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| erecipe.com |
Have you ever
thought about giving up meat? Or maybe you already are a vegetarian or a vegan?
There are many reasons to remove meat from one’s diet such as health,
philosophy, religion, ecological and economical concerns. Most vegetarian diets
supply all the nutrients necessary for maintaining good health. However, some
marginally restrictive diets may be nutritionally incomplete and may need
supplementation. I would like to present you some information on vegetarian
lifestyle (it is not just greens! Vide lasagne on top of this post), its
benefits, risks and meat alternatives.
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| threadless.com |
There are 4 main
types of vegetarianism:
- Lacto-vegetarians – dairy products, but no eggs,
- Ovo-vegetarians – eggs, but no dairy products,
- Lacto-ovo-vegetarians – dairy and eggs,
- Vegans – plant-based foods.
Benefits of not eating meat
- Lower body weight (Cancer Research UK) – research showed that people who eat meat put more on weight over a five year period than those who don’t (vegans put on even less); test group consisted of 22000 subjects,
- Better cholesterol levels (University of Toronto and St. Michael’s Hospital) – plant-based diet (including nuts, soy protein, oat, barley) can lower cholesterol levels as effectively as a drug treatment,
- Longer life expectancy – vegetarians are less likely to develop such diseases as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases,
- Lower risk of developing cancer (EPIC – Oxford).
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| minimalistbaker.com |
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| rawberryfields.co.uk |
Health risks
- Vegans and vegetarians have a very high risk of developing vitamin B12 deficiency, as there is no plant-based form of this vitamin that is well absorbed by human organism. B12 is vital for the formation of red blood cells and may be found in eggs, milk, meat and fish,
- Vegetarians and vegans can also develop vitamin D, iron, zinc, calcium and potassium deficiency,
- Vegetarians have higher levels of short-chain fatty acids than regular meat-eaters, but people who include some healthy meat in their diet have even more of these acids. A research led by Professor Danilo Ercolini from the University of Naples showed that these acids play a protective role against different diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, colon cancer,
- Meat protein is easily absorbed and vegans have to find alternative ways to include proteins in their diet, as it is an indispensable nutritive for our organism.
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| fullcirclehealthcareinc.com |
Meat free Mondays
Meat Free
Mondays is an initiative launched by Sir Paul McCartney in 2009. Its objective
is to convince people to skip eating meat for just one day a week. This may not
sound big, but think of it as of reducing meat consumption by 1/7 – assuming
that the number of livestock killed annually is 56 billion, we could save over
8 billion animals every year! Furthermore, a person adopting a vegan diet can
save up to 95 animals a year. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the
environmental impact of eating meat as well. Livestock production is
responsible for 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions (according to the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and we need to reduce the
amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by 80% by 2050 to avoid
catastrophic climate change. It may also alleviate world hunger: producing 1 kg
of beef can take up to 12 kg of grain. “Currently some 800 million people on
the planet now suffer from hunger or malnutrition, yet an amount of cereal
which could feed three times this number of people is fed to cattle, pigs and
chickens”, says meatfreemondays.com.
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| julianasfarm.org |
Meat alternatives
- Plant-based protein sources such as green peas, soy products (tofu, tempeh, edamame), quinoa, nuts and nut butter, beans, chickpeas, spinach, broccoli, hemp, chia, sunflower and poppy seeds, seitan, nut milks, cocoa nuts and powder… there are so many possibilities!
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| rebeldietitian.us |
- The Herbivorous Butcher is a Minneapolis based business run by Aubry and Kale Walch. They produce meat alternatives but if you think they sell pale soy sausages or dry soy chops you couldn’t be more mistaken. They make vegan versions of such meat classics as pepperoni, salami, bacon, chorizo, mortadella, meatballs, ribs, jerky, deli turkey or filet mignon! They also make cheese-free cheeses (camembert, mozzarella, cheddar, Havarti, gouda). They are also thinking of starting an online shop with worldwide shipping. Take a look at their website.
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| Porterhouse steak from The Herbivorous Butcher |
- In vitro meat - if you want to give up meat because of economic and environmental reasons but still would like to enjoy an occasional steak, I have good news: scientists of Memphis Meats have succeeded in producing in-vitro meat (they grew cow, pig and chicken meat from animal cells). They are working now on developing a cheaper way to do it, as producing one pound of ground beef costs now around $18000. The CEO of Memphis Meats, Uma Valeti says that “this is absolutely the future of meat” and that “we plan to do to the meat industry what the car did to the horse”. The meat produced by the company is said to be healthier, safer and antibiotics-free.
