A vegetarian diet became an issue and a kind of a trend. We can easily see vegan foods and TV shows that introduce new vegetarian recipes. Schools and local governments begin to start vegetarian days and companies begin to release more vegan products. The main targets for vegetarians are health, protecting animals, and the environment. However, there are still people who see them in a negative light.

▲ example of vegetarian recipe

First, in terms of health, vegetarians have less chance to have lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, or high blood pressure. Also, since they intake less saturated fat and cholesterol it prevents obesity. There is also a report that vegetarians can have a longer lifespan than those who have a meat diet. On the other side, some say that vegetarians rather have a bad influence through a lack of essential nutrients such as protein, calcium, vitamin, or zinc, and this could incur other diseases. So, it is important to intake evenly to become healthy especially in childhood.

Next, in terms of protecting animals, vegetarians suggest that slaughter leads to animals' pain, and human does not have any right to do so. However, on the other side, they argue that slaughter is obliged to manage our life, and it is the problem like a lion hunting the zebra.

Lastly, in terms of environmental problems, vegetarians argue that domestic animals emit 18 times more carbon dioxide than the means of transportation. According to the book "Beyond Beef" by Jeremy Rifkin, 1.28 billion cows are for humans' diet, and they take up 24 percent of the land all over the earth. Also, in the US, 70 percent of the crops are for domestic animals' diet. On the contrary of this, critics suggest that considerable chemical fertilizers are used to produce crops and vegetables, and it leads the land to be devastated due to acidification. According to the book "The Vegetarian Myth" by Lierre Keith, it says that vegetarian diet is not a solution for the environment, and we must look for another alternative.

▲ example of vegetarian recipe

What we eat depends on us, and whether we will become a vegetarian must not be forced. However, learning about different views and considering our diet would lead us to have a good choice.

by Kim Won Hwi

February 13th, 2022