ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING

VEGETARIANISM: HEALTHY EATING HEALTHY LIVING

Do you believe that health is more precious than the most prized diamond throughout the world? Of course, that question has to get a “yes” answer since it has no point having much wealth without having good health. People do number of ways to stay healthy. It can be in the form of doing regular exercises, quitting smoking, or keeping the healthy eating habit. Keeping healthy eating habit, balance all nutrients like carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamin, and mineral, of course gives significant number in attempting stay healthy. In fact, there are a lot of people who cannot balance them well that they get a lot of disease such as, cholesterol, obesity, high blood pressure, etc. Those kinds of diseases may caused by consuming too much fat which contains a lot in meat and any animal products. Furthermore, considering this problem, a lot of research is done in order to solve this problem. It has found that all the diseases can be avoided by doing vegetarian diet; eat only vegetable, grains, and fruit. Therefore, vegetarianism in eating habit has to be considered as one of the ways to get a better life.

Before we talk more why being vegan contributes in our life, it is better for us to know what vegetarianism is. The term of “vegetarian” etymologically comes from Latin word “vegetus” which meaning “lively”. Then, based on linguistics point of view, the word “vegetarian” is formed from the term "vegetable” and the suffix "-arian". Regarding both etymology and linguistics aspects, clearly we can define that a vegetarian is someone who does not consume any types of animal products including dairy products, eggs, fur, leather, etc, and consider much on grains, nuts, cereals, seeds, beans, vegetables and also fruits. In addition, there are a number of vegetarian in society, a lacto-vegetarian includes dairy products but excludes eggs, an ovo-vegetarian includes eggs but not dairy products, a lacto-ovo vegetarian includes both eggs and dairy products, and a vegan excludes all animal products, including dairy products, eggs, and honey.

 Vegetarianism is considered as one of healthy eating habit. Necessary nutrients, proteins, fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, amino acids, and antioxidants can be found in vegetables, grains, nuts, and soy milk which are able to prevent some chronic disease. The American Dietetic Association and the Dietitians of Canada have found that vegetarian diet has potential to satisfy the nutritional needs for all stages of life, and large studies have shown that heart disease was 24% lower in vegetarians than in non-vegetarians. Furthermore, being a vegan means that we will have lower blood pressure and lower blood cholesterol, keeping body weight under control or less obesity, and fewer incidences of stroke, diabetes, osteoporosis, diverticulitis, gallstones, rheumatoid arthritis, renal disease, cancer and dementia. In contrast, red meat has been found to be directly associated with dramatically risk of cancers of the esophagus, liver, colon, and the lungs

Besides from health point of view, the other reason which makes you have to consider about being a vegan is that it contributes lots on generating better ecology.  Based on that statement, of course we will have a question in our mind, “Can vegans make a better ecology?” and “How do vegans contribute to the environment?” As we know, animals fed on grain, and those that rely on grazing need more water than grain crops. The fact said that growing the crops to feed farmed animals requires nearly half of the United States’ water supply and 80 percent of its agricultural land. Additionally, in the U.S., livestock needs 80 percent of the corn crop, and 70 percent of grain. It is very inefficient since the feed needs to be grown first before it is eaten by the cattle. Ecology professor David Pimentel has claimed, "If all the grain which currently fed to livestock in the United States were consumed directly by people, the number of people who could be fed would be nearly 800 million." This has led many proponents of vegetarianism to believe that it is ecologically irresponsible to consume eat. Moreover, in a 2006 report, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) concluded that worldwide livestock farming produces 18% of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions. Whereas, the world’s cars, trains, planes and boats produces only 13% of greenhouse gas emissions (BBC News). Animal farming produces 65 % of nitrous oxide and 37 % of methane which are potent causing global warming. Methane is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as the cause of global warming. Moreover, Nitrous oxide is 296 times more powerful than global warming gas, CO₂. So, I want to highlight the fact that among options for mitigating climate change, changing into vegetarian is something that should be considered.

Additionally, when we want to be a vegan don’t worry to have a low IQ by the reason that vegans will have protein deficiency since never consume neither meat nor fish. A study published in the British Medical Journal in 2007 noted that there was no difference in IQ among vegetarians who ate only plants, and people who ate chicken and fish. The BBC summarized the results of the study, stating "Men who were vegetarian had an IQ score of 106, compared with 101 for non-vegetarians; while female vegetarians averaged 104, compared with 99 for non-vegetarians."

Although vegetarian diet provides all the essential nutrients, my opponent would argues that there are certain factors that we can get more from the animals, meat or fish rather than from either vegetables or fruits. Some vegans are found to be low in proteins, calcium, vitamin B12, iron and zinc. Meat is a rich source of proteins and all the essential amino acids required by the body. It is also considered as the major source of vitamin B12 which is essential for our body development. Meat, chicken, and seafood contain more quantities of iron and zinc. Furthermore, soymilk, milk and other dairy products are the rich sources of vitamin D and calcium, all of which are not found in the vegetarian diet. However, I would declare more that vegans should not be worried about nutrients deficiency. Vegans are still able to get high-quality proteins from beans and legumes. To obtain required nutrients, the expert suggests vegans to consume 3-5 servings of vegetables, 2-4 servings of fruit, 3-5 servings of whole grain, 2-3 servings of beans and legumes, nuts and seeds. Moreover, certain vegans, like a lacto-vegetarian, an ovo-vegetarian, a lacto-ovo vegetarian are allowed to consume eggs or dairy products. Thus, there is no reason for vegans to have nutrients deficiency.

In conclusion, vegetarianism definitely offers a number of health benefits. Vegetarianism leads us to have a better life balanced by doing regular exercises, keeping environment stays healthy, doing healthy living habit, giving up smoking, and consuming neither alcohol nor drugs. Overall, healthy eating is a key to healthy living.

IKA FITRIANI