- By Dr George Jacobs -
To me, the big news story of this week came from Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan’s blog, where he stated, “I have adopted a fully plant-based diet plan, avoiding all meat, not even fish or dairy products.”
Mr Khaw is not alone. More people, especially those who understand where our food comes from and what impact our food has, are also upping the plant-based components of their diet. Why? Here are three key reasons.
Reason #1 centres on health. Most of us already know that we should eat lots of fruits and vegetables. In fact, we don’t need to eat any meat, eggs or dairy at all. In 2009, the American Dietetic Association, the world’s largest organisation of health and nutrition professionals, issued an evidence based position paper stating that vegetarian and vegan (vegan = plant-based) diets are nutritionally adequate and can even have health benefits.
These health benefits are thought to include reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity and certain cancers. For example, plant foods – and not just fruits and vegetables, but also nuts, seeds and grains – are rich in antioxidants, which seem to protect cells from the damage caused by free radicals. This free radical damage could increase cancer risk.
The environment constitutes Reason #2 for moving towards a plant-based diet. The key fact – probably obvious once you think about it – is that meat production is inefficient. We need to feed many kgs of plant foods to the chickens, cows and pigs whom we later eat. Growing all these extra plants means chopping down more forests, using more water and burning more fossil fuels. Plus, what do you think happens to the waste produced by the approximately 60+ billion land animals whom we eat annually? This waste fouls the air, the water and the soil.
The other big environmental plus of going plant-based relates to Global Warming. One UN estimate lays the blame for 18% of human produced greenhouse gas emission on the plate of the livestock industry. (See here.)
Last but not least, Reason #3 for going towards plant-based connects to our fellow animals. They aren’t objects. They are feeling, thinking beings. Maybe they don’t feel emotions just like us, maybe they don’t think just like us, but a growing body of research demonstrates that they most definitely do feel and do think.
Yet, modern factory farming methods ask only one question: How can we produce the most meat (or dairy or eggs) in the least time at the lowest cost? For instance, chickens – every day in Singapore, we eat more than 100,000 chickens – live only about six weeks – as compared to potentially 2-3 years in nature – before they are slaughtered. And, ‘live’ really should be put in inverted commas, because the lives of these poor creatures are completely unnatural. For example, chickens are separated from their families, kept indoors in unnatural conditions and fed growth hormones.
Conditions are scarcely better for the animals who produce milk and eggs. Again, the only question asked is: How can we produce the most product in the least time at the lowest cost? For instance, cows are kept pregnant so that they will deliver more milk, yet their calves are taken away as soon as economically efficient. Special methods, such as food deprivation, are used to increase egg production. And, what do you think happens to the cows and chickens once their production declines? Are they sent to a retirement farm to quietly live out the rest of their lives? Please close your children’s books and return to the real world.
In case you’re wondering, fishes and other marine animals don’t have it much better. An increasing percentage of them are raised on the marine equivalent of factory farms, in the same kind of unnatural conditions suffered by pigs and other land animals. Similarly, the pollution generated by this farming method causes grave environment problems. And, that is not to mention the havoc wreaked on marine ecosystems by modern fishing practices. Lastly, fishes too are sentient beings. Why make them suffer and die when actually our health is better without eating them? For instance, plant foods contain abundant Omega 3. (Vegetarian Society)
Source: Health Minister Says...
To conclude, three important reasons to adopt a plant-based diet are our own health, the environment of our planet and the well-being of the animals with whom we share the planet. But, isn’t it terribly difficult to eat a plant-based diet? Not really, especially not in Singapore, with more than 500 vegetarian eateries and lots of plant-based options at non-veg establishments. Plus, our supermarkets and wet markets are bursting with colourful, tasty plant-based foods.
Let’s have a look at what Mr Khaw eats. Returning to his blog, for lunch at the SGH food court, he enjoyed “salad with no dressing, vegetable sandwich (on wholegrain bread) and fruits”. And his breakfast consisted of “oats, wholegrain bread and fruits”.
No need to jump to 100% right away. Start slowly. Try one plant-based meal a day, and gradually increase. Find a family member, friend or colleague to make the change with you. You, the environment and our fellow animals will be glad you did.
