People adopt a vegetarian diet for various reasons, which includes health, environment and economic factors. Traditionally, it is thought that vegetarianism would cause nutritional deficiencies, but recently studies have shown that it is no longer true (Harvard Health publishing 2009). Moreover, there are many problems that the world is currently facing, like global warming, deforestation, and famine which could be decreased by having a reduction in consumption of meat. This essay will evaluate the societal, environmental, and economical benefits of vegetarian’s lifestyle.
One of the reasons people shift into vegetarian diet is due to its health benefits. For example, the consumption of more protein from vegetables and fruits rather than from animals would reduce the risks of cancer, heart disease and many other sicknesses. According to Carstens (2016), the chance of getting a heart attack will be reduced by 39% if vegetarian source of protein can replace 3% of calories from processed meat. However, there is an evidenced based article stating that there are some nutrients that are not available in plant foods. Like, vitamin B12, Creatine, Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3), and more. Firstly, Vitamin B12 is needed for developing red blood cells, brain function, and nerves maintenance. Vitamin B12 can be found in animal foods like fish, meat, and dairy products. For instance, symptoms of lacking Vitamin B12 are like psychiatric disorder, fatigue, and possibly heart disease. Moving on, Creatine is popular for muscle building and brain function, which can be found in no plant foods. As a result, vegetarians tend to be weaker in terms of strength. As we can see vegetarians too have negative sides. Despite that, debate argues that there are alternative ways to get Vitamin B12, and Creatine, without having to consume meat. For example, Vitamin B12 can also be found in Nori seaweed, a type of marine algae, and Tempeh, a fermented soy product. However, the amount of Vitamin B12 in plant foods is small therefore people usually go for supplement. Moreover, Creatine can be produced in liver and the impact of not having Creatine is not massive since it is not essential in diet. Surprisingly, vegetarians that have been taking supplement for Creatine turned out to perform better in physical performance than meat- eaters (Arnarson 2017).
Another reason for people switching their eating habit to meat free diet is to reduce the harmful effects that deal to the environment. For instance, the largest problem that the world is facing- global warming can be reduced significantly by stop consuming methane- emitting food. In another words if there is less demand for consumption of animals, less animals will be breed which leads to a reduction in release in carbon dioxide and methane gas (Mohr 2005). Moreover, Vidal (2010) stated that in western countries, if grains were to be eaten up by people rather than animals that are breed for people to consume, twice as many people could be fed. As a result, more people could escape from famine. As we can see it has a tremendous effect towards the environment. In addition, a forest land of 6m hectares is converted to a farmland a year. The usage of agribusiness cutting down trees has been changed from wanting the timber to graze cattle. Reason being demand for meat increased. Therefore, vegetarianism actually plays an important role in decreasing deforestation (Vidal 2010). In contrast, if more people can become a vegetarian, problems like global warming, famine and deforestation could be reduced significantly, and our next generation can live in a better environment.
Reducing cost of living and animal cruelty are the factors that are causing people to become a vegetarian. According to Kamila (2016) vegetarians can save up to $750 a year comparing to meat- eaters. For instance, in the United States it costs $38.75 for a plant- based diet, and $53.11 for normal diet per person in a week. In addition, if more lower income families can switch to vegetarian diet, they do not need to worry about not being able to fill their stomach with the limited amount of income. Moreover, fewer animals will be born into harsh life as a result of demand of meat decreased due to less people eating meat. As a result, this will reduce the number of animals killed for food. For example, in year 2013, 9,061,378,100 animals were slaughtered in the United States. Not to add on large number of animals die before reaching the moment of slaughter due to undertreatment (Harish 2015). In contrast, if more people can change their eating habit to vegetarian habit, not only did they reduce the cost of food but also decrease the number of animals killed, which helps to save the environment in a way.
In conclusion, vegetarianism helps to improve health condition of people, brings economical benefits, and also environment will be protected. As a vegetarian, people will not get sick easily as they have more nutrients. Problems like global warming, famine and deforestation will be reduced. Lastly, people can save more money for being a vegetarian and reduce the number of animals killed. Vegetarianism is a better way of life. It brings more benefits in terms of personal health, environment, society, and also economic.