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Eating a diet that contains no animal products, is, from a nutritional point of view, much more simple than it might at first appear. When we first start eating vegetarian meals, it’s normal – and understandable – to worry that our health might suffer in some way. We might then wonder if we’ll lack some vital nutrient, if we’ll feel weaker or even fall ill. These fears are, however, completely unfounded. We can get all the nutrients our body needs without eating animal products. A vegetarian diet is a perfectly healthy choice and in fact doesn’t pose many of the problems that a diet including animal products does.

Obviously, the very fact of being vegetarian is no immediate guarantee of vigorous good health: if we ate only chips or peanuts, we could be sure that we wouldn’t be eating an adequate diet. But this would also happen if we were to include animal products in our meals. The necessity to eat a balanced diet in order to enjoy good health does not only apply to vegetarians: eating animals certainly does not avoid this necessity. Furthermore, a vegetarian diet can even protect us against a whole range of ailments which inevitably go with eating animal products, such as arteriosclerosis (heart disease), cancer, obesity, osteoporosis, asthma and so on.

Here are some points to bear in mind when embarking upon a healthy diet.

Proteins

Obtaining enough protein in a non-animal diet is no problem at all. Dried fruit and seeds, vegetables and cereals all contain a large quantity of protein. Proteins are made up of amino acids. What our bodies actually need are not the proteins as such, but the amino acids, which are the “building blocks” with which the body makes its own proteins. There are twenty amino acids. The human body needs to obtain eight of these through diet and they are therefore termed essential. Years ago, it was thought that vegetable protein was inferior in its amino acid content to that of animal origin, in that their proteins are not “complete” – that is, they don’t contain all the essential amino acids.

However, this idea has been proven wrong. If we follow a balanced diet, based on foods of vegetable origin, we will obtain all the amino acids we need in the correct amounts. The body combines them itself, so it is not necessary to obtain all of them in one single meal.

Finally, we need to bear in mind that the function of proteins is to be the building blocks from which our body is made. This is the reason why proteins are so necessary for children, whose bodies are developing. For adults, whose growing is done, proteins are only needed to replace worn out parts of the body.

When the quantity of proteins consumed is more than we need, it is used by the body to provide energy, but only as a secondary source; our primary energy source is carbohydrates. The claim that proteins are necessary for getting the energy we need is untrue, as carbohydrates are needed for that. Excessive consumption of proteins is inadvisable, as it can result in loss of calcium, which is the mineral needed for the metabolisation of proteins.

Fat and essential fatty acids

Fat is necessary for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. Also, our internal organs and nerves need a certain amount of fat. The problem with fats is its over-consumption. Plant-based diets are generally lower in fat than diets which include animal products, and the kind of fat that plant products contain is healthier.

Fats consist of fatty acids, which can be either saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. Saturated fatty acids, commonly called saturated fats, are solid at room temperature, and mainly present in fats derived from animal sources. These fats cause high levels of cholesterol in the blood and increase the risk of atherosclerosis and heart disease. Mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, of which most plant fats contain high levels, have the opposite effect.

There are two kinds of fatty acids which we need in our diet. These are linoleic and linolenic acids. Essential fatty acids are very important for the correct functioning of the cell membrane, the metabolism of cholesterol and the synthesis of different metabolites. Plant sources with an especially good balance between these two fatty acids are linseed and walnuts.

Carbohydrates

There are three main types of carbohydrates: simple carbohydrates (sugars), complex carbohydrates (starches) and fibre. Simple sugars give quick energy and are found in fruit, but also in refined products such as table sugar, sweets and syrup.

Complex carbohydrates provide a slower and more even release of energy. They can be found in cereals and some root vegetables. The World Health Organisation recommends that 55-60% of our calories come from complex carbs. With a plant-based diet, this is easy to achieve.

Fibre is important for well-functioning bowels. It is indigestible for the human body, but keeps the gut clean. Fruits, vegetables and cereals provide plenty of fibre.

Iron

Iron is the crucial element in haemoglobin (which is what carries oxygen from the lungs to the cells). Iron also plays a part in the production of vitamins and antibodies, and in the synthesis of red blood cells.