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Dr George Jacobs is the president of the Vegetarian Society (Singapore) – a non-profit, non-religious charity
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When you are thinking vegan also check info on eating refined carbohydrates, syndrome X and high glycemic foods. I am also seeing a TCM practitioner. Traditional Chinese Medicine. My sinseh suggests I go vegan. She cured my symptoms which allopathy couldn’t. It was an interesting experience for me.
Don’t refrain from the mentioned foods just because someone is kaput, anything done in moderation is fine
A few good points and some howlers. It’s true that less meat, wheat and dairy would be healthy for the average westerner. And it would be good to improve the conditions of animals like cage chickens.
But it’s incorrect that complete abstention from meat is healthy. A Mediterranean diet has meat but is low in heart disease. And some lands aren’t suited for plant cultivation but are good for grazing.
The howler was this: “This waste fouls the air, the water and the soil.” Wrong. Animal waste is part of the ecosystem. Manure is fertiliser not poison. And animals breathe out carbon dioxide which plants require for life or they all die.
More eco-ramblings from a global warming ideologue.
hi Sometimes Vegan. Could i pls know the contact for ur TCM physician who recommends plant based?
One veg TCM practitioner, Douglas Teo, is doing a talk in Mandarin at Bukit Merah Library, Sun, 27 Jun, 3pm: Vegetarian Diet according to Your Body Type.
Another howler: “Growing all these extra plants means chopping down more forests, using more water and burning more fossil fuels”
Please tell me that the growing of vegetables DO NOT need to take up land (chopping down trees), irrigation (using more water) and transportation (burning more fossil fuels) before I believe it.
More eco-ramblings from a global warming ideologue without any thinking. Doublethink!!
Hi MeatEater. Thx for the feedback. You’re right that waste from chickens, pigs, etc. can be a beneficial part of the ecosystem. But that was before factory farms, a.k.a. Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation:
http://www.nrdc.org/water/pollution/nspills.asp
1000s of animals are now crowded into each of these facilities. The waste they produce dwarfs the ecosystem’s ability to process is. We 7 billion humans now eat about 60 billion land animals annually. That’s a lot of waste!
And because we have to remove so many trees to find enough land to grow the food needed to feed the 60 billion, not to mention the billions of marine animals in similar facilities, the plants can’t process the CO2 produced, thus worsening Global Warming.
I’m French, 5 years ago I lived for 6 months in S’pore: that was the place for a revelation, I did adopt from that time a wholefood plant-based diet! (discovering while being there that I was lactose intolerant without knowing it).
As mentionned in the article, the great diversity of vegetarian restaurants (from Ling Zhi to Raj…) helped me a lot but also the markets providing a great offer in fresh fruits & veg.
I would say that S’pore can easily become one of the most vegan friendly city… (San Franciso, Stockholm… being still a bit a head).
Creative plant-based gastronomie is doable (see Ling Zhi restaurant)…
So if that could help to promote fresh fruits & vegs, and good organic plant products ! That’s indeed a very good news. The creativity and energy of S’pore will do the rest, I’m sure.
Flavors, colors, perfumes, spices, textures, fresh organic plant-based products… nothing out of reach really.
kristof
Hi Hogzilla. Cute name.
You’re right that it takes land, water, etc. to grow plants.
The inefficiency of meat is in the ratio of plant food needed to produce meat. Think about human children. Do they gain one kg for every kg they eat? Of course, not.
Same for chickens, pigs, etc. Even though on factory farms, they have little chance to more around so they don’t burn many calories, and even though they are fed growth hormones, and even though they are specially bred to be fat in all the ‘right’ places, these animals still need to eat many kgs of plants for 1kg of meat.
That’s why when we eat the plants directly, instead of second hand by eating meat, we help the env by reducing the amount of crops we grow.
No need to be 100% plant based; every meal helps. Thanks.
Forgot to mention this.
The growing of plants need nutrient from the earth. When the earth’s nutrients run out, the farmers either use fertilizer or left it barrow. Excess usage of fertilizer will cause water pollution; Leaving the field barrow is an ineffective way of utilizing the land. In both cases, pest will pester the crops, so pesticide is needed and it creates more pollution. And for God sake,please don’t mention the word “organic”. The reason why organic food is so freaking expensive is: the method of growing organic food is too INEFFECTIVE. I wouldn’t say, “Please close your children’s books and return to the real world.”, I would just say “Please open your Science and Geography textbooks and return to the real world.”
