First Draft
First Draft
First Draft
Wyatt Shinkle
Prof. Barnes
15 November 2020
In 2019, over 35 million people in the United States suffered from hunger, 10 million of
whom were children. Along with this, nearly 3 million cows were slaughtered for food last year
and this number only continues to grow as each year passes. However, is this starvation and
violence even necessary? When studying a purely plant-based diet, it becomes clear that it is a
very healthy alternative to traditional diets, which often lead to health problems later on in life,
and is more sustainable than normal diets because of the lasting effects large livestock farms
have on the environment. Plant-based diets are the healthier option for humans and an Earth that
Plant-Based diets have been around for as long as humans but the first “self-proclaimed
vegetarians were the Pythagoreans(Avey).” However, because of the nutritional value of regular
vegetables, they were not able to sustain this diet without the addition of fish, making it more
like a pescatarian diet. Benjamin Franklin also attempted to take part in a plant-based diet and
only ate bread for a short period of time. However more recently it has become easier to sustain a
plant-based diet due to ‘fortification’. A process that adds the vitamins and minerals that are not
typically in plants into foods like yogurt. This allows people to become vegetarians with little to
There was once a time when traditional foods were healthier for you than vegan and
vegetarian alternatives but in today’s day and age, plant-based diets are much better for you than
diets that include meat. First of all, plant-based diets offer a decreased chance of several life-
threatening health issues. One article stated “Vegan and vegetarian diets have been associated
with lower risks of certain health problems, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol and
obesity(BMI). Type 2 Diabetes was also much less prevalent in vegetarian diets with “type 2
diabetes among vegans (2.9 percent) and lacto-ovo vegetarians (3.2 percent) was half that of
risk for cancer than those who eat meat. However, these are not the only benefits a plant-based
Another big portion of the benefits offered by this diet is weight loss. In a study that was
performed comparing different diets, “ A progressive weight increase was seen from a vegan diet
toward a non-vegetarian diet. "The average body mass index (BMI) for vegans was 23.6, lacto-
28.8(Palmer).” According to the BMI Index, a BMI over 25 is considered overweight and
anything over 30 is obese. By eating a plant-based diet you are cutting out all of the
carbohydrates and cholesterol making it easier to lose weight passively. However, vegetarian
diets are not only healthier for humans, but also healthier for the environment.
In today’s society, you hear about global warming all the time and how fossil fuels are
the main cause of this. While they are the main reason, some of it can be attributed to the
livestock industry. In fact “The whole food production process of farm-to-plate totals 30% of all
global greenhouse gas emissions.” By eating a vegetarian diet you are helping the planet return
to its natural state. One example this gives is, “By eating vegetarian food for a year you could
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save the same amount of emissions as taking a small family car off the road for 6 months.”
While it is impractical to tell a whole family to stop using cars, it is not difficult for them to
transfer to a plant-based diet and reduce their carbon footprint that way. However, switching to a
Another area where a vegetarian lifestyle is beneficial to the earth is the livestock
industry. The livestock industry is nowhere near as efficient as the crop industry. For example,
one 8 oz chicken breast requires over 542 liters of water to be produced(VegSoc). This is enough
water to fill a bathtub 6 and a half times. Agricultural land is also used more efficiently for crops
because a vegetarian diet “requires two-and-a-half times less the amount of land needed to grow
food(VegSoc)” meaning we could be producing over double the amount of food we are
producing currently. The only downside to a plant-based diet is that unless planned out correctly,
it is very easy to forget about certain nutrients the human body needs, which in turn leads to a
While there are many benefits to a vegetarian diet, it has to be closely managed in order
to get all of the required nutrients. A strictly plant-based diet does not give enough Vitamin D,
Calcium, or vitamin B-12. A deficiency in any of these can cause serious health problems,
especially in children(Elliot). However, this is a problem of the past. With new techniques, these
nutrients can be added to a variety of plant-based foods. One technique that is widely used that is
called ‘Fortification’ is when food is fortified with these nutrients. “Many products, including
cereals and yeast extracts, now exist that have been fortified with B12 produced through
industrial fermentation of bacteria(Deckers).” Processes like this eliminate the problem of lack of
nutrients and give more freedom to the vegetarian community. The other problem many argue
against vegetarian diets is that by committing to a plant-based diet you are limiting yourself to
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just a few foods. While that may have been the case several years ago, many strides have been
When thinking about plant-based diets, many picture eating only green vegetables that
are very bare in taste and many people use this as an excuse to avoid trying vegetarian diets.
Companies like Beyond Meat and the Impossible Burger have been working towards a ground
beef alternative that has the same texture, feel, and taste as the original, but completely vegan.
When compared to regular ground beef, these alternatives were shown to be “a good source of
protein, vitamins, and minerals(Gelsomin)”. The only downside to these alternative meat types is
that they are slightly “high in saturated fat(Gelsomin).” The chart demonstrates the difference in
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Some important points to take away from this chart provided by Harvard Medical School
are how the alternatives to actual meat completely cut out all cholesterol and only give up a
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smaller amount of protein in order to do so. The alternative’s are also higher in fiber than the
In conclusion, vegetarian diets are going to be key as humanity moves forward. Not only
are they healthier for the human body, but they are also better for the Earth as well. Not only do
livestock farms contribute up to 30% of the world's carbon emissions, they are also very wasteful
with water. The livestock industry also uses significantly more land to create produce than the
typical crop industry does. The days of plant-based diets being an ineffective diet are over
because of new processes such as fortification and new alternative foods such as Beyond Meat
and the Impossible Burger which offer several benefits over traditional meats with very few
downsides. With statistics like these, there are very few reasons not to go vegan and start helping
the millions of people living with starvation in just the U.S today.
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Work Cited
Elliott, Chris, et al. "Vegan diets are adding malnutrition in wealthy countries." Gale
Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/BCVYKP281823231/OVIC?
as "Vegan diets are adding malnutrition in wealthy countries," The Conversation, 13 Dec.
2018.
Gelsomin, Emily. Impossible and Beyond: How Healthy Are These Meatless Burgers?, 8
meatless-burgers-2019081517448.
Palmer, Sharon. "A Plant-Based Diet Has Impressive Benefits." Vegetarianism, edited by
“Plant-Based Diets: Pros and Cons According to NUNM.” National University of Natural
www.bmihealthcare.co.uk/health-matters/health-and-wellbeing/the-pros-and-cons-of-a-
vegan-diet .
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“A Vegetarian Diet Is Better for the Environment: The Vegetarian Society.” Vegetarian Society,
vegsoc.org/info-hub/why-go-veggie/environment/.
Avey, Tori. “From Pythagorean to Pescatarian The Evolution of Vegetarianism.” PBS, Public
vegetarianism/.