The richest sources are green vegetables such as spinach, all kinds of cabbage or chard (green-leafed vegetables), cereals, some dried fruits, nuts, seeds and vegetables. Vitamin C improves the absorption of iron. This means that a vegetarian diet can provide a good supply of iron, as it offers many food items rich in this vitamin.

Calcium

A good calcium balance is necessary for healthy teeth and bones. Calcium is also involved in the regulation of muscle and nerve tissue, hormone secretion and blood clotting.

In spite of the claims of the dairy industry, it is not necessary to drink milk to stay healthy!

The vegetable products which contain most calcium are vegetables themselves, dried fruits, seeds, whole grain cereals and figs. Hard drinking water normally contains a certain amount of calcium. Eating animal products can contribute to calcium loss, owing to their uric acid content: to neutralise this acidity, the body resorts to alkalinising substances, such as calcium, which is thus lost. On the other hand, over-consumption of phosphorus hampers the assimilation of calcium. This often happens when eating animal products, because the amounts of calcium and phosphorus in them are unbalanced, which is not the case with foods of vegetable origin.

Zinc

Zinc is a “trace mineral”. A trace mineral is one which the body needs only in small amounts, but that is nonetheless essential to health. Zinc, like calcium, helps build strong bones. It is also a part of many enzyme reactions.

Zinc is present in many vegetable foods, for example whole grains (bread, pasta and rice), wheat, vegetables, sprouted seeds, dried fruits and seeds – pumpkin seeds are one of the most concentrated vegetarian sources of this mineral.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is needed to help the body absorb calcium. Our skin synthesises this vitamin in the presence of sunlight. This is generally all that the human body requires. What is more, the body stores vitamin D during summer for use in winter. Many margarines and breakfast cereals are fortified with it and it can be taken in the form of supplements.

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)

Vitamin B2 is important for the conversion of proteins, fats and carbohydrates into energy. This vitamin is also involved in the synthesis and repair of body tissue.

Whole grain cereals, mushrooms, almonds, nutritional yeast and vegetables such as spinach and cabbage are excellent sources of riboflavin.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12, also known as cyanocobalamin, is important for a healthy nervous system. It is also important for the formation of red blood cells and for growth and development in children.

In spite of the fact that vegetarians are no more likely to be deficient in this vitamin than people who consume animal products, since deficiencies are fundamentally a problem of the failure to absorb it, it has been pointed out that B12 consumption is insufficient amongst those who do not eat animal products. This is a vexed question. Although cases of deficiency are not very common, it is important to include a good source of B12 in our diet. The human body stores a a quantity of B12 sufficient to last 2-7 years. It has been claimed on occasion that this vitamin can be synthesized through cobalt, by means of bacterial activity in the small intestine, but this is still a question of debate. In any case, there are many foods fortified with this vitamin, such as some yeasts, breakfast cereals, vegetable margarines, soya milk and others, which are available in shops and supermarkets. Some people – and not only vegetarians – choose to take it in the form of supplements.

Iodine

Thyroid function (the thyroid gland produces and stores hormones that control some of the body’s functions) depends on, among other nutrients, iodine. Green vegetables and cereals contain certain traces of iodine, in proportion to the amount present in the soil. Deficiencies in iodine are in any case not common these days. Some table salts are enriched with iodine (and are not only or especially consumed by vegetarians, but by the public in general).

Haven’t humans always eaten other animals?

In the course of their centuries of existence, humans have done many things, much of which has been good, and much harmful. But the fact that humans have been doing something for a long time doesn’t make it any more justifiable. The rape, enslavement and murder of other humans have been commonplace since the first humans existed and we don’t find them acceptable because of that. Luckily, we have the ability to reflect on our attitudes and change them. Just as happened with the institutionalised slavery of humans, the slavery to which animals are subjected must be abolished. Humans have the capacity to do terrible things; let’s show that we can also improve individually and as a society, consigning all this to the past.

Other animals eat meat, why can’t I?

