research on plant-based diet
So many consumers have made the switch from a meat-dependent diet to a plant-based diet that it hardly seems novel anymore for consumers to go vegetarian or vegan. Yet, what are some of the impacts that this change in lifestyle and diet can have on the personal, social, and environmental levels? An outstanding number of people living on this planet depend primarily on plant-based food items. Besides such diet becoming a popular lifestyle obviously acquired by many, this dietary mode has remarkable benefits for the person, the society, and the environment. Although, a solely plant-based diet comes with a variety of risk factors all are easily mitigated with simple solutions. Solutions can be as simple as eating fortified foods or taking supplements suggested by a healthcare professional. It is known that particular historical civilizations have eaten primarily meat diets and compared with plant-based diets, all-meat diets have continuously have been less desirable both scientifically and ecologically. Furthermore, plant-based or vegetarian diets have become increasingly popular specifically for ethical reasons. Society has the ability to know where their food comes from and how it is produced or raised. Consumers with this knowledge tend to make the switch to vegan or vegetarian diets. Eating a plant-based diet is a healthy, and often ethically informed, lifestyle choice that benefits individuals, society, and the environment; however, embarking on this diet is maximally beneficial when consumers are properly educated on nutrition and communicate with health professionals in order to ensure safety and sustainability.
Several versions of plant-based diets exist, including vegetarianism, veganism, and lacto vegetarianism. Plant-based diets are typically defined by eating patterns that are dominated by fresh, or minimally processed, plant foods. Additionally, there is a decreased consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy products in such diets. This sort of diet requires a variety of nutrient dense foods at a large consumption. When compared with largely meat-dependent diets, plant-based ones usually involve an increased consumption of grains, including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds (Lea). In a vegetarian diet in which the primary source of fat is olive oil, in conjunction with small amounts of dairy and eggs, the most comparable diet is that which is common to the Mediterranean region and widely considered to promote healthful eating (Craig). Moreover, this kind of diet is globally common: "...2 billion people live primarily on a meat based diet while 4 billion people live primarily off a plant based diet" (Pimentel). Furthermore, many people may not identify specifically as vegan or vegetarian but nevertheless live on a mostly plant-based diet.
There are a variety of personal motivations for eating a mostly plant-based diet. These diets have become a popular trend among the younger generation and are quickly gaining a wide following. Recent years have witnessed a rise in the general popularity of vegetarian diets, especially when fuelled by ethical considerations, health concerns, environmental issues, and religious factors (Craig). For instance, ethical concerns with regards to animal rights are particularly prevalent; becoming vegetarian or vegan is one way in which people make an effort to combat the unjust treatment of animals that commonly takes place during the normal cycle of farming. Even the environmental and ecological impacts of meat production and consumption are enough to dissuade people from partaking in the consumption of meat and meat products altogether (Ward).
Adhering to a plant-based diet comes with many benefits. For example, a well-balanced plant-based diet can actually "prevent nutrition deficiencies as well as diet related chronic diseases." On the other hand, however, "...restrictive or unbalanced vegetarian diets may lead to nutritional deficiencies, particularly in situations of high metabolic demand" (Sabaté). Clearly, when plant-based diets are adhered to faithfully, and with a certain degree of knowledge, such diets can reward their practitioners with substantial nutritional benefits. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, natural vegetable oils, whole grains, and other plant-based foods are all important components of traditional Mediterranean and Asian diets, and the regions that host these diets are quite large, geographically speaking. These kinds of diets have long been associated with low rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality in these geographical areas (Hu). Large numbers of people are thus especially motivated to adhere to a plant-based diet once they experience a traumatic event, such as a heart attack or other forms of coronary disease. In "Nutrition Concerns and Health Effects of Vegetarian Diets," Winston Craig discusses the many benefits that come with adhering to a plant-based diet. For instance, when compared with meat-eating groups, vegetarians (both lacto-ovo vegetarians and vegans) present a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease, even after adjustment for body mass index (BMI) and smoking habits. Additionally, vegetarians tend to have an overall lower cancer rate than the general population, including significantly lower rates of developing type 2 diabetes than omnivores. When compared with a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet, a vegan diet is associated with fewer allergies (since milk and eggs are absent), and typically vegans have a reduced saturated fat and cholesterol intake (Craig). While these diets clearly can be healthy, an appropriately planned plant-based diet is most healthful and nutritionally adequate and maximally beneficial in the prevention and treatment of certain chronic diseases. Poorly planned vegetarian diets, however, can be deficient in vitamin B12, calcium, vitamin D, zinc, iron, and long-chain ω-3 fatty acids-all of which are essential to normal life functioning (Craig).
