Vegetarians

What is a vegetarian?• There are many different types of vegetarians but a vegetarian is

typically understood as being a person who won’t eat meat, usually due to religious, moral or health reasons.

• Vegetarians will mostly eat vegetables, fruits, nuts and grains but strict vegetarians try to avoid anything that relates to animals or comes from an animal. This can be things such as eggs, milk, fish, etc.

(http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/vegetarian.html)• semi-vegetarian: only eats fish and chicken, no other meats.• pesci-vegetarian: eats only fish.• lacto-ovo vegetarian: eats no meat, but will eat dairy products and eggs.• ovo-vegetarian: eats eggs, but no meat or dairy products.• Vegan: eats no meat or animal products (milk, eggs, etc.)

Why be vegetarian? - Ethics• Most vegetarians will be animal lovers and so they are against slaughter and

killing the animals because they view eating meat as murder. • Farm animals such as pigs, cows and chickens are often crammed into crates,

cages or sheds where they have no space to turn around and have probably spent their whole lives in there without having ever taken a step in life and will have never had veterinary care or seen sunlight. Vegetarians think this is highly wrong because animals are living, breathing, feeling beings just as much as we are and have the right to a happy life just as much as we do.

http://www.happycow.net/why_vegetarian.html• “All the arguments to prove human superiority cannot shatter this hard fact:

in suffering, the animals are our equals.” - Peter Singer, Australian author, Animal Liberation.

• “Animals are also unnecessarily being trapped, caged, hurt, and even killed to make clothing, accessories, and furniture for human use.”

Why be vegetarian? - Environment• The environmental approach to being a vegetarian is wanting to ‘save the

world’. • They have this approach because one of the main causes of the greenhouse

effect is carbon dioxide gas and this is needed in large amounts to be able to prepare meat.

• It also takes up water to produce to animal’s protein and to grown it’s food so being vegetarian means you are saving on water.

http://www.happycow.net/why_vegetarian.html• “Every second, one football field of rainforest is destroyed in order to produce

257 burgers.”• “Eating one pound of burger does the same damage as driving your car for

three weeks!”

Why be vegetarian? - Health• Meat is high in cholesterol and saturated fats which are the most common

reasons for people to develop heart diseases. • It has also been proven that meat is deficient in the vitamins you need to

develop and grow properly.• Vegetarian diets also lower blood pressure since you are not gaining the

cholesterol from the meats which in the long run clogs up your arteries and causes you to develop high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other diseases or illnesses which cause you to take tablets to stay alive and healthy.

http://www.happycow.net/why_vegetarian.html• “The New England Journal of Medicine (December 1990) reported a study of

88,000 nurses by Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital that found those who ate meat everyday were more than twice as likely to get colon cancer as those who avoided meat.”

Vegetarian demographics…

• There are more female vegetarians than male vegetarians by 2%.• The most common age for people to decide they want to become

vegetarian is between the ages of 18-34. This may be because this is the most common age range for starting a family and people want to give their children healthy diets and give them nutritious foods.

• This links in with the reasons for being vegetarians, where one of the highest percentages shown was for ‘improve overall health’.

List of foods vegetarians cannot eat…• All meats• Fish• Shepherds pie.• Cottage pie.• Spaghetti bolognaise• Sausage rolls• Pork pies• Hot dogs• Lasagne• Chicken curry or any meat curry/korma• Chilli con carne• Burgers• Certain pizza’s (with meat toppings)• Kebabs.• KFC / Chicken nuggets etc.

Vegetarian food companies…

• Fry’s – produce veggie burgers and sausages.• Goodlife – savoury range meals for vegans.• Quorn – frozen meals for vegetarians. • Tofutti – vegan-friendly cheese and dairy.• Montezuma – vegetarian and vegan chocolate.