which leads to nirvana - Buddha. (Buddha himself consumed meat and advised his disciples not to avoid meat that was offered to them to be polite)
• Do not turn your stomach into graveyard of animals - Mohammad, the prophet of Islam (religious Muslims can be assumed to be semi-vegetarian, Muslims are encouraged by their prophet to eat less meat).
• Almost all vegetarians were indoctrinated into a meat and cruelty-based culture since birth; until that fateful moment when, by one means or another, we were lucky enough to encounter a vegetarian viewpoint, we really didn't have the choice to be anything but a flesh-eater. - Peter Singer

Criticism

There are some people who criticise vegetarianism on the grounds that it is difficult, if not impossible, to get a sufficient amount of B12 from a strictly vegetarian diet ^{Citation needed}, although the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada statement on vegetarianism which has been reaffirmed four times over 15 years strongly disputes this [31]. Additionally, since B12 is produced in relatively copious amounts by bacteria in the human digestive system as well as organically cultivated soil, it is argued that only our recent age of obsessive cleanliness (in particular the excessive cleaning of vegetables) has made possible the potential for B12 deficiency in a vegan diet. In any case involving B12 deficiency, this can be easily remedied by simply taking a B12 supplement.

Some people have allegedly suffered from health problems because of various types of vegan diets ^{Citation needed}. However, many other people have suffered from health problems due to various types of non-vegan / non-vegetarian diets. For example, the World Health Organization indicates that eating animal fats increases your risk of cancer, and a study published in The American Journal of Epidemiology in February 2005 finds that consuming meat and/or dairy products increases the risk of death due to cardiovascular disease.

Some question the assumption that food given to livestock could instead be used to feed humans. In developing countries particularly, such food is usually of poor quality and not fit for human consumption, though the land it utilizes could be turned over to human food production ^{Citation needed}. However, Cornell scientists have advised that the U.S. could feed 800 million people with grain that livestock eat [32] Also, there exist some types of terrain (such as mountains) that are suitable for grazing animals, but not suitable as farmland.

Some people produce environmental criticism based on the water consumption of local farmers: In most of the poor countries in Asia, the main source of carbohydrates and intake of cereals comes from rice consumption. The cultivation of paddy requires two to four times as much water when compared to cultivation of other dry crops (FAO) thus making it far more environmentally friendly to diversify the production.

Other criticism of vegetarianism comes from people who exclusively eat meat and dairy products produced locally in humane conditions. They consider that vegetarians are undermining the market for these products and tacitly supporting factory farming. ^{Citation needed}

References

^  (2002). Mosby's Medical, Nursing, & Allied Health Dictionary. Sixth Edition. p. 1798. ISBN 0323014305.

^  Thirukural Chapter 26: Abstaining from Meat

^ Spencer, Colin. (2002). Vegetarianism: A History. Four Walls Eight Windows; 2nd edition. p. 38. ISBN 1568582382

^  L. Beckett & J. W. Oltjen. (1993). Estimation of the water requirement for beef production in the United States. Journal of Animal Science, 71, 818-8268.

^  FAO., United Nations. (1996). Livestock & the Environment.

^  Shierry Weber Nicholsen, The Love of Nature and the End of the World : The Unspoken Dimensions of Environmental Concern (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2003). ISBN 0262640511.

^  Techno Economics of Paddy cultivation, State Bank of India Publications.

^  Excerpt from the book The extended circle, by Jon Wynne-Tyson, ISBN 0747406332.

^  [www.fas.usda.gov/htp/highlights/2001/india.pdf Indian consumer patterns] - US dept of agriculture report, Agri reform in India - USDA , Diary and poultry sector growth in India

^  Vegetarian restauraunts in india

See also

• Christian vegetarianism
• Fruitarianism
• List of notable vegetarians
• Natural Hygiene
• Veganism
• Vegetarian cuisine
• List of vegetarians
• List of vegans

External links

• Eco-Eating: Eating as if the Earth Matters
• An Animal-Friendly Life Offers a wide variety of vegan links
• The Vegetarian Society
• Delights of Indian Vegetarian Cooking
• The International Vegetarian Union
• Vegetarian Recipes - All Recipes has 800 free vegetarian recipes.
• Vegetarian Discussion Forum
• Christian Vegetarian Association
• The Vegetarian Mitzvah
• Vegetarianism and Spirituality
• Protein Basics Chart Tells how much and what kinds of proteins are required for different lifestyles and has great detailed charts showing how much protein is in various foods.
• HappyCow.net A world guide to vegetarian restaurants and health food stores.
• VegetarianUSA.com A more extensive guide to vegetarian restaurants and health food stores for the USA only.
• Vegweb An extensive, collaborative vegetarian cookbook
• Gourmet Vegetarian Recipes
• Quotes by Famous Vegetarians
• PETA TV: Alec Baldwin Narrates Revised “Meet Your Meat” streaming video or download (83 MB)
• What Gives Us the Right to Kill Animals? - A Jewish view on Vegetarianism chabad.orgbg:Вегетарианство

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