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| Lab-grown meatball steamregister.com |
If you want to learn more, I recommend these websites and articles:
Also, here are
some blogs with really cool vegan recipes:
Sources:
Comments
I know, that meat is not only a perfect, super healthy solution - but in my opinion it is mostly because antibiotics and hormones with which animals are stuffed. That's why I try to choose (but it's not easy ti find ;/) meat and eggs from eco farms, but I am not quite sure whether it's way better that 'normal' one. :P But at least I feel better doing it. I also think that plant protein just can't replace meat protein and we should eat both ;P
I really want to try this "meat" from The Herbivorous Butcher, I wonder how it tastes :D Because according to meals that "pretend" to be something not-vegan I rather am disappointed :P Once I have made bean-pie (pasztet z fasoli) and I couldn't eat it, not because it wasn't tasty - it was really fine! But it was about to be simmilar to the real pie, so I went to krakowski kredens and bought one to have the taste experience that I craved for :PP
The only example where I prefer vege over meat is when it comes to burger <3 I love vegeburgers - maybe because I don't like red meat :D
Funny fact about meat free mondays - in our culture we always had 'meat free' day in a week, and it's friday ;) I think one day off meat is nice idea. The only thing that bothers me is what is going to happen with meat we won't eat and ia already made.. It sounds like even worse scenario to waste it than to eat it :P
I think that artificial meat is the future of the industry and that real meat will become a rare and expensive delicacy or even be banned. In my opinion the whole idea of meat which can be produced without harming animals is great.
We could easily turn the tables and have me asking wether you ever considered giving up meatless diet? Because meat is such a wonderful source of easily absorbed proteins and iron and it's oh-so-tasty. But I believe people can choose for themselves so I don't do that.
I'm not saying you should eat meat with every meal, I don't even say you should eat meat at all. I'd just appreciate if people stayed away from my plate.
Now I'd also like to refer to some points that you mentioned:
Meet free mondays - completely unnecessary in mostly catholic country since catholics have meat free fridays. Even though I'm not a believer I still skip meat on fridays sometimes because it's becaome sort of a habit. Besides it's nice to eat something else from time to time.
The in vitro meat sounds quite interesting but it's not an option until they make it cheaper.
Of course I also love cutlets with carrots, it is delicious. I also like most of vegetable and plant - food.
I have never before heard about many of benefits of not eating meat, which you show.
Idea the in vitro meat is frightening for me. I don't buy it.
I've never had any problems with health concerning my diet, except for one: cholesterol. I find it a bit funny that you've mentioned "Better cholesterol levels" in your presentation - of course, that's true for most people, but at first when I stopped eating meat, I used to replace it with cheese - on my sandwiches or fried. Now I've learned many different recipes, so I don't have that kind of problem :)
If anyone would like to try vegan food that looks and tastes like meat, I recommend "Loving Hut" near Metro Politechnika - it's an Asian vegan restaurant that serves vegan versions of beef, chicken, pork, etc. - my meat-eating friends say that some of them really resemble the meat.
I'm far from trying to convert anyone to vegetarianism / veganism, however - I've read some interesting articles stating that if everyone was vegan, we could decrease world hunger - we use a lot more plants to feed animals than to feed humans which makes eating animals less efficent.
I really think about health and future of my organism, after visiting dietitian I realised that eating meat is unhealthy. But after seeing products that I used to eat and I liked them it is hard to commit to never try them again in my life. I need to find balance and maybe not have only free meat Mondays but have one day in week when I will eat meat or fish.
Moreover I am very curious how long people will fight for healthy life style. Still when I go to restaurant it is hard to order something healthy to drink, I can choose from coke, pepsi, sprite and fanta. I see major problem here. I would also like to have more options in good restaurant, where in menu I can order only meat dishes as major course.
I also don't want to be a party-pooper, but limiting consumption of meat on a global scale in capacities mentioned in the post isn't realistic. Most people don't really have a particular (healthy) diet and making them care about it is often impossible.
The best shot at this is probably the in vitro meat, I hope it will become available to wider public in my lifetime.