Here’s an interesting hypothetical situation. What happens of some researcher found out that plants DO have feelings and emotions like animals? What do we eat then? The soil? Or we can just survive on breathing alone?
Think. And Doublethink.
Hi george jacobs.
You can always do a google on my nick. It sounds cute but it isn’t as cute as you think. In this case, doublethink.
Dear Jacob
My sinseh is operating in Malaysia! So not possible-lah. She is very bezee as it is where she is. I am amazed at the numbers of people, families and children at her clinic including foreigners. There are very good books in English on the Net from “the West” esp in Europe. Alternative healing is catching up.
My daughter started to be on vegetarian when she was 14 because of peer influence. She did this for 3 years. When she was in primary school she was amongst the tallest in her class. But by the time she was 17, she stopped growing at 1.5m. Our families’ genes are not short either.
Please consult a specialist before embarking on vege based diet.
It is not that vegetarians or vegans do not harm the earth or other beings. Everybody does in one way or another, we might accidentally step on an ant or be the cause of a fire breakout, etc etc.
The point is trying our best to do as little harm as possible. If eating only plants is enough for survival, and in fact brings better health, why let more beings suffer?
In order to feed ourselves dead bodies of animals, we need to first feed them plants. Which is more wasteful and brings more suffering – a plant diet or a meat diet?
Jacob, I searched for a sinseh when I couldnt get well with allopathy. It was after reading “The Complete Cancer Cleanse” by Cherie Calhom et.al from Popular Bookshop. I dont have cancer but I found the info in that book on food and your body very informative. Look also for Poppy Press (pub) “The Treatjment of Diseases in TCM”. These come in several vols. I got the vol I wanted from Amazon.com. Good luck
Hogzilla,
Pls refrain from making personal remarks about the author. Else, your comments will not be allowed and we will hold you in moderation.
Thanks.
Sorry for misquoting your name Dr G Jacobs. Errata–Blue Poppy Press. There is good bibliography in the books.
Reply to Sawdust. I agree that it’s good to consult professionals about our health, and there is lots of plant based junk food, such as coca-cola and potato chips. Further, diet isn’t a magic guarantee of health. Many other factors are involved, such as exercise, environment and mental outlook.
Here are some local examples of outstandingly healthy vegetarians (although some eat dairy and/or eggs).
a. the SG national record holder in the marathon, M. Rameshon is veg. (p.s. he’s a blogger too and a PE teacher)
b. a SG weightlifter, Ang Hwee, has won medals in international competition
c. one of the oldest people in SG, Teresa Hsu, is 110+ years old
d. one of our top blood donors, Goh Joo Heng (donated more than 100 times.
BTW, when i donated blood today, the nurse told me my iron count was especially good, maybe because I add brown sugar or molasses to my morning smoothie.
People tend to associate size with health. I am quite tall among my peers, and am taller than my parents and my sisters. Relatives and friends always commented with approval and envy that I was so tall. But I have always been poorest in terms of health, until I switched to a plant based diet. Symptoms that specialists and GPs and even Chinese sinsehs failed to correct started to disappear like magic.
One thing we need to note is, a vegetarian/ vegan can be unhealthy too, if it consists mainly of coke and chips.
There is much evidence that suggests vegetarianism as a healthier choice, but one should be careful with nutrition. Vegetarians may be in danger of falling short on vitamin B12 and iodine, for example.
Speaking of this, is there a guide on the Vegetarian Society website on the nutrition to watch out for when one switches from a meat-based diet? I know the society has a printed leaflet that describes the function, sources etc. on each vitamin and mineral, but it may be more effective and useful for those switching diets to have a list of the few nutrition the person has to be aware of due to the change.
turning my self into a vegan is the happiest thing i did in my life so far. i m so happy now, i did not eat any kind of animal food including meat, eggs, fish, milk, honey etc. i m very healthy and happy since 2 years ago. i hope people will change their energy in doubting plant base diet into action to try out. i’m a human and have proven that plant base diet works fantastically, maybe you don’t have to believe what been said, i hope you try out and share the joy of adopting plant base diet which beneficial to human health, environment and all the animal friends. the sooner you start trying, the sooner you will gain the unlimited benefits.
The growing of plants need nutrient from the earth. When the earth’s nutrients run out, the farmers either use fertilizer or left it barrow. Excess usage of fertilizer will cause water pollution; Leaving the field barrow is an ineffective way of utilizing the land. In both cases, pest will pester the crops, so pesticide is needed and it creates more pollution.
