RSS Feed
Twitter
Serious and educated answers only please.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
What are the pros and cons of becoming a vegetarian? What is the difference between vegetarian and vegan?
Posted by admin on February 7th, 2010
Posted in 
Tags: 
I’m 19 now. I’ve been a vegetarian since age 6 and a vegan for almost a year. Vegan-you don’t eat or wear anything that was ever part of an animal. Vegetarian-no meat, but most eat eggs and/or milk.
Pros-
-Low cholesterol (vegetarian) and no cholesterol diet (vegan)
-Easier to maintain a healthy weight (i’ve lost 30lbs since going vegan!)
-Risks for most kinds of cancer are greatly reduced
-Vegetarians save 95 lives a year!
-Animal products (which aren’t organic) tend to be loading with all kinds of chemicals (hormones, antibiotics) which are harmful to you.
Cons (of veganism)-
-Can be difficult to eat out, though most restaurants are willing to modify the food for you.
-Not really a horrible con, but you will have to explain the reasoning behind your diet to everyone who finds out about it.
-Must take a B12 supplement.
-Soy milk and faux meat alternatives are a little more pricey than unethical options.
It’s best to make the transition slowly. Use ground veggie burger instead of ground beef, start baking with soy milk, use faux chicken strips with stir fries (morning star farms has a delicious one), pour some soy milk over your breakfast cereal, fry tofu with some onions and peppers instead of scrambled eggs to make a morning breakfast scramble. There is honestly a vegan-friendly version for nearly all of your favorite foods (even marshmallows, mac n cheese, banana cream pies, cheesecake, pizza…to name a few–I’ve had all of the above!) it’s just a matter of knowing what to replace what with and knwoing where to buy the replacements.
(check out goveg.com for links to a bunch of online vegan stores, as well as a FREE vegetarian starter kit!)
Visit these sites:
tryveg.com
goveg.com
Vegans don’t eat any animal products while vegetarians will eat cheeze, eggs, milk etc that are stricktly not flesh, but still animal products. Pros: Being vegetarian is healthy and leaves one with a clear conscience, however dealing with other people’s reactions is a big con.
Vegetarianism and veganism have not been shown to be healthier than a diet of real unprocessed foods that includes meat. Furthermore, vegetarianism is an unnatural diet for our species. Humans and hominids have always hunted and our natural diet is that of the hunter-gatherer.
Just something to keep in mind, if humans were supposed to be vegetarians, we’d all have fewer teeth, and the teeth we have now would be different kinds. By the basic structure of our teeth alone we can see scientifically that we’re omnivours ( we’re supposed to eat both plants and animals) Other then that, if you do in fact decide to become a vegetarian, please don’t become one of those preachy types that ruins every meal for every normal person at the table by spouting off about the health benefits, the poor little animals etc. If we wanted to be a vegetarian we would, we don’t need to hear from you and your types CONSTANTLY about how good you are and how evil we are. RESPECT has to be a 2 way street.
Vegans don’t eat anything that is derived from animals (i.e. meat, fish, milk, eggs, cheese, ice cream). There are different types of vegetarians…I’m a lacto-ovo vegetarian. I drink and eat dairy products and (once in a while) eggs. I don’t think I could live without eating cheese or ice cream!
strict vegans will not consume any animal products – that includes milk, cheese, fish, eggs etc. They will not wear animal products. That means no leather shoes and belts and no wool sweaters.
Vegetarians do not consume meat. There are different varieties. Some will consume fish and dairy. Some will consume eggs and dairy. Some will only eat dairy products.
Advantages are for your health; disadvantages are that it’s hard to go maintain vegetarian diets when you go out to restaurants/parties, etc. Some people think it’s a disadvantage because it is hard to find non-meat sources of protein and iron, particularly if you are vegan and do not consume dairy or fish.
Vegetarians don’t eat any meat,
vegans dont eat meat or anything that comes from animals.
pros- take iron vitamins
cons- you dont feel guilty
A vegetarian cannot eat any food which has caused the death of an animal. (including birds and fish, they are animals!)
A vegan does not eat any products of animals. This means no milk, eggs, honey etc.
Pros of becoming a vegetarian-
Animals live
More energy efficient
Ethical reasons
Religious reasons
Lots of meat suppliments now availible
Most products use vegetable oil and are fine to eat
Cons of becoming a vegetarian-
Harder to cater for
Less vegetarian dishes in restaurants
Cannot eat meat
Cannot save all animals
Harder to get protein
It is easier to be a vegetarian in countries where most people are already vegetarian because of their religion.