Have you heard about the chickens stuffed with growth hormones so much that their bones cannot support muscles weight and they just don't walk because they are incapable of lifting their own bodies? I am shocked each time I hear such information and I am worried that I can't really be sure about the past of the meat that I put in my mouth. This is discouraging. At least we can't say that plants are suffering.
The Herbivorous Butcher has an online store and they ship worldwide, so if you have $135 just laying around:) This is the price for their "demo" package.
Well, I think that no vegan food can recreate the exact taste of meat. But vegans craving meat are very creative - recently Marta Dymek from Jadłonomi published a recipe for vegan bacon (made from coconut flakes baked with cured paprika), I have also seen some recipes for flaki (made of boczniaki mushrooms), lard (white bean paste with fried onions, apples and marjoram - I really like it) and many different pates. My personal favourite is white bean pate with pears and thyme, I love it. And the patty before baking is a perfect paste that can be used similarly to hummus!
Of course, fasting day is an important part of european culture. I read a very old Polish cookbook once, it contained recipe for every meal for the whole year for "the main house" and for the servants, including fasting days. It was fantastic, because it included guides on what to do with leftover food and it showed the difference between the food for the rich and the poor. However, it is not as popular as it was some time ago, so still a lot of meat is eaten every Friday. Well, if the change in our eating schedule is done gradually, the farms will have a chance to prepare themselves and maybe they won't breed their animals as much or something like that?
It must feel great to walk into a restaurant and be able to actually choose something other than pierogi ruskie, right?;)
Your theory that meat will be banned someday made me realise thay I've read about this idea. I have seen it in an article about best food related comic books - there is a comic that portrays a world where beef is either banned or extinct (I don't remember) and this leads to a great chaos. I don't know the name of this comic, but maybe someone here will know it? Have you ever heard about this comic?
I don't think that many people skip meat all Fridays. And I guess Paul McCartney had someone make a lot of research before launching his company and they figured out that in fact it could make an actual change.
Maybe better cholesterol levels is more true for vegans as vegetarians ale allowed to eat as much heavy cream and cheese as they please. I own a cookbook written by a fit-freak vegan and her unhealthy vegetarian husband - they try to find the best of both worlds and balance health with good taste and a bit of decadence:)
I've been to Loving Hut once, the food was really good, I agree! Last year someone made a presentation about good vegan places in Warsaw and I visited Vegan Pizza from their list. I was truly amazed by their vegan cheese - it was made from seitan, I believe (gluten extracted from flour), it stretched and melted but didn't leave this sense of fat covering your mouth.
Thanks for the link!
I think that dietitians generally recommend limiting one's meat intake to two or three times a week at most.
Good luck with your plans!
Speaking of eggs, I pay attention to what type of eggs I buy: I try to buy number 0 or 1, even if it comes with paying more money for it. Type 3 is produced in inhumane conditions! You can read more about it here.
Well, the healthiest thing to drink is water and I think that you can get it in all restaurants:) In my opinion the fight against sweet soft drinks is the next big trend in health campaigns.
What would be - in your opinion - the best way to change people's preferences regarding soft drinks?
What was the main reason for you to become vegetarian?
I have been on paleo diet recommended by sports trainer for two months and now I can hardly look at meat - and I finished the diet in February. I think that becoming sated with meat is a good way to stop eating it for some time:)
Unfortunately, I'm that kind of person which can't eat something that it's not tasty. So it could be healthy, but I prefer to find healthy in the food area I like.
Maybe the other replacement for food could be better in tasting, but I don't think I'm trying it. I like meat.
A lot of vegetarian food is healthy AND tasty, for example smoothies or fruit salads:)
You should check out a couple that fed their cat and dog with vegan food because giving meat to their animals was against their beliefs. In my opinion this is a bit extreme.
Giving up meat would be hard for me cause I feel very unwell if I don't eat it more or less regularly, always hungry and unable to concentrate. But I think it might just be because I don't provide my organism with enough proteins. Thanks to you, now I know what my alternatives are :)
The in-vitro produced meat sounds like a great idea. I hope it'll be cheaper in the future and won't cause too many health problems (if something becomes popular, it's more than certain that people will find a way to make it cheaper, and unhealthy, and sell more).
I think that the best thing one can do is listen to their body. If your body tells you to eat meat, do it, but responsibly. If you find any super eco and humanitarian farms and sources of "well treated" meat, let me know!
Let's hope for the best with this in-vitro meat idea.