Yea, and most of those plants grown are fed to livestock creating even less amounts of meat for affluent ppl to eat. Isn’t it more wasteful? Think. And Doublethink.
The reason why organic food is so freaking expensive is: the method of growing organic food is too INEFFECTIVE.
It is not ineffective, if it was, our ancestors would have died long ago because there weren’t any chemical fertilizers.
Here’s an interesting hypothetical situation. What happens of some researcher found out that plants DO have feelings and emotions like animals? What do we eat then? The soil? Or we can just survive on breathing alone?
Common sense tells me even IF they have feelings and emotions like animals, they would be minimal. And like what momoko say: the least harm as possible.
I have no doubt that vege based diet is a healthier choice. But I dont know if young growing up kid should be on it also. Better to consult a professional.
To Sometime Vegan
What is allopathy.
I want to try TCM Vegan diet, as I suffer from lupus, a autoimmune disease, and am suffering from hip pain, radiating down my entire right leg, down to the feet.
All doctors, whether Weatern or TCM, told me there is no cure for my condition, as my autoimmune disease is attacking my bones and joints, and soon I may have to go for hip replacement surgery.
Would like to try your Malaysian Doctor, even though I have to travel to Malaysia.
The pain could sometimes be excruciating,rendering me unable to walk at all, and have to use a walking cane.
Would appreciate your help.
Sorry, Vegans: Brussels Sprouts Like to Live, Too (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/science/22angi.html?_r=2&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y)
Is it ethical to eat plants — when they’re fighting for their lives? (Source: http://www.collisiondetection.net/mt/archives/2010/01/is_it_ethical_t.php)
Eating Less Meat and Dairy Products Won’t Have Major Impact on Global Warming, Export Argues (Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100322121103.htm)
to Sawdust: India has ~1 billion people, for hundreds of years, around 40-50% are lifetime vegetarian, they were vegetarian since day one. so is Taiwan, around 2 million people are lifetime vegetarian.
to spaces: i personally think that the reason why organic food is so expensive is because the demand is so low, but if we look back 10 years ago, the organic food price has dropped so much due to increased in demand. please pay more visit to organic shop to contribute to the market demand to help pull the price down if you may.
george jacobs: “…You’re right that waste from chickens, pigs, etc. can be a beneficial part of the ecosystem. But that was before factory farms…”
True. It is getting out of hand. Still, though, many low income people rely on the cheap produce of things like cage chickens. So, I think every change should be gradual, as society can afford it.
“…the plants can’t process the CO2 produced, thus worsening Global Warming.”
As a climate sceptic I disagree with Catastophic AGW (CAGW) theory, but I agree that deforestation combined with brute agricultural techniques are interfering with the earth and its carbon cycle. At the end of the day I support your change to a clean, green world, but only when we can afford it. Humans must come first.
Obviously Mr Khaw must have convincing reasons to turn to a vegan diet. For those of you out there not convinced, do read up an excellent book on this topic available from the Veg Society of Spore. BTW, I’m not connected with them in any way but I have read the thoroughly scientific book called The China Project.
I am also a vegan – started out because I was convinced the original diet recommended for man by his Creator is a vegan diet ( check out Genesis Chap 2, The Holy Bible).
ayah there must be a balance in everything. If not why God has made all these good things for who???
The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men. – Alice Walker
to popcorn
I am not sure if a sinseh can help with probs relating to hip replacement.
You should check with sinsehs in Singapore and acupunturists.
“Western medicine” is allopathy. You can do a combination of both so you must check with your own medical practitioners.
By the way, our body structure and digestive system are ‘design’ or meant to be herbivore!
Not saying about others, personally, gradually cutting down on meat/animal based and switching to plant based nutritions has benefited me in terms of my digestive system. I have not suffer from any gastric issues or constipation problems and not fallen ill seriously for the past 2yrs like i used to be, even with people around me suffering from flu virus etc. Of course other factors like our mind and soul plays an important part as well, it is a holistic bigger picture we are looking at.
