ENGL - Is vegetarianism a more healthful or a more ethical lifestyle Essay

ENGL - Is vegetarianism a more healthful or a more ethical lifestyle than a meat-eating diet - Essay Example While humans have the physical capacity to consume meat, I will argue in this paper that vegetarianism is the healthier option and support this with data that supports this viewpoint. The effects of a consuming a vegetarian diet has been widely studied. A number of different studies have come to the conclusion that people consuming vegetarian diets have, in general, a longer life expectancy and seem to have lower rates of coronary heart disease, lower rates of hypertension and diabetes. They also seem to have lower body weight and a lower incidence of high cholesterol. In addition, the presence of certain cancers is slightly lower than in people who consume meat (Fraser, 2009). It must, however, be noted that there is a wide disparity between the different types of vegetarians. The different types show different trends in health (Fraser, 2009). In fact, the American Dietetic Association (ADA) and the Dieticians of Canada have published papers suggesting that a vegetarian diet that is planned properly is healthy, provides enough nutrition and may contribute to the prevention of several conditions. All the nutrients necessary for a person’s development can be obtained from a vegetarian diet. A vegetarian diet is said to be appropriate for any stage of life including, childhood, adolescence, pregnancy or lactation (Anonymous, 2003). The lowering of certain diseases is probably attributable to the fact that well-planned vegetarian diets have lower levels of cholesterol, saturated fats and animal fats as well as having plenty of carbohydrates, fibre, magnesium, potassium, folate and several vitamins (Anonymous,2003). From an ethical view, a vegetarian diet has been said to be much more humane. 15% of vegetarians reported that they turned vegetarian for ethical reasons (Vegetarian Times, 1992 from Palaniswamy, 2003). People have been