From: abulsari@abo.fi (Abhay Bulsari VT)
Subject: A beginner's guide to vegetarianism
Organization: Abo Akademi University
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 05:43:31 GMT


This might have origins from Michael Traub, Ted Altar or Ferrell Wheeler.

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                   A Beginner's Guide to Vegetarianism
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	I want to talk to you about animals.  As members of ar-news, I'm 
sure this a subject very close and dear to all of our hearts.  However, I 
have in mind a specific group of animals--those that are on our dinner 
plates. 

	I've loved animals all of my life, but only became a vegetarian a 
year ago.  At first, my parents didn't understand, but I explained to them 
that it is a very natural step to take for someone who truly loves 
animals.  I've always struggled with the question of eating animals, but 
never knew that there was any alternative.  This brings me to the 
reason why I've written this article.  To tell you, the animal lover, that 
there is a wonderful world full of alternatives to the lifestyle most of 
us were raised with.

	Why should you consider becoming a vegetarian?  For one thing, 
there are very good health reasons.  First, the most common cause of 
death in the U.S. is by heart attack.  Whereas the average American man 
is at a 50% risk, a vegetarian male has only a 4% chance.  Second, 
according to the USDA, at least one out of every fifty eggs and one out 
of every three chickens sold in supermarkets are infected with live 
salmonella bacteria.  Also, most commercial mayonnaise can carry this 
bacteria because it is made with raw eggs.  However, this risk can be 
greatly reduced by proper handling and preparation.  Third, consider 
this--nearly 50% of the antibiotics manufactured each year in the U.S. 
are fed to animals which are later eaten by us.  Some health experts 
argue that this reduces the effectiveness of the antibiotics for humans 
by creating mutant antibiotic resistant bacteria; others (like my 
biology teacher) say that there is no conclusive scientific evidence.  
You decide.

	Health reasons aside, there are ethical reasons why you should 
consider going meatless.

	These reasons may include concern about the environment: every 
quarter pound of hamburger you eat destroys 55 square feet of rain 
forest because many cattle eaten in the U.S. have been fattened up in 
former rain forests converted to grazing ground.  Altogether, more than 
50% of current tropical rain forest destruction has been directly linked 
to raising livestock.  Another natural resource often overlooked is 
water.  To produce a pound of protein, it takes 1065 gallons of water 
for soybeans, 1490 gallons for corn and a whopping 3,000 to 5,000 
gallons for meat.  Not so amazingly, more than half of the water 
consumed in the U.S. each year is used up in factory animal farming!

	If you are concerned about world hunger, consider these 
comparisons--twenty vegetarians can be fed on the land needed to feed 
one person consuming a meat-based diet.  If Americans reduce their 
meat intake by only 10%, 60 million people (the number of people who 
will starve to death this year) could be adequately fed by the grain 
saved, because for the feed cost of an 8 oz. steak, 45 to 50 people could 
each have a full cup of cooked cereal grains.

	As animal lovers, the most important moral reason is realizing 
that eating animals is a form of animal abuse.  You will be saddened, as 
I was, to learn of the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in which 
animals are subjected to as livestock.  More than 95% of all animal 
suffering in this country occurs in factory livestock farming.  The sheer 
number of animals raised for our consumption beats all other forms of 
animal abuse, including cosmetic and product testing, and medical and 
scientific experimentation.  Unfortunately, most of us have long ago 
learned to disassociate the animal from the meat we eat and this has 
lead to an imbalance between us and the other creatures.  This 
imbalance is manifested in how these animals are "farmed."  Today, 
animal farms no longer resemble the quiet family farms that we see on 
television.  Instead, these are large factories which use huge machines 
and modern technology to make raising livestock profitable and 
impersonal.  No consideration is ever given to the comfort of these 
animals, except to keep them alive in large enough quantities.  Here is a 
small fraction of the torture that goes on in the livestock industry:  The 
United States consumes around 6.3 billion pounds of fish flesh annually.  
At the age of 20 weeks, 85 million pigs are slaughtered for U.S. 
dinnertime fare each year.  According to the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, another 24 million die before reaching slaughter age.  In 
addition, 416,000 pigs die from "shipping stress" on the way to the 
slaughterhouse because of careless and even malicious handling; 
animals have been observed to be electrically shocked and battered.  
Without anesthesia, male pigs and cows are castrated.  Speaking of 
cows, there are approximately 5.5 million dairy cows in the U.S. and 
instead of their 25 years lifespan under natural living conditions, these 
animals live only 3 to 5 years, with most becoming hamburger.  More 
than a million calves a year are raised for veal; during their short life 
span of around 16 to 18 weeks, they are given no water to drink or any 
solid food.  To make sure that their flesh is white (anemic), they are 
fed milk replacers that are deliberately deficient.  Their entire 
miserable life is spent in a crate not even big enough for them to stand 
or move around in; needless to say, almost all of them never see 
daylight.  If you think that is cruel, listen to this.  Day-old chicks' beaks 
are dismembered through a process that burns their beaks off (and 
sometimes part of their face, too) with a hot knife.  Since only female 
chickens lay eggs, more than *280 million male chicks every year are 
considered waste and tossed into plastic bags on top of each other and 
left to die*.  This staggering number is only a small fraction of the 5 to 
6 billion chickens that are cruelly slaughtered each year for our 
consumption.  The slaughtering process consists of hanging each 
chicken upside down on a conveyer line as their heads are dragged 
through an electrified water trough.  Next their throats are slit and 
their bodies go through the scalding hot water tanks, sometimes still 
alive.