I agree that a deeper understanding of ourselves, what nutritions we require and where are the healthier sources are important, to be able to maintain the choice of living happily and joyfully with plant based nutritions, which need not be a miserable choice. Instead it can be fun, rich and delicious(there are many wonderful recipes, workshops out there, which one can check out).
hi Ayam, i agree that there is a balance in everything, that is why we must adopting vegan diet so that our body and the eco-system stay in a balance and harmony state. vegan diet provide us with balance nutrient. if one consuming animal food which is not meant for human, they will lost the balance they need and have disease in their body.
Hi again, Hogzilla. i googled ur name. Interesting story, but sad ending. Thx.
The issue of whether plants have feelings and intelligence is one often raised, sincerely or otherwise, when plant-based advocates talk about the feelings and intelligence of animals.
I do think about that, and I wouldn’t be surprised if ur hypothetical is one day found to be fact. Here’s what I tell myself in reply.
a. Clearly, animal sentience is on a different level than plant sentience might be.
b. When I eat plant based, i reduce the number of plants that are killed, as was explained in an earlier post on the inefficiency of meat eating.
c. Some fruits are best harvested when they are ready to drop at the end of their lives.
d. As Martin Luther King once wrote, “The arc of history is long, but bends toward justice”. We made some progress on human welfare in the 19th and 20th centuries, and this century, we seem to be moving towards more concern for the welfare of our fellow animals.
Let’s work on the non-human animals, while continuing to look out for our fellow humans, and then maybe we can work on helping plants.
With regards to heart disease and vegetarianism, it may interest people to know that Indian vegetarians have even higher rates of heart disease.
One source (http://www.ispub.com/ostia/index.php?xmlFilePath=journals/ijc/vol1n2/cadi.xml ) says:
Among Asian Indian men, about half of all MI occur under the age of 50 and 25% under the age of 40. Apart from glucose intolerance, they have no excess of conventional risk factors such as cigarette smoking, hypertension, and high cholesterol levels. Nearly half of them are life-long vegetarians.
If we take the rate of vegetarianism as 31% in India (based on Wiki), then vegetarians, prima facie, are even more susceptible to heart disease.
Now, I’m not an internet huckster trying to sell anything, but I’m merely trying to provide a perspective that is not yet present on this page.
The answer for this phenomenon is that carbohydrates is what causes heart disease.
Put very simply, it is recognised that the dense LDLs are correlated to heart disease, and dense LDLs are raised by consumption of carbohydrates.
Vegetarians, by virtue of their diet, necessarily consume more carbohydrates by proportion of their diet, and end up being at higher risk. Fundamentally, a high blood sugar level damages all our organs, and it doesn’t matter whether you eat pure sugar, or a high glycemic index carbohydrate: ALL of them are digested into blood sugar!
Before you attack what I have said, do some research on the internet and read the medical journals: it is your own health at stake, do your own homework!
Other issues to investigate for your own health is the toll omega-6 polyunsaturated fats take on our health.
The article has been up less than 8 hours and already so many comments. Thanks everyone. I’m impressed by the TOC readers. You’re a lively bunch!
Here are some more replies to the important points that have been raised.
1. children and plant based
Here is a portion of the American Dietetic Association’s position paper. The article has a link to the whole thing. ADA is the world’s largest organisation of health and nutrition professionals:
It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life-cycle including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence and for athletes.”
2. As to what people on a plant based diet might want to watch out for [but pls note the article advocates ‘moving towards’ plant based; so, if u’re worried, have a couple meat meals a week.
a. Omega 3 – I put ground flaxseed, aka linseed, in my morning smoothie
b. Iron – i put raisins, brown sugar or molasses in the smoothie
c. Protein – u’d be amazed at all the plant foods with protein; no need to rely exclusively on soy. remember: elephants and horse, two of the strongest animals are plant based
d. B12 – we can take supplements (easily available), eat fortified foods or get a jab
As stated previously, health depends on many factors, and it’s probably a good idea to have a regular checkup and to consult health professionals.
3. As to Indian vegetarians, many of them consume dairy products. Professor T Colin Campbell of Cornell University (who spoke in SG last year), author of The China Study – http://thechinastudy.com – calls milk ‘liquid meat’, because his research suggests that milk has many of the same negative factors contained in meat.
In March of this year, in an interview in ST’s Mind Your Body section, Dr Ong Hean Yee, a cardiologist at Alexandra Hospital, stated, “Humans are natural herbivores; we get heart disease when we eat meat”.
