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THE MYTHS OF VEGETARIANISM THE MYTHS VEGETARIANISM Contrary to the claims of some health exponents, diets which are strictly vegetarian and do not include animal foods are a recipe for ill health. Part 1 of 2 An unflinching determination to take the whole evidence into account is the only method of preservation against the fluctuating extremes of fashionable opinion. — Alfred North Whitehead THE EVOLUTION OF A MYTH long with the unjustified and unscientific saturated fat and cholesterol scares of the past several decades has come the notion that vegetarianism is a healthier dietary option for people. It seems as if every health expert and government health agency is urging people to eat fewer animal products and consume more vegetables, grains, fruits and legumes. Along with these exhortations have come asser- tions and studies supposedly proving that vegetarianism is healthier for people and that meat consumption is associated with sickness and death. Several authorities, however, have questioned these data, but their objections have been largely ignored. As we shall see, many of the vegetarian claims cannot be substantiated and some are simply false and dangerous. There are benefits with vegetarian diets for certain health conditions, and some people function better on less fat and protein, but, as a practitioner who has dealt with several former vegetarians and vegans (total vegetarians), I know full well the dangerous effects of a diet devoid of healthful animal products. It is my hope that all readers will more carefully evaluate their position on vegetarianism after reading this paper. MYTH #1: Meat consumption contributes to famine and depletes the Earth's natural resources. Some vegetarians have claimed that livestock require pasturage that could be used to farm grains to feed starving people in Third World countries. It is also claimed that feed- ing animals contributes to world hunger because livestock are eating foods that could go to feed humans. The solution to world hunger, therefore, is for people to become vegetar- ians. These arguments are illogical and simplistic. The first argument ignores the fact that about two-thirds of our Earth's dry land is unsuitable for farming. It is primarily the open range, desert and mountainous areas that provide food to grazing animals, and that land is currently being put to good use.! The second argument is faulty as well because it ignores the vital contributions that livestock animals make to humanity's well-being. It is also misleading to think that the foods grown and given to feed livestock could be diverted to feed humans: Agricultural animals have always made a major contribution to the welfare of human societies by providing food, shelter, fuel, fertilizer and other products and services. They are a renewable resource, and utilize another renewable resource, plants, to produce these products and services. In addition, the manure produced by the ani- mals helps improve soil fertility and, thus, aids the plants. In some developing coun- tries the manure cannot be utilized as a fertilizer but is dried as a source of fuel. There are many who feel that because the world population is growing at a faster rate than is the food supply, we are becoming less and less able to afford animal foods because feeding plant products to animals is an inefficient use of potential human food. It is true that it is more efficient for humans to eat plant products directly rather than to allow animals to convert them to human food. At best, ani- mals only produce one pound or less of human food for each three pounds of plants eaten. However, this inefficiency only applies to those plants and plant products that by Stephen Byrnes, PhD, RNCP © 2000, 2002 Email: drbyrnes1@hotmail.com Website: http://www.PowerHealth.net APRIL — MAY 2002 NEXUS ¢ 23 www.nexusmagazine.com