"Poor animals!  How jealously they guard their pathetic 
bodies ... that which to us is merely an evening's meal, but 
to them is life itself." 		--T. Casey Brennan

"Recognize meat for what it really is: the antibiotic- and 
pesticide-laden corpse of a tortured animal." 
				            --Ingrid Newkirk
					      PETA National Director

WHAT CAN YOU DO

	If these facts are hard for you to swallow, no pun intended, I've 
got good news--you can do something about it.  Don't take a part in 
supporting these inhumane acts.  Start on your alternative lifestyle by 
reducing the intake of animal flesh and broadening your eating horizon 
by trying ethnic foods, many of which include delicious meat-free 
dishes.  When you cook, try substitutes like tofu and tempeh instead of 
meat.  If you think tofu is for wimps, think again.  It is rich in protein 
and are now made into delicious food items like cheese, hot dogs, 
sandwich meat-substitute, margarine, and drinks.  Also, mayonnaise is 
now available without eggs.  These and many other healthy substitutes 
can be found in health food stores and some supermarkets like Vons and 
Ralphs.  If you don't quite know how to cook vegetarian, there are lots 
of great cookbooks available; my favorite is Sunset's Vegetarian 
Cooking, which has easy-to-make recipes ranging from main dishes to 
desserts.

	I do not claim to be an expert on nutritional vegetarian diets, nor 
am I about to give out advice on this topic, but I will say one sure thing 
-- MEAT IS NOT ESSENTIAL TO GOOD HEALTH.  What is essential is that 
your meat-free diet include nutrients that were previously part of the 
animal diet.  Don't take my word for it there are many well written 
books on vegetarian health.  Next time you are in a bookstore, browse in 
the cookbook or nutrition section and you'll be sure to spot a few.

	Becoming a vegetarian isn't something you should do overnight or 
even over several weeks.  Like most everyone else in this country, I was 
raised on meat and giving it up was a big deal, both physically and 
mentally.  I started weaning myself away from meat about 2 years ago.  
Do I miss eating meat?  Not any more.  If you are considering becoming 
a vegetarian, start slowly and gradually change your eating habits.  
Most important--don't force yourself and listen to your body!  If you get 
a craving for that hamburger or pepperoni pizza, eat it.  Chances are, 
after you've been meat-free, even for a short while, eating it may be 
difficult.

	Now, I understand that vegetarianism isn't for everyone.  I want 
those of you interested to know that it isn't something you should be 
afraid of trying.  If you are like me, as you start on the road to 
becoming a vegetarian, you may be surprised by all the new things to 
learn about your new lifestyle.  Don't let them overwhelm you.  
Remember, make gradual and small changes when you feel you are ready.

	Join other famous vegetarians, such as Albert Einstein, Socrates, 
Plato, Leonardo da Vinci, Leo Tolstoy, Sir Isaac Newton, H.G. Wells, 
Upton Sinclair, Charles Darwin, Geoerge Bernard Shaw, Benjamin 
Franklin, Ramanujan, Linda and Paul McCartney, Madonna, Christie 
Brinkley, Leonard Nimoy, Paul Newman, Bob Dylan, John Denver, and 
athletes like Murray Rose, Peter Burwash, and Chip Oliver in making 
this world a better place to live for all the animals!



References:

1.	Lappe, Frances Moore.  Diet for A Small Planet.  New York: 
Ballatine Books, 1982.

2.	Newkirk, Ingrid.  Save the Animals!: 101 Easy Things You Can Do.  
New York: Warner Books, Inc., 1990.

3.	Null, Gary.  The Vegetarian Handbook: Eating Right for Total 
Health.  New York: St. Martin's Press, 1987.

4.	Pemberton, Cindy, and Brown, Marcia.  The Creative Eater's 
Handbook: Better Nutrition Through Vegetarian Eating.  California: 
American Heart Association, 1983.

5.	Doyle, Rodger.  The Vegetarian Handbook: A Guide to Vegetarian 
Nian Nutrition.  New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1979.

6.	Sequoia, Anna.  67 Ways to Save the Animals.  New York: 
HarperCollins Publishers, 1990.



Mona Wong is the founder of Animal Alternatives--a not-for-profit 
organization dedicated to finding alternatives to our dependency on 
animals in the following areas: personal lifestyle, beauty care, 
product testing, and scientific research.  We welcome new members, 
comments and suggestions.  Our address is P.O. Box 262396, San Diego, 
CA  92196-2396.


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