Cardiovascular disease in the masai
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B94T7-4T4XVFR-1&_user=10&_coverDate=07%2F08%2F1964&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1372901488&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=b7b1431644f51b9facf4b58b37a4b14d
Summary
A field survey of 400 Masai men and additional women and children in Tanganyika indicates little or no clinical or chemical evidence for atherosclerosis. Despite a long continued diet of exclusively meat and milk the men have low levels of serum cholesterol and no evidence for arteriosclerotic heart disease. The reasons for this disagreement with the popular hypothesis relating animal fat intake to coronary disease are examined. The authors concede that some overriding protective mechanism such as freedom from emotional stress or abundance of physical exercise may be present. They favor the conclusion that diet fat is not responsible for coronary disease.
As for the China Study, http://www.thegreatcholesterolcon.com/The_China_Study.html minces no words.
*Quote begins*
Neither total protein (+12%), animal protein (+3%), fish protein (+7%), plant protein (+12%), meat intake (-20%), saturated fat (+2%), fat calories (-17%), eggs (+19%), nor milk (+6%) demonstrated any statistically significant association with mortality from all cancers. Rice (-26%, p=0.05) and green vegetables (-28%, p=0.05) were statistically associated with reduced cancer mortality, as were the use of alcohol (-27%, p=0.05), home-made cigarettes (-32%, p=0.01), and total tobacco use (-25%, p=0.05).
(Readers can now see why I have such a generally low opinion of epidemiological research–if we were to treat the findings of the China Study seriously, then we would all go out and start drinking and smoking cigarettes in order to improve our odds against cancer! Despite his obvious enthrallment with the results of the China Study, Campbell for some reason doesn’t recommend this…)
With regards to specific types of cancer, no statistically significant associations were observed for total protein, animal protein, fish protein, meat intake, milk intake, saturated fat, total fat, fiber, cereal grains, legumes, vegetables and mortality from colorectal or breast cancers.
Heart Disease
No statistically significant associations were observed for total protein, animal protein, fish protein, meat intake, milk intake, saturated fat, total fat, fiber, legumes, and mortality from coronary heart disease.
Rice was associated with a statistically significant decrease (-58%, p=0.001) in CHD risk, while wheat flour was associated with a statistically significant increase in CHD risk (+67%, p=0.001). A similar phenomenon was noted for stroke mortality, with a statistically significant risk decrease noted for rice (-44%, p=0.01), and a statistically significant increase in risk observed for wheat flour (+55%, p=0.001) (again, despite his apparent rapture with the China Study results, nowhere does Campbell recommend the avoidance of wheat or wheat flour; in fact, he encourages the consumption of whole grain cereals).
So there you have it…the “Grand Prix” study that supposedly showed “People who ate the most animal-based foods got the most chronic disease. . . . People who ate the most plant-based foods were the healthiest and tended to avoid chronic disease” actually showed that animal-based foods imparted no increased risk of all-cause mortality, cancer deaths, or cardiovascular mortality.
*end quote*
I just want to point out that the picture is not as simple and straightforward as any one person (whether pro-vegetarian or otherwise) would have it. The picture is incredibly complicated, and to think that taking out meat is enough is over-simplistic. It is possible to be healthy on a completely non-animal diet, but it is difficult and unnatural (in that you’d need supplements). I respect people who do not eat meat for humane reasons, but to argue that for health reasons is an entirely separate issue.
I hope all readers have come down this far, and my message is that each and everyone really needs to be responsible for their own diet by doing their own research: do not take anyone’s word at face value, no matter how many honorary titles they have! Look at the studies, read them carefully, see whether their conclusions really do match up with their data. Pay attention to your diet, and see how you feel when you eat certain things. It is your life, so take some effort for yourself.
Topics to look into:
1. The benefits of Omega-3; and why animal sources are superior to plant sources
2. Avoidance of omega-6 polyunsaturates
3. The importance of vitamin D
4. Danger of carbohydrates
5. Danger of wheat in particular
6. Lectins
This list is far from exhaustive, but it’s a good start.
Humans evolved to have meat slicing incisors and plant grinding molars. We’re omnivores. I suggest Dr. Ong go take a look at the dental development of herbivores and then go back to school and learn how ours developed. Good grief.
FYI anything not done in moderation leads to heart disease. Jogging at speeds beyond your physical limit leads to cardiac arrest ergo we should stop running? Post hoc ergo procter hoc.
