Even the Utah Beef Council admits, ?Several epidemiological studies indicate that vegetarians have lower morbidity and mortality from chronic degenerative diseases.? Today, vegetarians only make up about two percent of the population, but everyday more and more people give up eating red meat or try their first bite of tofu. Aside from ethics, what are the main reasons people are turning away from meat? Health and the ecology.
Lower rates of disease amongst vegetarians
Hundreds of different studies concur, showing that vegetarians who eat balanced diets have lower rates of coronary artery disease, hypertension, obesity, and certain cancers. Registered Dietician Winston Craig says that meat eating costs Americans somewhere between $30-$60 billion per year in medical expenses for hypertension, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, gallstones, obesity, and food-borne illnesses associated with meat. Craig says that a vegetarian diet is associated with lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and less obesity.
In 1997, the World Cancer Research Fund recommended a vegetarian diet for reducing the risk of cancer. Lifelong vegetarians have 24% less heart disease, while vegans have an astounding 57% less. A comprehensive study of a vegetarian religious group, the Seventh Day Adventists, found that they had half the rate of high blood pressure and diabetes, half the rate of colon cancer, and two-thirds the rate of arthritis and prostate cancer as other groups (2001). Furthermore, Cornell University reported that eating less meat did more to reduce osteoporosis than supplementing your diet with calcium.
Do you have to be completely vegetarian to benefit?
In 1999, a meta-analysis of several vegetarian and vegan mortality studies was conducted. The results of these studies were compared together and re-analyzed. The researchers concluded that even reducing meat in your diet had a significant effect on lowering your rate of disease. People who ate meat just once a week had a 20% lower rate of dying from heart disease, and their over-all mortality rate was reduced by 10%.
Those who ate only fish saw as much as a 34% reduction in heart disease death, while their over-all mortality was lowered by 18%. In the same sense, the more you reduce consumption of animal products, the more you appear to benefit. Only 7% of the vegans studied died of cancer (lung, stomach, and colorectal). Alarmingly, 19% of over-all deaths in the US are from cancer.
Vegetarian diets are good for the planet
Every year, meat eaters contribute to the cattle farming industry. This industry uses farm lands that could be producing human food to make grain for cows. As most people know, cows produce large amounts of environmentally-toxic methane gas. Raising cows also uses precious water resources.
Vegetarianism and the rain forrest
What you may not know though is that eating meat also contributes to the destruction of the rain forests. In an effort to make a cheaper Big Mac and Whopper, companies are growing cattle in Central America, where labor and other costs are lower. Eager Central Americans are slashing and burning their native rain forests to make room for the beef industry.
Vegetarianism and carbon dioxide emission
Estimates show that a vegetarian diet saves 1.5 tons of greenhouse gas per person per year. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports that producing one calorie of animal protein requires ten times the fossil fuel as producing one calorie of plant protein. Wow! Furthermore, eating a vegan diet reduces more carbon dioxide emissions than driving a hybrid car, according to the New Scientist.
Vegetarianism and water reserves
What's more disturbing is that every hamburger that originated from a rain forest cow required the destruction of roughly 55 square feet of rain forest. Furthermore, studies show that one pound of beef requires 2,500 gallons of water. The water used to produce one hamburger patty is enough for two-week's worth of daily showers.
Taking a step away from contemporary furniture to look at other products we put into our homes.
Things are not always what they seem and outwardly natural products can be anything but nature-friendly. Take cotton bedding. More than likely, in environmental terms, your crisp, white sheets are evil incarnate because the dismaying fact is that the textile industry is one of the largest polluters in the world; with around a quarter of the world's insecticides used to grow conventional cotton and 8,000 chemicals variously employed to process, dye and finish it.
The bonkers thing is that there are plenty of wholesome alternatives (at comparable prices) from organic, unbleached or naturally-coloured cotton (certification labels to look out for include Soil Association, Oeko-Tex 100, Ecolabel, IMO and SKAL) to heirloom linen (in surprisingly plentiful supply, courtesy of the attics of France and Belgium) and new linen woven from flax or, increasingly, hemp.
Hemp and flax, in stark comparison with cotton, grow like weeds without little if any help from potentially dangerous chemicals, need a fraction of the water, are waste-free crops (producing, for instance, seeds, oils and a fibrous pulp that is used for bank notes) and actually enhance soil rather than depleting it.
And what is more, linen is luxuriantly cooling and although it tends to be considerably more expensive and time-consuming than cotton, the initial outlay and upkeep are more than repaid by decades of pleasurable use. Isn't ironing the new baking, anyway?
Top tip: Always dry linen naturally, never tumble dry. While still damp, roll the linen and place in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for minimum of two hours. Then steam iron on high temperature (ironing any monograms or decorations on the reverse side). The result will be silky smooth linen.
Eco bedding suppliers
Albatross www.albatross-global.com
Ultra-soft, (250-thread count), organic, pima cotton bedding in soft (rather than brilliant), oxygen-bleached white.
Allergy Matters www.allergymatters.com
Good selection including the Cottonfresh range made from unbleached, chemical-free, 100% organic cotton, which is impenetrable by house dust mites.
Appley Hoare Antiques www.appleyhoare.com
Vintage heavy French linen sheets and embroidered linen sheets.
Biomelifestyle www.biomelifestyle.com
Stylish, self-patterned 240-thread count, organic cotton duvet covers, in white or cream, plus matching pillowcases.
Bishopston Trading Company www.bishopstontrading.co.uk Fair trade, organic (non-GM), hand-woven cotton bed linen from a co-operative in Southern India.
By Nature www.bynature.co.uk
Striped and checquered ecru duvet cover sets from the Portuguese Natura Pura brand in soft, 100% unbleached, un-dyed, organic (Ecolabel) cotton.
Earth Runnings www.earthrunnings.com
US web retailer specialising in hemp textiles.
Gaiam Direct www.gaiamdirect.co.uk
Hand-harvested, organic cotton coloured using low-impact dyes, transformed into luxurious, 250-thread count bed linen.
Gayle Warwick www.gaylewarwick.com
Heirloom-quality, delicately hand-embroidered bed linen ranges using either organically grown, oxygen-bleached Swiss cotton or natural linen.
Greenfibres www.greenfibres.com
Broad range of eco bedding taking in flannel and percale options.
Gossypium www.gossypium.co.uk
Naturally-dyed, 100% organic, fair trade cotton bed linen created by mixing fibre-dyed and undyed yarns.
Guinevere Antiques www.guinevere.co.uk
Nineteenth century, French, linen sheets in natural shades and given a technicolour makeover with vegetable dyes.
The Healthy House www.healthy-house.co.uk Wide choice, including reasonably priced white cotton percale bleached with environmentally-friendly hydrogen peroxide.
Jane Sacchi Linens www.janesacchi.co.uk
Butter-soft, antique, French linen sheets and pillowcases. Also, modern, own-label bed linen made with high-quality, Oeoko-Tex 100-certified, Scottish linen.
The Organic Farm Shop www.theorganicfarmshop.co.uk
Pretty, ?upper-end hippy? IMO-certified organic cotton duvet covers and pillowcases from a small, hand-block printing workshop in Rajasthan.
Schmidt www.naturalclothing.co.uk
High thread count organic cotton sheets (fitted and flat) and duvet covers available up to super-king size in sunshine yellow, Grecian blue, or un-dyed.
Thomas Ferguson www.fergusonsirishlinen.com
Irish linen that is ?as environmentally-friendly as you can get in mass production,? and unbleached linen bed linen by special order.
Both Lee David & Jonathan Howkins are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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