The behaviour of others can’t justify our wrongdoings. And even less so can we ethically justify our actions by comparing them with those of someone who doesn’t possess the ability to reflect on his or her actions. Other animals (and also human babies, or people with severe mental disabilities) cannot reflect on the consequences their actions have for others. We have that capacity, and therefore the duty to behave with respect towards others. Some animals steal food from each other, kill their babies, eat their partner after copulating… but we don’t consider it acceptable for us to do this, in spite of the fact that other animals do. This, of course, is not to say that our interests are more important in any way. It just points out our responsibilities as individuals to choose a lifestyle that doesn’t involve harming others.

Do you think we should give up eating fish and shellfish too?

Frustrating someone’s interests, by killing, harming or imprisoning him or her, is equally wrong, whether it is done to a human, a cow, a chicken, a lobster or a sardine. What makes something right or wrong is determined by how it affects others. We wouldn’t say that it is wrong to hit a stone, because it doesn’t feel anything. But with all sentient beings, whether they fly, swim, crawl or walk, the case is different. Fish have the capacity to feel, just as other animals do. If someone has interests, these are equally important independent of his or her species, sex or race.

Some people say they are vegetarians although they eat fish or chicken. This makes as much sense as saying that they are vegetarians but eat pigs. If they can feel, don’t put’em on the grill!

Can’t I eat eggs and dairy without harming animals?

Dairy and egg production implies suffering and death for all animals used for the making of these products. Dairy cows are kept constantly pregnant; otherwise, like all mammals, they wouldn’t produce milk. The calf is separated from his or her mother just a few days after birth, so that the milk intended for the calf can be sold for humans. The calf is then killed for meat or converted into another “dairy cow”. When the cow’s milk production decreases, she is killed.

As it is not economically viable to to keep “unproductive” animals, hens are also killed when there is a decline in their egg laying. Besides this, all the male chicks from “laying hens” are killed very shortly after birth, gassed, crushed or simply piled up over each other and binned, as they wouldn’t be as profitable as “broiler chickens” – the hens used to produce eggs are from a different breed from those used to produce “chicken meat”.

Neither cows nor hens can be free if they are being used to produce “food”. Their freedom is limited and their social activities, diet and other habits are altered by the intervention of humans. It is practically impossible to produce something that comes from animals without force and without causing them pain, distress, limitation of freedom, and death.

If we all stopped eating animals, there would be no space to plant enough vegetables!

Farm animals are fed vegetables, mainly cereals and soy. Worldwide, almost half of the production of these is destined to feed farm animals. For each 20 kilos of wheat fed to a cow, only 1 kilo of meat is produced. A piece of land devoted to production of cereals can provide five times more protein than if devoted to meat production, up to ten times more if we produce pulses, and fifteen times if we plant leafy vegetables. Likewise, in the conversion of grain into meat, 96% of the calories are lost. This enormous waste of food means that we would, in fact, need to plant fewer vegetables if we all ate an animal-free diet. Also much water is wasted in the production of meat and dairy. For the production of 1 kilo of wheat, for example, 3,000 litres of water are needed, while the number rises to 30,000 when it comes to beef production.

But it is impossible to make everyone vegetarian. Isn’t the endeavour doomed to failure?

The objective is to save as many animals as possible from death and suffering, so saving many millions, even if not all of them, can’t be considered a failure! Social conventions change very slowly, and, obviously, this also applies to attitudes toward animals. To change the socially accepted understanding of animals as resources is not going to happen in a short time, but neither did it happen in the case of rights for women, for example. Not much more than a century ago, talking about women having the right to vote was something laughable for most people.

This is precisely what happens with the issue of animals’ rights nowadays. But the situation for women has changed, as will the situation for animals. And even if we can say that we are far from living in a society where women are not discriminated against, we can indeed see a clear improvement since the last century. It may be very difficult to save all animals from exploitation and killing, but the situation can improve substantially. If we just consider all the animals exploited for the production of “food”, we can see that an increase in the number of vegetarians will surely save a great number of those animals. There is no reason to stop helping those just because we will not, unfortunately, be able to save others. This also serves to remind us that any possible change starts in ourselves. It is in the hands of each and every one of us to ensure a future where animals are treated as equals.