IW:
Yes, George is right about the dairy part. Indian cuisine uses these heavily – ghee, butter, milk, yoghurt, cheese. All these contribute to cholesterol and sat. fats. Also another point to note is that most vegetables in Indian cuisine like curries etc. are overcooked, loosing their protective effect. Lastly, on high carbohydrates intake – ancient chinese who have low rates of CHD, but yet survived largely on carbohydrates. Of course lifestyle factors and physical activity plays a part as well, it will be unhealthful to consume a lot of carbs when not exercising.
Percevale:
Check out the jaws of the Gorillas and orangutans and horses. The all have canine teeth and incisors like us.
Hi plants are organic too.
they grow,so they must be ‘alive’?
Besides.there are probably micro-organism living in the leaves of plants etc.
So,in the end,there is no diff between meat-eater and vege/fruits eater as far as ‘killing’ or making some other forms of being suffer ,right?
As for the rest,to each his own.
Whether a person decides to be a vegetarian or not is more of an ethical choice and of personal values rather than the anatomy by itself.
Vegans has to plan out the diet mixed properly to ensure proper nutrition and prevent deficiencies.
The question of eating is: are we eating out of our own greed, hunger, cravings and to satisfy our taste buds’ desires or do we eat to nourish and re-vitalise our being in a well balanced and harmonious way? It is the mindset of eating that makes a huge difference as far as humanity and ecology is in concern.
Hi Vege Alive, Mr George has already replied to your common comment on plant-feelings:
I do think about that, and I wouldn’t be surprised if ur hypothetical is one day found to be fact. Here’s what I tell myself in reply.
a. Clearly, animal sentience is on a different level than plant sentience might be.
b. When I eat plant based, i reduce the number of plants that are killed, as was explained in an earlier post on the inefficiency of meat eating.
c. Some fruits are best harvested when they are ready to drop at the end of their lives.
d. As Martin Luther King once wrote, “The arc of history is long, but bends toward justice”. We made some progress on human welfare in the 19th and 20th centuries, and this century, we seem to be moving towards more concern for the welfare of our fellow animals.
Let’s work on the non-human animals, while continuing to look out for our fellow humans, and then maybe we can work on helping plants.
Hi Vege Alive
Let me ask you a few questions, pls.
What do you eat to keep with your principles?
Do you think that eating plants, eating non-human animals or eating humans are all the same?
There are many reasons to move towards a plant based diet, including compassion (which you have discussed), environmental protection, and human health. As you seem to disagree on the compassion reason, what about the other two?
On a continuum from 100% animal based foods to 100% plant based foods, where is your current diet, pls? The point of yesterday’s article was to encourage movement along the continuum, not being 100%.
Sorry for asking so many questions. Cheers
Here’s an email discussion related to yesterday’s TOC article.
TOC Reader:
Thanks for your article on TOC. I recently became a vegetarian (hopefully I’ll cut meat completely by the end of this year) and greatly appreciate the long list of places to check out. As you’ve cited in your article, there are many reasons to become a vegetarian. I decided to become vegetarian after reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer and learning about factory farming. I never gave much thought to where our meat came from before this. Since then, I have made several (unfortunately unsuccessful) attempts to try to pinpoint where we get our meat from in Singapore (if all the chicken are essentially from one farming conglomerate etc). Thus, I would really appreciate any insight/information you may have on where our meat comes from.
Me:
Thx for the email. I also read Eating Animals. No worries about not yet being 100% veg. Plant based isn’t either/or; it’s a continuum.
As to where our meat comes from, I don’t see that as a big issue. Yes, factory farming is the worst for the non-human animals, for the environment and for our own health. That said, there is no reason for humans to eat other animals.
Let me pose this hypothetical scenario: another species comes to Earth. They are smarter and more technologically advanced than us. They can manufacture their own food, but they think humans taste good. Would it be okay for them to eat us?
TOC Reader:
Thanks for your prompt reply. It is interesting seeing where you come from. If there is a more superior species, then I feel that it would be part of the natural food cycle/evolution if they end up choosing to consume us. I feel more strongly against the idea of reducing living things to mere factors of production. We’ve extended this concept to people (like migrant workers), in my opinion, which is what, quite frankly, scares me.
Me:
Do you mind if I share our discussion, without using ur name, on TOC, as the book u mention and the points u raise are ones that others should know about?
