Vegetarian Controversy

In today’s fast paced society, many people are choosing to be more health conscious about what they eat and there are many types of diets that promote a healthy lifestyle. For example, pescatarians are more likely to reduce eating meat; besides fish, and people who eat a raw food diet only consume plant-based foods. There are many motives that would draw people into consuming a vegetarian diet. The exclusion of meat from diets due to moral, health or religious issues may be the leading cause to living a longer and healthier life according to ¬¬¬-researchers, who claim vegetarians can add 3.7 years to their life expectancy. (The Independent 2014). Vegetarianism dates back to a time before recorded history, with anthropologists hypothesizing
(Lappe 1971). Plus an individual who is a vegetarian is more likely to be female than male at an estimated rate of 59% female, 41% male. (Vegetarian Times 2016). The topic of whether eliminating meat from ones diet is the best route to take in life or not sparks a lot of controversy amongst vegetarians and those who do consume meat. The objective of this paper is to determine the main benefits of consuming a vegetarian diet, in relation to nutrition and wellness, diseases and cancers, and the environment.

Nutrition and Wellness
Vegetarians consume many products that would allow them to live a more satisfied and longer life. A study conducted by the Mayo clinic in Arizona looked at data from 6 different studies involving approximately 1.5 million people who recorded their meat consumption from 5 to 28 years. Studies showed that those who consumed had a higher mortality rate than those who did not. Those who were vegetarians for 17 years or more had increased their life expectancy by 3.7 years. (Spectator Health 2016). The benefits of not consuming meat products may result in a different lifestyle due to the fact that there are many alternatives to replace meat from ones diet and the
In 2006, the UN calculated that the combined climate change emissions of animals bred for their meat were about 18% of the global total – more than cars, planes and all other forms of transport put together. (Vidal 2010). This would include the methane from cattle, the gasses released from manure, electricity needed to keep the meat cool, gas used to cook the meat, the energy needed to plough and harvest the fields growing the crops that the animals eat, and even pumping the water that the cattle need. These fuels are emitting more gas emissions into the environment that are unnecessary and harming the environment. The manure excreted from cows is approximately 40kg for every 1kg of edible meat. (Vidal 2010). When the manure is stored, the waste lagoons, leak, spill or overflow releasing nitrogen, phosphorus and nitrates into the air, threatening the earth’s biodiversity. More Carbon Dioxide is being released into the air than the air needs, polluting it and what we breathe. Not to mention but our oceans are also being spoiled. Most summers 13,000-20,000 sq km of sea in Mississippi River become a "dead zone" because it is piled with excess nutrients from animal waste, factory farms, and nitrogen from fertilizers. (Vidal 2010). Very little is able to live here due to the amount of algae building up in the ocean. From the Scandinavian fjords to the South China