More Interesting Facts
Almonds
Almond Milk
Amaranth
Basmati Rice
Barley
Brewers Yeast
Brown Rice
Celiac Disease
Cereals
Flax Seed
Gluten Free Diet
Horchata
Lactose Intolerance
Meat Substitutes
Millet
Nutritional Yeast
Oats
Organic Foods
Quinoa
Quorn
Raw Food Diet
Soybeans
Soy Milk
Soy Protein Isolate
Spelt
Sticky Rice
Tahini
Teff
Tempeh
Triticale
TVP
Veganism
Vegetarians
Wild Rice
|
Facts about Veganism
Veganism is a
philosophy and lifestyle which "seeks to exclude (as
far as is possible and practical) all forms of
exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food,
clothing or any other purpose; and by extension,
promotes the development and use of animal-free
alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the
environment." In practice, this translates largely to
the abstention from consumption or use of all animal
products, including eggs and dairy products, as well as
articles made of bone, leather, feathers, mother of
pearl or other materials of animal origin. Vegans are
also likely to avoid products that have been tested on
animals. People who avoid eating all animal products,
but who otherwise use animal byproducts (for example, by
wearing leather shoes) are called "dietary
vegans".
People become vegans for a variety of
reasons, including a concern for animal rights, health
benefits, religious, political, ethical, and spiritual
concerns, and out of concern for the environment. A
Time/CNN poll published in Time Magazine on July 7,
2002, found that 4% of American adults consider
themselves vegetarians, and 5% of self-described
vegetarians consider themselves vegans. This suggests
that 0.2% of American adults are vegans. A 2000 poll
conducted by Zogby for the Vegetarian Resource Group
suggested closer to 0.9% of the adult American
population may be vegan. In the UK, research showed that
0.4%, approximately 250,000 people, were vegan in
2001.
Definition
The British Vegan
Society's full definition of veganism is "a philosophy
and way of living which seeks to exclude (as far as is
possible and practical) all forms of exploitation of,
and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other
purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and
use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of
humans, animals and the environment."
In dietary
terms the BVS defines Veganism as "the practice of
dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly
from animals." The American Vegan Society also gives a
similar definition.
The term "animal product" in
a vegan context refers to material derived from
non-human animals for human use or consumption. Human
breast milk, for example, is acceptable when voluntarily
used for human babies, but by comparison, when a human
being drinks a cow's milk, it is regarded as the
consumption of an "animal product."
Animal
products include meat, poultry, edible marine fish,
shellfish, eggs, dairy products, fur, leather, wool,
pearls, and mother of pearl. Byproducts include gelatin,
lanolin, rennet, and whey. Items derived from insects
include items such as silk, honey, beeswax, and
cochineal.
Some vegans avoid cane sugar that has
been filtered with bone char and will not drink beers
and wines clarified with albumen (egg white), animal
blood, or isinglass, even though these are not present
in the final product. They may also avoid food cooked in
pans that have been used to cook non-vegan
foods.
As well as avoiding animal products, most
vegans refrain from supporting industries that use
animals directly or indirectly, such as circuses and
zoos, and from products that are tested on animals.
However, the majority of vegans would probably agree
that it is very difficult to take part in society
without indirectly and involuntarily supporting
non-vegan activities to some degree.
Origin of
the name
The word vegan pronounced [vee-gun], was
originally derived from vegetarian in 1944 when Elsie
Shrigley and Donald Watson, frustrated that the term
"vegetarianism" had come to include the eating of dairy
products, founded the UK Vegan Society. "Vegan", which
they saw as "the beginning and end of vegetarian",
started and ended with the first three and last two
letters of vegetarian.
Since the founding of the
UK Vegan Society, the term veganism has come to mean
people who seek to eliminate all animal products in all
areas of their lives, as opposed to those who simply
avoid eating animal products. Although veganism as a
secular movement is a 20th century idea, the principles
date back to the 2nd millennium BC in Hinduism
(ahimsa).