My brief reply is: Why do we have to live the way our ancestors lived? We live so differently in so many ways. Can’t we also change our eating habits?
BTW, I share ur concern about migrant workers. There are lots of ways to show compassion. Via diet is just one way.
TOC Reader:
Please go ahead. Hope it helps, at the very least, to create more awareness.
Thanks for your reply. I’ve never thought of it that way before!
“Let’s work on the non-human animals, while continuing to look out for our fellow humans, and then maybe we can work on helping plants.”
How? By evolving the capability to photosynthesise so we don’t have to eat?
Godwin asked how we could eat without eating plants. Thanks for the important question, although as i stated earlier, it seems like more of a question for future decades.
a. Please read some science fiction. Lots of ideas are proposed.
b. Test tube food is already being developed. For example, this article from Wired talks about test tube meat http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/04/invitro_meat/
However, Godwin, let’s return to the issue raised in the article, the issue that we already have a easy non-fiction answer for: whether we humans can eat fewer non-human animals.
I’ve been married 20+ years. My wife eats meat. I have nothing against meat eaters. They aren’t perfect; neither am I.
This is my last post related to this article. Thanks again for all the wonderful dialogue. Please visit http://www.vss.sg. We have an online forum, a free eNewsletter, etc.
Actually, by eating less meat, we are helping the plants. Forests are being destroyed in order to grow crops to feed animals, in order for us to eat the animals. If we don’t eat the animals, then more forests, that is, more plants, will be spared.
Eating plants vs eating animals:
1. Plants do not have a brain or nervous system. How would they feel pain?
2. Pain is nature’s mechanism for self preservation. If we placed our hand on a hot stove, pain makes us immediately withdraw. Plants cannot uproot and run away, so what purpose would pain serve?
3. For every 1kg of meat that we eat, that animal needed to eat about 10kgs of plants. So even if plants really had emotions and felt pain, we are still doing far less harm by eating plants directly rather than animals.
4. Still concerned? Then eat fruits, which are freely given by plants to be eaten.
>> By the way, our body structure and digestive system are ‘design’ or meant to be herbivore!
Humans are omnivores. Just take a look at our digestive system. It’s unnecessarily complex if we were only meant to eat vegetables.
>> Clearly, animal sentience is on a different level than plant sentience might be.
Based on what we know, currently. A lot of things humans thought they knew have since been proven false.
>> The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men. – Alice Walker
Yes.. the same animals that eat one another.
>> 1. Plants do not have a brain or nervous system. How would they feel pain?
A rather circular argument, don’t you think, if you are going to define pain as requiring a brain or nervous system?
>> 2. Pain is nature’s mechanism for self preservation. If we placed our hand on a hot stove, pain makes us immediately withdraw. Plants cannot uproot and run away, so what purpose would pain serve?
Please read the NYT article linked by someone else earlier.
>> 4. Still concerned? Then eat fruits, which are freely given by plants to be eaten.
Actually, the implicit contract is that we eat the seeds as well and poop them out somewhere and give the plant a chance to reproduce, instead of throwing them away into a bin where they will eventually get incinerated. But minor point.
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Reason #2 , as someone pointed out, animal waste goes back into the ecosystem.
Reason #3, if this is your objection, please support free roaming, sustainable farms that treat their livestock well.
The elephant in the room is overpopulation. People seem to forget that some time back, when there were less people around, we didn’t have the problems of factory farming or polluted environments.
Personally, I feel that not having any children (go adopt, there are plenty to go around) is a lot more responsible and environmentally friendly than vegetarianism. But somehow, no one applauds the people who do just that.
P.S. I eat both meat and vegetables and am also quite healthy.
P.P.S Singapore vegetarian food is generally awful, imo. There are so little varieties of vegetables you can find, and all the mock meat tastes terrible.
> Please read the NYT article linked by someone else earlier.
I did, and found it very interesting. That plants have mechanisms for self preservation makes perfect sense.
That they suffer the intense sensation we call pain, without the ability to up and run away, makes no sense at all.
Having said that, even if they did feel pain, the point remains that we do less harm by eating plants than by eating animals.
> Actually, the implicit contract is that we eat the seeds as well and poop them out somewhere and give the plant a chance to reproduce
I could be wrong, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to try eat a mango seed and poop it! :)