It means that most vegetarian dishes also have pulses and the like to provide protein.
I have a friend who is vegetarian, and another who is strictly Vegan. In relations to cost, its easier to be vegetarian (eat nothing that caused blodshed for an animal) than to be vegan (eat nothing that had to do with an animal at all). The vegetarian friend can still easily eat items "safe" for him when we go out. The vegan friend, however, has to either buy all his food at a specialty store in the city, or make everything himself with items purchased on the internet.
Be warned that in either case, if you decide to try and return to eating meat, you have to do it SLOWLY. Your body will adapt to eating other sources of protein and you will actually make yourself ill if you decide to just "grab a burger" after being meatless for a few months.
Some of the pros are that you can have a clear conscience as to what you consume, there is no guilt over hurting an innocent animal but there are nutritional issues to worry about as to whether you are getting enough iron, calcium, zinc, B vitamins and protein. A way to get around this is to visit a nutritionist for advice and be adamant about your decision. The difference between a vegetarian and a vegan is that a vegan will not eat anything that comes from an animal, that includes milk, cheese and eggs.
Some good resources to visit are:
http://www.canadian-health-network.ca
http://www.nutrispeak.com
http://www.vegweb.net
Good Luck if you are planning to pursue this path
This question is a tricky one. It depends on what you eat now and what you are doing it for. If you eat healthy and love vegetables, mushrooms and fruit, then you can be a vegetarian pretty easily and cheaply. If you live in a large metropolitan area, you can eat out at a large variety of places. If you live in a smaller area in the Midwest, for example, your choices are limited. If you are trying to save animals, then it doesn’t matter. My wife has been a vegetarian for over 10 years and it has been a struggle to eat healthy. We live in a Midwest state and most restaurants don’t cater to true vegetarians. I have adopted the vegetarian stance at home, but continue to eat chicken and fish out and at dinner parties. Fatty carbs and cheese dominate the delicious choices for people who are used to eating rich foods. Recently, my wife has decided to stop being a vegetarian. She had blood work ups and other tests done and her vegetarian choices were taking a toll on her energy and iron levels. I suggest try being a vegetarian in little steps. Eat no red meat, then no pork, then no chicken or fish, followed by products like Hostess Twinkees, etc…which contain animal fat. Then move on from there. See if your health or energy is affected and if it is rightfor you.
Make smart choices and good luck.
I’m vegeterian as my whole family and we have better health than others.. Vegans don’t eat any type of animal products while vegetarians do eat cheese, milk, eggs … Meat has proteins but also toxins that harm your body so eating healthy as vegeterians such as soybean, tofu etc.. has same proteins and no toxins
c’mon all veggies are unnatural. animals eat other animals bein omnivorous is natural if u dont eat meat ur screwin up the food chain how bout that for ur conscience anyways pros of bein a vegetarian as i can think of none its torture when bein round great food like bacon ummmmm. cons ur against nature u dont give ur body what it needs u have to think more about what u eat and tofu only gets u so far. stick bein an omi just eat a little less pork every now and then if u feel ur killing Innocent pigs. anyways vegens dont eat any animal products where as vegetarians dont eat anything with eyelids
Vegan means no egg and dairy PLUS no meat. Vegetarian is just no meat. Pros: You saving animals! Duh? Cons: You have to eat special to get protein. I’m allergic to dairy and eggs and trust me it is harder than it seems! And i’m allergic to wheat and gluten… but that’s another story. Well, it might not be hard if your in a job and working etc. But i’m in 8th grade and I have to watch my friends eat food at lunch. You can find tons of vegan food at health food stores and a vegan brand that has really good is "Enjoy Life" Some of their cookies are gross but I love the snookerdoodle ones! Good luck! I hope this helps!
Go Vegan
Just imagine that we r the only animal that we drink the milk from an other animal. The only milk that we need is the milk that we get from our mothers when we born.
Anyway I think all the people gave right answers, but honey its not animals product, came from flowers. We can eat it.
The pros for being a vegitarian are like u get a lot of vegetables in ur diet obviously and u get the vitamins and minerals that u cant get from meat alone.
The cons would be u wouldnt get the protein that beef or chicken gives and u get a little less energy.Some beef gives u mineral and vitamins that vegetables and fruits give u.
This is y u should eat both vegetables,fruits,and meat and of course grains.
Vegans are people who eat just fruits and vegetables.No milk,no eggs,no cheese,nothin that was made from an animal like cows and chickens.Vegetarians eat the milk and cheese and eggs along with the fruits and vegetables. Believe me there is a big difference.