Ethics
Female pigs in a
factory farm used for breeding are confined most of
their lives in gestation crates, which are too small to
enable them to turn around. The ethics of veganism are
defined by the British Vegan Society as "[A] philosophy
and way of living which seeks to exclude (as far as is
possible and practical) all forms of exploitation of,
and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other
purpose."
Vegans generally oppose what they see
as violence and cruelty involved in the meat, dairy,
non-vegan cosmetics, clothing, and other industries.
(See Draize test, LD50, Animal testing, Vivisection, and
Factory farming.)
Utilitarian philosophers, such
as Jeremy Bentham and Peter Singer, argue that the
suffering of sentient animals is relevant to ethical
decisions. Though Singer's ethical theory recognizes the
suffering of sentient animals, it does not rely on the
concept of rights. However, philosophers such as Tom
Regan and Gary L. Francione argue that some animals are
sentient, and therefore are the subjects of a life which
they can value. Because they can do this, they argue,
these animals have the inherent right to possess their
own flesh, and they claim that it is therefore unethical
to treat them as property, or as a commodity (see animal
rights). Although these theories draw the same
conclusion, they are not compatible with one
another.
Health
All fruitarian foods
are vegan. Many people believe that eating only fruit,
vegetables, grains, nuts, legumes, other plants, and
fungi is healthier than an omnivorous diet. Many people
also believe that additional health benefits are gained
by not consuming artificial substances such as growth
hormones and antibiotics, which are often given to
farmed animals.
The American Dietetic Association
and Dietitians of Canada state that "well-planned vegan
and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for
all stages of the life cycle, including during
pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and
adolescence." Vegan diets bestow several nutritional
benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, no
cholesterol, no animal protein, and higher levels of
carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, and
antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and
phytochemicals. Vegetarians have been anecdotally
reported to have lower body mass indices than
nonvegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from
ischemic heart disease. Vegetarians also show lower
blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and
lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and
prostate and colon cancer. However, no cause and effect
relationship between vegetarian diets and these health
benefits has been scientifically
established.
According to Dr. Michael Greger in a
January 2004 lecture at MIT, which as the basis for
Whistleblower, a 2006 documentary film by Jeff Bellamar,
each year more than one million tons of animal excrement
are fed back to farm animals, which are raised for human
consumption, allegedly because it lowers the feed cost.
Also, up to 10% of blood from killed animals is mixed
into cattle feed, and up to 30% of poultry feed is made
up of the blood from killed
animals.
Environmental
considerations
Many become vegan because of their
assertion that the production of meat and animal
products using intensive farming methods at current and
future levels is environmentally unsustainable. It is
thought that current farming methods contribute to the
ecological crisis.
Sexual and feminist
motives
In the 19th century a vegan movement was
started by Sylvester Graham, the creator of Graham
crackers, which focused on the sexual urges caused by
meat and milk. He claimed animal products caused lustful
urges; Grahamism thus rejected meat, animal products,
and alcohol to create a purer mind and body. Very
popular in the 1860s-1880s, this movement rapidly lost
momentum and is now remembered mostly for its Graham
crackers.
Contemporarily, some third-wave
feminists reject the consumption of meat and analogize
the use and objectification of animals to the use and
objectification of women within society. This criticism
focuses on societal construction of ties between women
and the environment.
Vegan cuisine
The
cuisines of most nations contain dishes that are
plant-based (and therefore suitable for a vegan diet) as
are specific traditional ingredients, e.g. tofu, tempeh
and the wheat product seitan in Asian diets. Also,
according to Sturtivants Edible Plants of the World,
there are 2,897 plants that may be used for food.
Therefore, the variety of vegan food available can be
extremely diverse and satisfying.
Many vegans
prefer to cook without reference to meat, instead
preparing meals from largely unprocessed ingredients
such as pulses, grains, vegetables, nuts and fruit.
