Why You Should Be Vegetarian

A Vegetarian Lifestyle is Not Only for Animal Activists

Some of the most prevalent problems confronting the world are disease, hunger, environmental devastation, and the unethical treatment of the world's inhabitants. Every one of these matters is directly connected to the practice of animal agriculture. Therefore, in order to alleviate the world's problems and be healthy and ethical people, the imposition of vegetarian diets should be practiced by every person that has the means to do so. Primarily, one must identify what is meant by stating the word "vegetarian". The word simply refers to someone that does not indulge in directly eating anything that was once alive. Therefore, all animals are included in the vegetariandiet, including fish and seafood. The vegetarian diet in this proposal does not have any limits on items like milk and eggs. 

One must first ask: How can a vegetarian diet benefit me? The American Dietetic Association (ADA) believes that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, are nutritionally adequate, and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. It is now known that plant foods contain all the vitamins and minerals essential for good health. Meat includes too much saturated fat, cholesterol, excess protein, hormones, drugs and salt. According to the American Heart Association, eating foods that contain high levels of saturated fats raises your cholesterol and your risk of heartdisease and stroke. Meat is a main contributor to atherosclerosis, a vascular disease causing heart attacks and stroke where a blockage occurs to the arteries that supply oxygenated blood to the body's vital organs. Diets laden with salts promote water retention and blood volume, leading to hypertension, as well as to the rupturing of blood vessels. Meat is keystone to the high levels of obesity in developed countries.