Most vegetarians who stop eating meat for ethical reasons also take measures to avoid contributing to the suffering and death of animals (and even insects) in other capacities. For instance, a number of vegetarians refuse to wear leather and silk because they see it as an ethical violation of their respect for all living things.
Vegetarians who refuse to wear silk argue that the process involves unnecessary cruelty to moth larvae. Rather than allowing the moth to grow and leave the cocoon, silk manufacturers boil the larvae alive, causing them to suffer and writhe, in order to obtain longer strands of silk.
As a prospective vegan, you may be wondering exactly why vegans make the dietary choices they make. And you may also be hesitant to adopt these choices until you yourself understand and accept them.
In this article, I will explain the two major vegetarian positions on eating eggs to help you make your decision.
The sub-category of vegetarian I will cover, ovo-vegetarians, accept the normal consumption of eggs because they do not believe that doing so conflicts with an ethical vegetarian diet. They do not see eggs as living things and subsequently do not make the connection between consuming eggs and causing animal suffering or death.
If you recently started reading about vegetarian diets, you have probably read all sorts of strange vegetarian terms and categories like "vegan," "ovo-lacto vegetarian," and "semi-vegetarian." You probably wondered what the big deal was. Afterall, what is so conceptually tough about not eating meat?
And you were right!
The distinctions between these sub-categories of vegetarian are actually small, but each is very important to members who belong to the groups. For them, these distinctions aren't arbitrary lines; they are important dietary or ethical decisions.
Let's take a look at some of these groups:
VEGETARIAN:
Gelatin serves both nutritional and culinary roles in nonvegetarian diets; however, a lot of vegetarians and all vegans do not consume gelatin in its many forms because it is often created out of boiled pig skins and dissolved veal cartilage and bones.
This leaves vegetarians with a gap in cooking functionality when a recipe calls for a gel or thickening agent. It also leaves vegetarians with fewer options if they need a source of gelatin to increase bone and cartilage health.
If you are a vegetarian and you are looking for something to replace gelatin, do not despair. Here are some alternative options for you:
Many nonvegetarians and some vegetarians alike question whether being a vegetarian really makes any difference at all. Some bring up blurry ethical situations to make it impossible to see a vegetarian lifestyle as ethical.
If you are a prospective vegetarian for ethical reasons, but aren't sure whether or not a vegetarian lifestyle is truly a more ethical choice, here are some statistics from EarthSave to help you make your choice (for or against):
1. Over 1.3 billion human beings could be fed each year from the grain and soybeans that go to livestock in the United States.
Many nonvegetarians wonder what drives vegetarians to give up meat and adopt an entirely different lifestyle. There is no single answer to this question. Nonvegetarians become vegetarians for a number of different reasons – some even for multiple reasons.
Most vegetarians claim that they became a vegetarian for one of three reasons.
The first reason, which most vegetarians claim, is that they have ethical problems with eating meat. Most disagree with how chickens are debeaked, forced to live in small cages, and are then slaughtered when they do not produce eggs fast enough.
Some vegetarians–usually strict vegans–will not consume sugar. This is because sugar is often whitened with bone char from cows.
If you are a vegetarian and you want to continue eating products that contain sugar, but do not want to cause suffering in the process, you have a number of options.
Your first option is to only consume products made with beet sugar. There are two major sources of sugar in the United States: beet sugar and cane sugar. Cane sugar is often whitened with bone char from cows; in contrast, beet sugar is never whitened with bone char.
Many people start vegetarian and vegan diets without devoting an adequate amount of time to nutritional research and meal planning. As a result, a considerable amount of people who start vegetarian diets do not last for more than 1-2 months.
Many dieters who fail to carefully research and plan complain that they lack energy – and often experience a significant loss in muscle mass. Others observe a number of other more peripheral problems that come with a poorly-planned vegetarian diet.
Many vegans quit eating meat, eggs, milk, honey, and yeast for one very specific reason: they have a deep reverence for all living things and subsequently want to prevent all living things from suffering on their behalf.
This reverence for all living things drives some vegans to what nonvegetarians might consider extremes. Some live greatly restricted lives, but for a noble cause: to prevent suffering and death wherever possible.
In addition to preventing death and suffering through dietary selections, some vegans have vow to prevent it in all other capacities.
If you are vegetarian parent, you have probably considered putting your child on a vegetarian diet. Not only would it save time and make meal-planning easier, but for dietary and ethical reasons, you believe it is a better choice for your child.
Conversely, you might not be a vegetarian yourself, but have a child who is going through a vegetarian "phase," where she rejects meat, but doesn't consume enough healthy foods to compensate for the nutritional gap.
Whatever the case is, you may have wondered whether or not a vegetarian diet is sustainable, healthy choice for your child. You may have heard that putting your child on a vegetarian diet could potentially stunt her growth.
