The reason and significance of being vegetarian

Abstract: The motivation for vegetarianism varies from person to person. It may be based on religious beliefs, health considerations, economic factors, or the concept of eco-environmental protection. Different motivations make vegetarians choose different ways of vegetarianism.

Keywords: vegetarian food, protein, soy products

Related products for this article: soy protein products

Some people become vegetarian because of environmental factors such as infectious diseases, moral factors, animal protection, health, weight loss, or other personal reasons.

Vegetarian food is in India, because in India, dairy cows can be raised to provide protein, and cows can plow the land. In the Ganges Plain, it is impossible to farm without cows. Feeding grain to cows and then slaughtering them for food wastes 75% of the calories. And protein, so Indians do not want to eat cows and can only eat buffalo, but only in rare cases.

According to United Nations reports and scientific evidence, in terms of global warming, methane is 23 times more harmful than carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide is about 300 times more harmful than carbon dioxide. Livestock are the primary cause of methane production, and nitrous oxide is also a by-product produced by livestock. Eating meat requires raising many domestic animals, and domestic animals emit methane. For example, a cow can produce up to 60 liters of methane a day. About 25% of the methane in the atmosphere is emitted by livestock raised in animal husbandry. Controlling the main source of methane can regulate the climate, prevent floods, and is also the best way to deal with soil loss. The forest constantly circulates and purifies water, and many plants and animals use it as their home. Tropical rain forests are the most precious natural resources in the world. There are 80% of the world’s terrestrial plants, and a quarter of the raw materials in medicinal materials come from this, and they also supply a large proportion of oxygen to the earth. The continuous destruction of tropical rain forests has displaced the animals and plants living here. Almost a hundred species of organisms disappear from the natural world every year.

The choice of food is also closely related to the energy crisis. The entire production line for producing meat products replaces labor with energy-consuming machines, controls indoor temperature, transports feed, and cleans up livestock’s excrement. This wastes a lot of land, water, electricity and other resources, and seems to use up limited earth resources. . Although human environmental awareness has increased since the 21st century, many people have also used recycled paper and participated in resource recovery programs to save water and electricity, but these are not enough to make up for the resources wasted by eating meat.

Some scholars have studied diet and revealed that vegetarian food can bring health to the body, while fish, eggs, and milk can cause chronic diseases. “Life-Saving Diet” is a large-scale epidemiological survey report jointly conducted by Cornell University in the United States, Oxford University in the United Kingdom and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine. The survey examined people living in rural China and Taiwan, including 6,500 adults and their family members in 130 natural villages in 65 counties, and explored the relationship between diseases and dietary lifestyle factors. A total of more than 8,000 statistically significant The scientific data of sexual significance won the first prize of the Science and Technology Progress Award of the Ministry of Health of China. The report puts forward a number of phenomena from the data, such as pointing out that plant foods can reduce cholesterol levels, while animal foods can increase cholesterol levels. When cholesterol in the blood drops, the incidence of various cancers will decrease significantly; plants The sourced fiber and antioxidants are related to the lower incidence of gastrointestinal cancer; plant-based foods plus an active lifestyle can not only maintain a healthy weight, but also make people grow stronger and stronger. Based on the results of his investigation, Colin Campbell proposed to eat natural, non-refined processed, plant-derived foods to maintain health.

As people’s health awareness increases, more and more people advocate vegetarianism. Some people are vegetarian for the sake of fashion, while others are for health. For yogis, they cater to the traditional yoga concept of vegetarianism… Vegetarian food has many benefits, at least the following 8 points:

• Longevity and longevity. According to nutritionist research, vegetarians live longer than non-vegetarians. The Indians in central Mexico are a primitive vegetarian people with a very high average life expectancy, which is enviable; the sages of yoga also enjoy a high life due to food.

