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Sustainability September 22, 2017
Taking down carnivores one seed at a time.
Fish are friends. Not food.
Wise words from “Finding Nemo’s” Bruce the shark. And if you’re a person that doesn’t eat friends with faces, one of your favorite holidays is probably World Vegetarian Day.
And if it’s not – it should be on your list. October 1. Jot it down.
What’s so important about celebrating a day of not eating a cow carcass? Well, we’re here to share a fruit basket worth of facts about World Vegetarian Day to explain.
The North American Vegetarian Society was founded in 1974 and their goal has been to provide support for vegetarians and spread awareness about vegetarianism.
According to their website, “World Vegetarian Day was established as an annual celebration to promote the joy, compassion and life-enhancing possibilities of vegetarianism. The day was originated by the North American Vegetarian Society in 1977 and endorsed by the International Vegetarian Union in 1978.”
World Vegetarian Day serves as a kick starter for World Vegetarian month as well, which shares October with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Is subtracting cute little farm animals on our plates really worthwhile?
Nutritionist Lisa Young, Ph.D., tells The New York Times that there are pros and cons to going meatless.
The pro, Young explains, is that eating a plant based diet helps your heart tremendously. “Meat and cheese are high in saturated fat, and eliminating that is a good thing for your heart,” she says.
However, she adds that if you are going to go green, it will be a lot harder to work protein and iron into your diet.
“You have to work harder in terms of iron absorption,” she says. “Iron from non-meat sources, such as legumes or enriched pasta, is harder for the body to absorb than iron from meat, but the good news is, if you add vitamin C to your meal, that will aid in the absorption. [And] if you have pasta, adding tomato sauce will help.”
As for meat eaters, Joanne Marie of SF Gate explains that meat actually has a great deal of nutritional value.
“Red meat and poultry contain a number of vitamins. These include vitamin A, which is important for healthy bones, teeth, skin and eyes, and vitamin D, which is critical for calcium metabolism and strong bones,” she writes. “Meat also provides B-complex vitamins, including thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid and vitamins B-5, B-6 and B-12. ”
Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the department of nutrition at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health tells The New York Times that a good amount of protein is good when you are younger, but can be dangerous when you are older.
“One of the benefits and concerns about high protein intake, especially animal protein, is that it tends to make cells multiply faster,” Willet says. “That’s good in early life, when you’re a growing child. But in later life, this is one of the fundamental processes that increase the risk of cancer.”
Celebrities who have planted deep roots in the herbivore diet include actress Anna Paquin, Mike Tyson and even country singer Carrie Underwood.
Underwood may be a Southern girl, but she won’t be found with any meat on her plate. She tells Self that she gradually became a vegetarian as her environment changed.
“I didn’t become vegan right away, but I quit eating beef and didn’t eat a whole lot of other meat,” she says. “And then when I was on ‘American Idol,’ being in California, there were all these places that had vegan food, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is easy here!’”
Whether you vow to eat no meat for the rest of your life or to try it for World Vegetarian Day, we hope you became just a little more aware of how you could be healthier and happier. Not to mention, you’ll be saving the environment, too!