However, artificial "meat" products made from non-animal
derived ingredients such as soya or gluten, including
imitation sausages, ground beef, burgers, and chicken
nuggets are widely available. Many dishes that
traditionally contain animal products can be adapted by
substituting vegan ingredients in most recipes, e.g.
nut, grain or soy milk used to replace cow's milk; eggs
replaced by substitutes such as products made from
potato starch.
On one hand, vegan cuisine is not
new. It has a well developed tradition that is centuries
old due mainly to the influence of Buddhism over
societies that culturally do not use a large proportion
of dairy products such as China, Japan and Taiwan. On
the other, many vegans have adapted their diets to fit
in with modern fast food eating
patterns.
Similar diets and
lifestyles
There are several diets similar to
veganism, though there are significant differences,
including fruitarianism, the raw food diet, the
macrobiotic diet and Natural Hygiene. There are also
numerous religious groups that regularly or occasionally
practice a similar diet, including Jainism, some sects
of Buddhism, Hinduism, and some Christian churches such
as the Eastern Orthodox church and Seventh-day Adventist
Church.
More recently, many young people who
subscribe to the anarcho-punk or straight edge punk
movements have embraced veganism (in the latter case
coining the term 'Straight Veg'), and the corresponding
beliefs of the animal rights movement. Straight Edge is
a philosophy that rejects the use of alcohol, casual sex
or recreational drugs, originating as a reaction to what
some perceived as the cultural excesses of the
1980s.
A sub-set of veganism, raw veganism,
advocates the consumption only of raw foods and the
elimination of processed foods from the diet. A study of
raw vegans found them to be slender and healthy, but
noted that they had reduced essential bone mass and
lower bone mineral density. The researchers said these
results are "strongly associated with increased fracture
risk" but noted that the raw vegans they studied had no
other biological markers to indicate higher levels of
osteoporosis, and that their bone turnover rates were
normal.
Vegan nutrition
Nutrition
authorities say that a properly planned vegan diet
presents no significant nutritional problems.
Supplementation is highly recommended, though to a
lesser extent this applies to non-vegans, too. Drs.
Fletcher and Fairfield concluded, in JAMA (Journal of
the American Medical Association) in June 2002, that "It appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin
supplements." The British government's annual survey of
nutritional content of food, McCance and Widdowson's
'The Composition of Foods,' notes that the 2002
nutritional profile of foods is seriously lacking in
trace elements compared with their 1931 profiles;
indeed, a steady decline over the past 60 years has been
noted. There are several nutrients vegans should pay
attention to. These include Vitamin B12, iron and
iodine: deficiencies in these are more likely following
a vegan diet, and deficiencies of these have potentially
serious consequences, including anemia, pernicious
anemia, cretinism and hyperthyroidism. Interestingly,
B12 deficiency can be a problem for others, too; aging,
for example, can lead to an inability to absorb B12 from
food, and supplementation is recommended for those over
fifty-five years of
age.
Protein
Frances Moore Lappe's 1971
best seller Diet for a Small Planet popularized the myth
that the protein in plant foods was "incomplete" and
that vegetarians had to "combine" different plant foods
by eating both of them (e.g., beans and grains) in order
to get a "complete" protein. A decade later in The
McDougall Plan (1983) Dr. John McDougall showed that
this idea is incorrect and that common plant foods
actually contain complete proteins. In The McDougall
Program (1990) he wrote, "Fortunately scientific studies
have plainly debunked this complicated nonsense. Nature
designed and synthesized our foods complete with all the
essential nutrients for human life long before they
reach the dinner table. All the essential and
nonessential amino acids are represented in single
unrefined starches such as rice, corn, wheat, and
potatoes in amounts in excess of every individual's
needs, even if they are endurance athletes or weight
lifters." McDougall's claims are easily verified by
comparing the individual amino acids supplied by foods
to the World Health Organization standard for protein
intake.