• Lighter weight, vegetarians are lighter than meat eaters. This is because meat contains more fat than vegetable protein, and if meat eaters consume too much protein, the excess protein will also be converted into fat. The concept of yoga diet believes that fresh fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins, which can provide the body with the nutrients needed, and can also help the body remove trash and eliminate body toxins. Frequent consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables can also help practice yoga. People who have a good effect can achieve better results, and eating them facilitates the smooth circulation of vitality in the body. It is believed that the quality of protein in animal food is low, and the energy required to digest these foods is actually greater than the energy provided by these foods.

• Reduce cholesterol content. Vegetarians always contain less cholesterol in the blood than meat eaters. If the cholesterol content in the blood is too much, it will often cause blood vessel blockage and become the main cause of high blood pressure, heart disease and other diseases. During the Second World War, the Nordic people were forced to eat vegetarian food, and it turned out that the rate of heart disease among the people in the country was greatly reduced. Later, they switched to meat, and the heart attack rate increased again.

• Reduce the chance of cancer. Some studies have pointed out that meat eating is closely related to colon cancer. Many of the aforementioned Indians and other vegetarian tribes have no idea what cancer is.

• Reduce parasitic infections. Strip worms and several other parasites are parasitic to the human body through infected meat.

• To reduce the burden on the kidneys, wastes from various higher animals and humans enter the kidneys through the blood. Once the meat eaten by meat eaters contains animal blood, the burden on the kidneys is even more severe.

• Easy to store, vegetable protein is usually easier to store than animal protein. Grains and dried beans, once mixed, are an excellent source of protein. With a little attention, they can be stored for a long time, which is extremely convenient.

• The price is low, and plant-based ingredients are cheaper than meat.

• It is more environmentally friendly than the abuse of meat. The carbon emission of the same weight of vegetarian food can be as low as 1/10 of that of meat, or even lower.

Veganism：Will avoid eating all foods made from animals, such as eggs, milk, cheese and honey. In addition to food, some strictly vegans do not use products made from animals, such as leather, fur, and cosmetics containing animal ingredients.

Buddhist vegetarianism：Will avoid eating all foods made from animals and allium plants including shallots, garlic, elephant garlic, onions, leeks, scallions, and ezo green onions.

Lacto-ovo vegetarianism：Non-carnivorous vegetarians consume some foods made from animals to obtain the protein needed by the body, such as eggs and milk.

Lacto vegetarianism：Such vegetarians do not eat eggs and egg products, but will consume milk and related products such as cheese, cream or yogurt.

Ovo vegetarianism：Such vegetarians do not eat milk and dairy products, but can eat eggs and related products.

Raw foodism：This method of eating is to keep all food in its natural state, even if it is heated, it does not exceed 47°C. Raw foodists believe that cooking will destroy the enzymes or nutrients in the food. Some raw food activists are called activated raw food activists. Before eating seed foods, they will soak the food in water to activate the enzymes. Some raw foodists are similar in spirit to fruit eaters, and some raw foodists eat only organic food.

Born vegetarian：Refers to vegetarian babies born to vegetarian mothers during pregnancy. In India and Taiwan, where vegetarianism is popular, there are many vegetarian babies. Vegetarian babies are not malnourished because they do not consume animal protein, and they are basically very healthy. In addition, it has been clinically observed that babies with phenylketonuria affect their mother’s diet during pregnancy, making the mothers resistant to animal food, and babies with phenylketonuria are also genetically determined by their vegan diet. If you continue to be a vegetarian after you are born, there are no animal food ingredients in your body, you can be regarded as a whole body is vegetarian.

Fruitarianism：Eat only fruits and juices or other plant fruits, excluding meat, vegetables and cereals.

Ascetic vegetarian：This kind of people strengthen their beliefs and practice vegetarianism in a way of asceticism, not only quitting eggs, milk, but even soybeans and salt. Gandhi is his representative.

Jain vegetarianism：You can eat dairy products, but do not eat egg products, honey and any form of root food.