We promised it to you, and here it is. The organic vegetarian takes the organic lifestyle one step further, by eliminating animal products form their diets. Let's begin with the practical reasons why more people are embracing this lifestyle: 1) Cost. Pound for pound, vegetables, beans, and whole grains cost less than a serving of meat or fish, but they pack a healthy serving of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and phytonutrients. When combined, plant-based foods also provide high quality protein. 2) Availability. Today, most supermarkets, as well as co-ops and farmer's markets, carry a good variety of organic fruits, vegetables, and grains. Organic, grass-fed, sustainable meats, on the other hand, are harder to come by.
Organic vegans take it one step further. The organic vegan lifestyle is a mindset that embraces the sanctity of all living things, by saying that they will not ingest any animal-derived products. This includes meat, fish, dairy products, and honey. Because of their belief in the sanctity of all living things, they will not support industries that exploit them. Hence, vegans will not wear leather, fur, or silk. For many, this involves considerable sacrifice and a real change in one's way of thinking.
Now let's discuss some of the more compelling reasons for becoming an organic vegetarian: 1) Respect for our animal friends. As many may have witnessed through Humane Society videos, cows, chickens, and pigs are routinely abused - many butchered alive, mutilated, and beaten. Vegetarians believe that these animals are sentient beings, with the ability to feel fear and pain. 2) Sustainability. Factory farms contribute to the pollution of water (through "fecal pools" and the use of hormones and antibiotics) and air (through the production of large quantities of methane gas). Populations of wild salmon are being overfished to near extinction. In addition, more fossil fuels are required to produce, say, beef protein than it does to produce vegetables. 3) Health concerns. Many studies have pointed to lower incidences of chronic diseases among vegetarians. Noone will argue about the harm created by consumption of saturated fats and cholesterol. Many people throughout the world are lactose-intolerant, so dairy is not an option for them. Fears created by the dairy industry around the need to consumer enough calcium are motivated by greed. It is the consumption of too much animal protein that creates an acidic state in the body, which causes calcium to be leached from bones. 4) Food safety. How easy is it to guarantee our food safety, when knowing where our food comes from has become such a complicated affair? Organisms like E.coli salmonella, hepatitis and trichinosis originate in meat, and are sometimes transferred to other foods through improper handling, washing, and cooking. Fears about mad-cow disease have been suppressed, but who's to know where our beef supply is on that issue?
Becoming an organic vegan has been a transforming experience for this reader. Not only have I lost weight and lowered my cholesterol, but I've never been healthier, with more energy and a clear conscience about my animal friends.
A large part of being an organic vegetarian involves using the freshest ingredients, and putting them together in healthy ways.. We'll have some great recipes in the near future.
Here are a few more websites to visit for more information:
Blink
Del.icio.us
Digg
Furl
Google
Simpy
Spurl
Technorati
Y! MyWeb