Iodine
Residents of the UK may
find themselves iodine-deficient if they rely on local
produce, since in the UK iodine is usually obtained via
dairy products rather than iodized salt that is more
common elsewhere. The Vegan Society says, "Iodine is
typically undesirably low (about 50 micrograms/day
compared to a recommended level of about 150 micrograms
per day) in UK vegan diets unless supplements, iodine
rich seaweeds or foods containing such seaweeds are
consumed. The low iodine levels in many plant foods
reflects the low iodine levels in the UK soil, due in
part to the recent ice-age." This demonstrates that
location may also be a factor in what deficiencies may
be present in any given diet.
Vitamin
B12
Vitamin B12, a bacterial product, cannot be
reliably found in plant foods, and so vegans are
recommended to eat foods with B12 added (such as
fortified soy milk, fortified margarines, or many
commercial breakfast cereals), certain brands of
nutritional yeast, or take dietary supplements (a good
multivitamin will likely include B12 in sufficient
quantities). Tempeh, and a few other fermented foods can
sometimes contain B12 as well, though they cannot be
considered reliable sources. B12 is exclusively
synthesized by bacteria (which is why it is present in
animal products), but it is also naturally synthesized
in the human body. Inadequate absorption of the body's
stores of Vitamin B12 pose problems, thus the vitamin
must be ingested through fortified products and
nutritional yeast. Older people, vegan and non-vegan
alike, may find they experience difficulties in
absorbing B12 from their food, and pernicious anemia,
caused by a B12 deficiency, is not unknown amongst
omnivores.
Iron
Iron is present in many
typically vegan foodstuffs. These include grains, nuts
and green leaves, although the iron in these sources is
in a less easily absorbed, non-heme form. Nevertheless,
the Society quotes research to show that iron deficiency
is no more prevalent in vegans than in the general
population. This research did not account for the fact
that many vegans take nutritional supplements that are
not found in food alone, whereas other research that
excludes this subset of people does indeed show a marked
iron deficiency among a majority of those
studied.
It is important to note that iron
deficiency is one of the most common nutritional
deficiencies in the general population, and many
nutritionists and dieticians recommend a daily
multivitamin because of this. Vitamin C is necessary to
the absorption of iron, and, indeed, can double or
triple the amount of iron absorbed when taken with food
(i.e. a glass of orange juice with a spinach salad).
Vegans typically have high levels of vitamin C in their
diets, which may account for the rarity of anemia
amongst them.
Calcium
Calcium may also
be a concern if the vegan is not eating a variety of
foods, especially leafy green vegetables (such as
spinach, kale, collard greens, cabbage, etc.), almonds,
oats, soy products (soy milk, tofu, etc.), sesame seeds,
most beans, and dried fruits, most of which should be
included in any diet, vegan or not. The USDA's study on
calcium and osteoporosis in women began with the premise
that animal proteins create sulphur in the body, which
leaches out calcium from the bones. The results, though,
were more complex: the vegan subjects lost bone density
at the same rate as their vegetarian and non-vegetarian
peers; when put on a weight-bearing exercise regimen,
the vegan subjects built bone density at a significantly
higher rate than the other subjects. The researchers
remark, "If you have less bone formation, the result is
the same as if you had an increase in bone resorption.
So, even though bone resorption was the same in both
groups of volunteers, the lower amount of bone formation
in the omnivore women could lead to a decrease in their
bone density."
DHA
One nutrient that is
sometimes overlooked when analyzing the vegan diet is
docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). For non-vegetarians, good
sources for this omega-3 fatty acid include edible
marine fish and shellfish and eggs. This healthy fat can
also be found in Algae and vegan DHA dietry supplement
capsules are now available. This fatty acid is very
important for brain function, eye function, and for the
cellular transport of valuable nutrients. "ALA" can be
converted by the body into DHA. ALA is found in
soybeans, walnuts, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, and canola
oil: many vegans include these specific foods in their
diets. To obtain the same benefit, it has been estimated
that 10x the amount of ALA as DHA must be
consumed.
Omega-3 fatty acids must be included in
any diet: this is specially true for younger children
and the elderly because growing and ageing brains need
more of these nutritious fats. There are multiple
sources of omega-3 fatty acids available to vegans:
flaxseed oil (sometimes called edible linseed in the UK)
and hemp oil, nuts (especially walnuts), and certain
green, leafy vegetables all provide omega-3s as
well.
