Imagine two sides of a dinner table. One plate has steak and bacon. The other has a garden salad and bread. Many say that you can only choose one of the plates. A small percentage says that you should find a happy medium. Others say that you should choose the plate you want, but you can only have one. There is an ongoing argument everywhere you look. To eat or not to eat. There are many vegans out there attempting to get their point across. There are also many indifferent meat-eaters. They argue that eating meat is part of life’s natural cycle. To pick a side and an ideal plate, one should be aware of nutritional benefits and discrepancies lifestyles, and environmental issues.
One of the most important steps to picking an ideal plate is to learn about all of the nutritional benefits. Or, in some cases, nutritional discrepancies. For instance, many annoyed meat-eaters argue that vegans are lacking in B12. B12 is a vitamin that can only be produced by bacteria and is only found in animal guts and natural soil (decomposed animals and manure). Therefore, it is only possible to obtain B12 by eating meat, or through supplements. Vegans will not be pushed around; they say that meat eaters are missing out on seven of their important nutrients, compared to vegans missing just one. The seven are: calcium, iodine, vitamin C, vitamin E, fiber, foliate, and magnesium. Vitamin C can be obtained through fruit. Of course, vegetarians/vegans have enough vitamin C, considering that their diets are made up of mostly vegetables, fruit, and bread. A very obvious discrepancy in a vegan diet is protein. Surprisingly, living off of a diet of plants can supplement a good amount of protein/amino acids. However, plants, though they have amino acids, don’t have as much protein as meat. This means that if vegans want to get a healthy amount of protein, they need to eat a lot more greens. Meat-eaters may be at a health loss to vegans. Data from multiple studies show that any meat-eaters are at a loss in the nutrition game. Meat eaters show higher high cholesterol risks, and have much more toxic chemicals in their body. Both meat eaters and vegans have nutrition discrepancies, but they both have their benefits.
Veganism in itself is a lifestyle. Vegans swear off meat totally, along with all animal products. Vegans eat a lot of vegetables, and tend to be healthier that meat-eaters. Their standard of living mirrors this. Vegans tend to be excessive exercisers – especially those that chose veganism primarily for health and weight issues. In contrast, meat-eaters tend to be less healthy. Too much of anything is bad, and the average American still eats too much meat. Meat, although it contains protein, can make your cholesterol rise, and can lead to many other health issues. Meat-eaters don’t usually exercises as much.
But, even though the vegan way of life is better for your body, it is not how people were meant to eat. Therefore, veganism is a daily struggle. Many vegans can become high strung if they are too tempted by meat. Veganism is a struggle for everyone except type A blood types. There is a new theory that your blood type determines your ideal diet, and apparently, type A’s live best as vegans. However, type A’s tend to be more stressed out. Especially when they skip meals. Meat eaters are associated with type O, the first blood type ever recognized. Type O’s tend to be angry. They suffer from temper tantrums and are easily ticked off. When discovering one’s ideal plate, one should always take into consideration lifestyle choices.
Many environmental activists are probably vegans. Vegans chose their lifestyle because eating meat requires dead animals. Meat-eaters are responsible for a lot of environmental issues. They require mass production of beef, pork, chicken, and many other types of meat. Cows are a major cause of global warming, and the main reason is because there’s an enormous amount of them. Raising a cow organically is much better for our environment. Unfortunately, it is also more expensive, and takes more time. Cattle farms are also clearing away more rainforest. Big fast food companies are responsible for huge cattle farms.
There’s nothing wrong with small, organic farms, except that there’s not enough of them. There’s nothing wrong with humans eating meat, but that they’re eating too much. There’s nothing wrong with trying to save the planet, especially when it needs saving. Otherwise, it’s just annoying. The environmental issues of eating meat are numerous, but they wouldn’t be if animals weren’t mass-produced for food. The only way for meat-eaters to be right-that eating meat does balance out the circle of life- is for meat-eaters to eat responsibly. Vegans aren’t crazy; in fact, they could be preaching the truth. However, vegans aren’t totally shameless. Vegans, being that they don’t eat meat, eat a lot of fruit and nuts for their vitamins and protein. However, most of the fruits that vegans eat are imported, especially the nuts. The cost of transportation from far off Asian and South American countries isn’t just included in the price tag; it’s paid through with the Earth’s health too. The strain put on Earth because it has to transport those goods such a long way is caused by the many, many gallons of fuel that is burned and put in the air by the transporting all of those organic fruits and nuts. Meat-eaters may be hurting the planet in more obvious ways, but everyone carries some of the blame.
With new knowledge of nutrition pros and cons, lifestyles, and environmental issues, choosing an ideal plate could seem even more daunting. Meat-eaters and vegans have hugely different ways of life, but they both care about the planet and want to see it live.