Plant-based diets also promise many benefits for the planet. This notion continues to become increasingly evident among populations of people who currently reside within largely meat-dependent societies. Doing away with so much meat-eating, in fact, has caused many environmental advocacy groups to campaign for "Meatless Mondays," and it is becoming increasing popular to criticize meat-based diets, which require "more energy, land and water resources than a vegetarian based system" tends to do (Pimentel). Moreover, Allen Fox (1999) suggests that a vegetarian economy contributes to "ecosystem health" by reducing the impacts that pollution, intensive famine, and land degradation by grazing - all of which has adverse effects for both developed and less-developed countries alike - have on economies and the environment (Ward). As our population grows, policymakers, politicians, and industry leaders will need to be innovative in thinking about how to feed everyone responsibly. A much more vegetarian system, although imperfect, is much more sustainable than a meat-based one.
Due to all of the abovementioned benefits to both society and the environment, it is peculiar that more people are not willing to initiate adhering to a largely plant-based diet. Besides the known benefits of a plant-based diet, it nevertheless remains the case that the consumption of plant foods in many developed countries does not meet recommended levels of healthful nutrition. E. J. Lea studied this phenomenon and explained that the most common barrier for people was a general lack of information surrounding plant based diet. Other common barriers related back to a general unwillingness or an inability for their family, or for themselves, to alter present-day dietary patterns and lack of availability of plant-based options when "eating out." Incidentally, health concerns tended to be of relatively low importance. As the world changes and people further understand the effects that current lifestyle choices have on the environment, it becomes increasingly important for economies to consider the impacts that consumer practices of plant-based diets will have.
Despite an incredible number of personal, social, and environmental benefits, there are also some potential health concerns worth considering. For example, low vitamin D intakes,5 low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels,6 and reduced bone mass7 have all been reported in some vegan groups that did not take vitamin D supplements or ingest fortified foods, such as cow's milk, yogurt, some brands of soymilk, rice milk, orange juice, breakfast cereals, or margarines (Craig). Due to this inadequate consumption of foods and food items, the vitamin B12 status of some vegetarians may tend to be less than adequate (Craig). As with any diet, however, it is clearly important that consumers consult with their doctors before embarking on lifestyle changes involving dietary practices.
Aside from taste, or preference, many proponents of meat-dependent diets use their knowledge of the benefits of eating meat to defend their dietary habits. In an article titled "The History of All Meat Diets," the discussion surrounding the Eskimo, who historically "thrived on fish, seal, walrus and whale meat." The article further elaborates that, even as recently as the 1980's, less that 4% "of all deaths in Greenland Eskimos were due to heart disease, despite a lifespan of over 60 years" (Ede). These statistics are not normal, but, as most experts agree, a plant-based diet is the healthiest option when choosing between eating all meat diets and plant-based ones.
An overwhelming number of the world's population practices dietary habits that depend mostly on the consumption of plants and plant-based food items. This dietary mode of consumption has personal, social, and environmental health benefits that far outweigh the benefits that come with eating a largely meat-dependent diet. Though there are some health risks involved with a purely plant-dependent diet, the risks are easy to mitigate with simple solutions, such as eating fortified foods or taking dietary supplements. Although some civilizations have historically eaten all-meat diets, when compared with plant-based diets, all-meat ones are scientifically and environmentally less desirable. Moreover, there are ethical components to adhering to an all plant-based diet, which continue to inspire more and more meat eaters to change the way they consume food, including the very food they consume.
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