Omega 3 interacts with another dietary
fatty acid: Omega 6. it is believed that the health
benefits of Omega 3 consumption are obtained only when
the Omega 3: Omega 6 ratio is increased. Oils which
should therefore be avoided due to their high Omega 6
content are: sunflower, safflower, and corn oil. Olive
oil is an example of an omega-neutral oil as its fat
is monounsaturated and does not contain much omega 3 or
omega 6 and may be consumed without affecting the
desired ratio.
Cultural
aspects
Veganism has been slowly gaining greater
popularity amongst some African Americans since the
1960s because of the involvement of politically-oriented
African-American activists, actors and musicians; a
whole foods, mostly unprocessed diet is positioned as a
return to ancestral African diets, an inexpensive and
healthy alternative to current dietary habits, and a
tool for African-American empowerment in the face of
socio-economic disadvantage, especially
health.
Criticism and
controversy
Veganism requires a level of
attention to the details of pre-manufactured packaged
goods which many non-vegans view as impractical. Many
dishes prepared in western culture involve at least one
non-vegan element ? dairy, in particular, is pervasive
and some non-vegans may resent the extra effort of
accommodating the vegan diet. Certain vegan
substitutions for non-vegan ingredients (such as egg
replacers) only superficially resemble their
animal-based originals and the vegan substitutions may
not work well in standard recipes.
Many health
supplements (vitamins, minerals, herbal alternatives,
etc.) are placed inside capsules made of animal-based
gelatin. Online retailers have emerged, selling vegan
alternatives to such products, and vegan-friendly
multivitamins and supplements can now be found in most
health food stores and online.
A majority of
medication and dietary supplements contain a number of
ingredients that are derived from animal sources such as
magnesium stearate, stearic acid, gelatin, lactose, and
many more. When the medicine itself is derived from an
animal source there may not be acceptable substitute.
All FDA approved drugs sold in the United States are
animal tested, as animal testing is a requirement for
drug approval for U.S. markets. In some hospitals,
Catgut in sutures and non-vegan latex gloves are used.
In cases such as this, vegans point to the original
definition of veganism's caveat of avoiding animal
products "as far as is possible and practical", which
clearly shows that, unless medications and medical
equipment are vegan, non-vegan versions of medications
and supplies are acceptable.
Many products like
cosmetics, toiletries, household cleaners, and
pesticides, contain either animal ingredients or
ingredients that have been tested on animals, as well as
coloring agents like Cochineal (obtained from an
insect). Many vegans prefer to use homemade or
eco-friendly, vegan-friendly products.
Ethical
criticism
Many vegans question whether it is
ethical to make use of products which result in the
death of animals. Organizations, such as the Foundation
for Animal Use Education [24], dispute that a non-vegan
diet entails exploitation of or cruelty to animals, and
support the concept of animal welfare while promoting
the use of animals in food and fiber agriculture. These
groups also dispute whether animals are sentient and
have inherent rights, stating that rights are a function
of being "moral agents" making moral judgments and
comprehending moral duty, and that animals do not
exercise responsibility as moral agents. The website for
the FAUE states: "As moral agents, we recognize our own
obligation to treat animals humanely ? not because it is
their right, but because it is our responsibility".
Other critics argue that "animals lack the awareness of
pain", an assertion that is generally
disputed.