Although most vegetarians consume a considerable amount of protein, they often do not absorb as much as they would on a nonvegetarian diet. This is because plant proteins are considerably less digestible than animal proteins, which contain amino acid chains that are closer or identical to human amino acid chains.
Consuming animal proteins might yield close to a 1:1 absorption ratio, while consuming plant proteins, such as wheat, might only yield 50% of the amino acids needed to build a "complete protein" or a protein that can readily be assimilated into the human body.
As with most dietary questions, vegans are split on the issue of dairy products–not so much on the question of whether or not they are acceptable, but instead for what reasons they should not be consumed.
All vegans (or at least true vegans) abstain from consuming dairy products. Some do so for nutritional reasons; others abstain for ethical reasons.
Those who do it for nutritional reasons cite a range of health problems related to the consumption of dairy products, including high cholesterol. Many also have a problem digesting lactose or have a blood-iron or diabetic problem related to milk protein, casein. In addition to this, milk and cheese often contain small portions of undesirable hormones that are added to dairy cow feeds to increase production.
Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets have advantages. Vegetarian diets tend to be rich in antioxidants, certain vitamins, and healthy fats. Non-vegetarian diets, by contrast, tend to contain more protein, iron, zinc, calcium, and vitamin B-12.
If you already decided to adopt a vegetarian diet, it is essential you learn how to increase your intake and absorption of these nutrients to avoid short-term and long-term health complications.
In the next few paragraphs, I will explain how you can regularly assimilate larger portions of these nutrients into your regular diet:
As a prospective vegetarian, you probably question whether or not it really matters if you stop eating meat. You might wonder how much of a difference one additional vegetarian can make.
And while it might be true that one vegetarian wont make huge statistical difference in a world of meat-eaters–and while it is also true that one more vegetarian probably isn't going to turn the tide in the movement–you can do a lot as an individual that will be good for you and good for hundreds of animals animals.
If, for dietary or ethical reasons, you have decided that you want to put your infant on a vegetarian diet, you should be very careful in choosing formulas and solid food for your child.
If you plan to breastfeed the infant and you are also a vegetarian, you may need to supplement breastmilk with additional sources of nutrition, depending on your dietary restrictions. If you are a vegan, or an ovo-vegetarian, you should add sources of vitamin B-12 to your child's diet.
Other than the B-12 supplements, your infant should be able to receive all micro and macronutrients through breastfeeding, even if you are on a strictly vegan diet.
Are you worried about cooking for a vegetarian in your family this upcoming holiday season? Well, worry no more. This article will tell you exactly what you need to do and know before you start cooking this holiday season.
You can start off by finding out what type of vegetarian your guest is. For instance, if she is a strict vegan, then there's a chance she will not eat food that contains honey or yeast; however, if on the other hand, she is a "semi" or "pseudo" vegetarian, there is a chance she will actually eat the meal as it is prepared, including the meat. And if she's a lacto-ovo-vegetarian, she might eat anything with eggs and milk, but will probably avoid meat dishes.
Vegetarian cheese is cheese that is not curdled with rennet, an enzyme that occurs naturally in animal stomachs. Most vegetarian cheeses are curdled with either plants, fungi, or bacteria.
Vegetarians who do not consume cheese with rennet generally choose not to because it involves slaughtering animals to extract the enzymes.
Vegetarian cheese is hard to distinguish from cheese made with rennet. This lack of distinguisability often forces vegetarians who are ethically-opposed to harming animals to consume cheeses that contain rennet.
Do you have a strict vegan in the family who has a birthday or celebration coming up that traditionally calls for cake? If you're not familiar with vegan dietary practices, you might not know what vegans do not eat. Even worse, you might have no idea how to replace what they do not eat.
But don't worry. In a few short paragraphs, I'll explain exactly what you need to make the perfect cake for your vegan friend or relative. And best of all, no one will be able to taste the difference.
While many people lament the nutritional disadvantages of a poorly planned vegetarian diet, few stress the health advantages of adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet. In this article, I will cover the major three nutritional advantages of becoming a vegetarian.
The first major advantage of a vegetarian diet is increased heart health. Vegetarians, on average, consume more nuts (often as a supplemental form of protein). Nuts contain "good" fats, such as omega-3 and omega-6. This promotes good heart health by reducing "bad" cholesterol and unclogging arteries.
If you aren't a vegetarian now and haven't been one in the past, you probably also haven't eaten tofu many times. In fact, the only time most people hear about tofu it is in jokes aimed at vegetarians.
So why is it that vegetarians eat this stuff all the time? Is is it simply because they have no other choice?
The answer is both yes and no.
Being a vegetarian doesn't mean you have to eat tofu. In fact, there are many vegetarians who never eat tofu or any popular meat-replacement dishes–such as "veggie burgers" or "tofurkey"–for that matter.
