Reem Yanes

October 1, 2018
Speech 100
Informative Speech Preparation Outline

All About Vegetarians

General Purpose: To inform my audience.
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the history and the positive and negative effects
of vegetarianism on the body and environment.
Generalization Pattern: Topical Pattern

I. INTRODUCTION
A.Imagine not being able to eat meat for a whole day, seems impossible right? It’s
hard to think what life would be like without consuming meat in some way, shape
or form for even just a day, let alone for weeks, months, or even years. But this is
where a vegetarian lifestyle come into play.
B. It is important for people to know about vegetarianism because it can offer
different lifestyle choices as well bring awareness to the things you consume.
C. I have been living this lifestyle since fourth grade which is nine years ago due
to the love I have for animals as well as health benefits.
D. So today I am here to inform you all about vegetarianism by discussing its
history and effects on the body and environment.
E.This includes how vegetarianism started and what it has evolved to, and how it
impacts the human body and environment both positively and negatively.

TRANSITION: According critic Edward Rothstein who hold degrees from Yale and Columbia
the practice of not consuming meat wasn’t always called Vegetarianism but the “Pythagorean
Diet” in Greece.

II. BODY

A. This lifestyle dates way back to Ancient Greek Philosopher Pythagoras and has
evolved over time.
1. According to the article The Way of No Flesh, published in 2007, written
by Rothstein.
a. Pythagoras had practiced vegetarianism due to his religious and ethical
beliefs that all livings beings had souls and animals were not excluded
from this.
b. Pythagoras’s ideas became linked to other groups among society such
as French Revolutionaries and British nudists. Not until the mid 1800s did
 Pythagoras practice get coined into the modern day term which we know,
vegetarianism. This nowadays it isn’t so much based around religion.

2. As the idea of vegetarianism veered away from religion, it has gotten and
is continually gaining followers whether it be for the love of animals or
searching for a healthier alternative.
a. According to onegreenplanet.org 30 percent of Americans are now
choosing to leave meat off their plates and looking at other plant
based alternatives.
b. One Green Planet also states that there are roughly 375 million
people in the world who identify as vegetarian.

TRANSITION: Even though there has been an increase in vegetarianism, there are still pros and
cons to this lifestyle.

B. Being a vegetarian can help your health but can also cause problems if nutrition isn’t
managed.
1. In 2009 EPIC-Oxford published a study conducted by Harvard Medical that
involved more than 76,000 participants, which depicts the following positives.

a. On average, vegetarians were 25 percent less likely to die from heart

disease than the average person who consumes meat.
b. Harvard’s study also shows that vegetarians are also less likely to develop
cancers because the have lower levels of potentially carcinogenic
substances within their body.

2. Although there are positives from a vegetarian lifestyle, it can lead to negative
effects on the body if practiced poorly.
a. There are risks of malnutrition that come with this diet if the right eating
habits aren’t implemented. B12, a necessary vitamin that is mostly
retained through the consumption of meat isn’t as easily accessible to
vegetarian diets if an effort isn’t made to consume this vitamin. This can
result in anemia which is the reduction in healthy red blood cells.
b. In the novel The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite
Health Food, written by Kaayla Daniels who holds a doctorate in
nutritional sciences discusses how soy, something non meat eaters depend
on as a good source of protein actually does more harm than health.
According to Daniels people who consume large amount of soy are more
likely to have digestive issues due to the fact that soy has elements that
make it difficult to digest other vitamins and minerals people need.
TRANSITION: Not only does a vegetarian diet make a difference on the human body but also
impacts the environment.
C.
1. Positives
a. According to Philosopher Michael Allen Fox in his book Vegetarianism
and Planetary Health, a meat free diet can reduce one's carbon footprint.
This is because of the amount of grain and land used to produce meat as
well as the methane the animal produces increase greenhouse gas
emissions.
b. Also the demand for meats creates excessive amounts of waste which
companies then discard of illegally through methods such as dumping tons
of manure into rivers causing pollution.

2. But a vegetarian diet also can negatively impact the environment.

a. In an article Is a Vegetarian Diet really Better for the Environment?
published by the Washington Post, author Peter Whoriskey mentions how
about 40 percent or more of fruit and vegetables go to waste compared to
only 33 percent of meat.
b. In this same article, Whorskiy discusses how replacing meats with certain
fruits or vegetables can produce the same amount or even more
greenhouse emissions.

TRANSITION: Although the practice of vegetarianism is much more complicated than it was
hundreds of years ago, it still provides its value as well as its flaws to society today.

III. CONCLUSION
A. In conclusion Pythagoras religious beliefs has evolved into a special diet for some people
besides religion.
B. Although the causes of people choosing to adopt a vegetarian diet has changed over the
years, his meatless way of life can give people the health they desire or potentially quite
the opposite as well as its environmental impact.
C. So maybe the next time we bite into a hamburger or cut into a steak, we’ll reconsider our
health and the environment.
References
Dickson V. (2007, March 6). Safe vegetarianism ; Converting to a meatless diet can boost

your health--just be aware of malnutrition risks: [RedEye Edition]. Chicago

Tribune, 6.//

Fox, M. A. (2000). Vegetarianism and Planetary Health. Ethics & the Environment 5(2), 163-

174. Indiana University Press. Retrieved October 7, 2018, from Project MUSE database.

Harvard (2009, October). Becoming a vegetarian. Retrieved from www.health.harvard.edu///

Neff M. (2017, June 27). 6 percent of americans now identify as vegan –

why this is a huge deal for the planet. Retrieved from www.onegreenplanet.org

Rothstein E. (2007, February 17). The way of no flesh. The New York Times, 7, 18.

Whoriskey P. (2015, December 18). Is a vegetarian diet really better for the environment?

The Washington Post. //