There are several other common
criticisms of vegan ethics. Critics like Steven Davis,
professor of animal science at Oregon State University,
claims that the number of wild animals killed in crop
production is greater than those killed in
ruminant-pasture production. Whenever a tractor goes
through a field to plow, disc, cultivate, apply
fertilizer and/or pesticide, and harvest, animals are
killed. Davis lists field animals in the U.S. that are
threatened by intensive crop production. In one example,
an alfalfa harvest caused a 50% decline in the
grey-tailed vole population. According to Davis, if all
of the cropland in the U.S. were used to produce crops
for a vegan diet, an estimated 1.8 billion animals would
be killed annually. A rebuttal by Gaverick Matheny
entitled Least harm: a defense of vegetarianism from
Steven Davis' omnivorous proposal appeared in the same
issue as the report by Davis. Matheny lists several
major flaws with Davis' reasoning which include the fact
that since vegans generally eat at a lower trophic
level, fewer crops are required to produce the food
vegans eat. It requires up to 20 pounds of grain to
produce one pound of beef; consequently, twenty times as
many animals would presumably be plowed to death to
produce one pound of beef rather than one pound of
grain. Another error according to Matheny is the
equation of death with harm. According to Davis, an
animal accidentally killed by a thresher has been
subjected to as much harm as one having spent its entire
life in captivity before being slaughtered. Another flaw
with Davis's findings is a numerical error; currently
nearly 10 billion animals are killed each year in the
U.S. for food, more than five times greater than Davis'
estimated 1.8 billion for crop harvesting. Matheny
concludes that "After correcting for these errors,
Davis' argument makes a strong case for, rather than
against, adopting a vegetarian diet."
Health
criticism
Because the American Dietetic
Association (U.S. certification organization for C.N.s)
supports a well-planned vegan diet in all stages of
life, few nutritionists have expressed concerns about
the potential dangers in the vegan diet. This, in some
cases involving severe nutritional inadequacy in
conjunction with a strict vegetarian diet, may be
particularly relevant to young children where the
failure to achieve adequate nutrition can lead to
permanent developmental deficits. In reported comments,
Professor Lindsey Allen of the United States
Agricultural Research Service declared: "There's
absolutely no question that it's unethical for parents
to bring up their children as strict vegans, unless
those who practiced them were well-informed about how to
add back the missing nutrients through supplements or
fortified foods." Vegans should be particularly concerned
with adequate intake of B-12. Vitamin B12, a bacterial
product, cannot be reliably found in plant foods. Vegans
are recommended to eat foods with vegan B12 added (such
as fortified soy milk, fortified margarines, or many
commercial breakfast cereals), certain brands of
nutritional yeast, or take dietary supplements (a good
multivitamin will likely include B12 in sufficient
quantities).
In very severe cases, parents
practicing what were sometimes described as forms of
veganism have been charged with child abuse for not
providing adequate nutrition. Vegan mothers who do not
obtain adequate vitamin B12 in their diet while
breastfeeding can cause severe and permanent
neurological damage to their infants. Related studies
note importance of early recognition of significant
maternal vitamin B12 deficiency during pregnancy and
lactation in vegetarians is emphasized so that
appropriate supplementation can be given and
irreversible neurological damage in the infant
prevented.
Adriane Fugh-Berman, M.D. claims that
"some people use veganism to hide anorexia nervosa".
Vegan dietician Brenda Davis claims current research
indicates as many as 50% of people with anorexia nervosa
or bulimia nervosa self-proclaim a vegetarian diet as a
cover for their avoidance of eating "meat" or other
"high fat foods". Also, Vesanto Melina, a B.C.
registered dietitian and author of Becoming Vegetarian,
stresses there is no cause and effect relationship
between vegetarianism and eating disorders although
people who have eating disorders may label themselves as
vegetarians "so that they won't have to eat." Pro-ana
communities have been known to advocate a poorly
balanced vegan diet as a cover for anorexia. Though
there may be a correlation, there does not appear to be
causation; eating disorders usually predate the adoption
of a vegan diet. A 1987 review of 116 cases found that
in only 6.3% did meat avoidance predate the onset of
anorexia nervosa. The American Dietetic Association
acknowledges that vegetarian diets may be more common
among adolescents with eating disorders than in the
general adolescent population, and that professionals
should be aware of adolescents who limit food choices
and exhibit symptoms of eating disorders. According to
the ADA, the evidence suggests that the adoption of a
vegetarian diet does not lead to eating disorders, but
"vegetarian diets may be selected to camouflage an
existing eating disorder".
|