Veganism - Vegan Weight Loss Plan

Veganism /'vi:??n?z?m/ is both the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products, particularly in one's diet, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A follower of veganism is known as a vegan. The opposite of veganism is carnism.

Distinctions are sometimes made between several categories of veganism. Dietary vegans (or strict vegetarians) refrain from consuming animal products, not only meat but also eggs, dairy products and other animal-derived substances. The term ethical vegan is often applied to those who not only follow a vegan diet, but extend the philosophy into other areas of their lives, and oppose the use of animals and animal products for any purpose. Another term used is environmental veganism, which refers to the avoidance of animal products on the premise that the harvesting or industrial farming of animals is environmentally damaging and unsustainable.

The term vegan was coined in 1944 by Donald Watson when he co-founded the Vegan Society in England, at first to mean "non-dairy vegetarian" and later to refer to "the doctrine that man should live without exploiting animals." Interest in veganism rose in the 2000s and 2010s. Vegan options became increasingly available in many countries, including in supermarkets and chain restaurants.

Vegan diets tend to be higher in dietary fibre, magnesium, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, iron and phytochemicals, and lower in calories, saturated fat, cholesterol, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, calcium, zinc and vitamin B12. Well-planned vegan diets can reduce the risk of some types of chronic disease, including heart disease, and are regarded as appropriate for all stages of the life-cycle by the American Dietetic Association, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, and Dietitians of Canada. Because uncontaminated plant foods do not provide vitamin B12 (which is produced by microorganisms such as bacteria), researchers agree that vegans should eat B12-fortified foods or take a supplement.

History

Background

The Oxford English Dictionary attributes the earliest known use of the English word vegetarian to the actress Fanny Kemble, writing in 1839 in Georgia in the United States, but the practice can be traced to Greece in the 6th century BCE, as well as Ancient India and Rome. Greek philosophers Pythagoras, Empedocles and Theophrastus were vegetarians, as were Seneca the Younger, Ovid, Plutarch, Plotinus and Porphyry. Their arguments were based on health, the transmigration of souls, animal welfare, and what was later called animal rights, namely the view, espoused by Porphyry, that if humans are deserving of justice so are nonhumans.

In the 19th century vegetarians who avoided not only meat, but also eggs and dairy, were known as strict or total vegetarians. Several strict-vegetarian communities were created. In 1834 in Boston, Massachusetts, Amos Bronson Alcott, father of novelist Louisa May Alcott, opened the Temple School for strict vegetarians. In 1844 he founded Fruitlands, a short-lived community in Harvard, which opposed the use of animals for any purpose, including farming. In 1838 James Pierrepont Greaves opened Alcott House in Ham, Surrey, another strict-vegetarian community. Members of Alcott House were involved in 1847 in forming the British Vegetarian Society, which held its first meeting that year in Ramsgate, Kent.

Members of the Vegetarian Society who were motivated by the moral aspects of diet, rather than by health arguments, moved toward abstention from animal use entirely. An 1851 article in the society's magazine discussed alternatives to shoe leather. In 1886 the society published A Plea for Vegetarianism by the classicist Henry Salt, who argued for vegetarianism as a moral imperative, and for the promotion of animal rights rather than welfare. His work influenced Mahatma Gandhi, and the men became friends.

The first known vegan cookbook, Rupert H. Wheldon's No Animal Food: Two Essays and 100 Recipes, appeared in London in 1910. There was regular disagreement within the Vegetarian Society about the ethics of dairy and eggs. The society's journal noted in 1923 that the "ideal position for vegetarians is abstinence from animal products." In November 1931 Gandhi gave a speech, "The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism," to the society in London (attended by 500 people, including Henry Salt), arguing that it ought to promote a meat-free diet as a moral issue, not only in the interests of human health.

Coining the term vegan (1944)

In July 1943 Leslie Cross of the Vegetarian Society expressed concern in its newsletter about vegetarians who consumed cows' milk. In August 1944 several members, including Donald Watson, asked unsuccessfully that a section of its magazine be devoted to non-dairy vegetarianism. Instead Watson set up his own quarterly newsletter, Vegan News. Thirty readers sent him a shilling to fund it.

Watson issued the first edition in November 1944, priced tuppence, or a shilling for a year's subscription. The new Vegan Society held its first annual meeting in December 1945 at the Attic Club, High Holborn, London. Instead of vegan (/'vi:??n/), Waton's readers had suggested allvega, neo-vegetarian, dairyban, vitan, benevore, sanivores and beaumangeur. He said years later that vegan represented "the beginning and end of vegetarian." According to Joanne Stepaniak, the word was first published independently in 1962 by the Oxford Illustrated Dictionary, defined as "a vegetarian who eats no butter, eggs, cheese or milk." World Vegan Day has been held every 1 November since 1994 to mark the first edition of Vegan News.

Two vegan books appeared soon after the society was founded. The Leicester Vegetarian Society published Vegetarian Recipes without Dairy Produce by Margaret B. Rawls, and in 1946 the Vegan Society published Vegan Recipes by Fay K. Henderson. In 1951 the society broadened its definition of veganism to "the doctrine that man should live without exploiting animals." In 1956 Leslie Cross, the society's vice-president, founded the Plantmilk Society to explore commercial soy milk production. The Plantmilk Society became Plamil Foods, and in 1965 began production of one of the first widely distributed soy milks in the Western world.

The first vegan society in the United States was founded in 1948 by Catherine Nimmo and Rubin Abramowitz in California, and in 1960 H. Jay Dinshah founded the American Vegan Society (AVS) after visiting a slaughterhouse and reading Watson's literature. Dinshah linked veganism to the concept of ahimsa, "non-harming" in Sanskrit, or "dynamic harmlessness" as the AVS called it.

Becoming mainstream (2010s)

From the late 1970s a group of scientists in the United States - physicians John A. McDougall, Caldwell Esselstyn, Neal D. Barnard, Dean Ornish, Michael Klaper and Michael Greger, and biochemist T. Colin Campbell - began to argue that diets based on animal fat and animal protein, such as the standard American diet, were detrimental to health. They proposed that a low-fat, plant-based diet would prevent, and might reverse, certain chronic diseases, such as coronary heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. CNN's chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta said that Campbell's The China Study (2005) had changed the way people all over the world eat.

The vegan diet appeared to become more mainstream in the 2010s. Vegan entrees became popular, and chain restaurants began to mark vegan items on their menus. The interest was reflected in increased page views on Wikipedia. The English Wikipedia article on veganism was viewed 73,000 times in August 2009 but 145,000 times in August 2013. Articles on veganism were viewed more during this period than articles on vegetarianism in the English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish Wikipedias.

Celebrities, athletes and politicians began to adopt vegan diets, some seriously, some part-time. The idea of the "flexi-vegan" gained currency, to the irritation of ethical vegans: in his book VB6 (2013), New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman recommended sticking to a vegan diet before 6 pm. In 2010 the European Parliament adopted a food-labelling guideline that defined vegan, in force as of 2015. De Vegetarische Slager, the first known vegetarian "butcher" shop, selling mock meats, opened in the Netherlands in 2010. In 2011 Europe's first vegan supermarkets appeared in Germany: Vegilicious opened in Dortmund, and the first chain, Veganz, opened in Berlin and elsewhere. In 2013 the Oktoberfest in Munich, traditionally a meat-heavy affair, offered vegan dishes for the first time in its 200-year history.

Demographics

A 2012 Gallup poll reported that two percent of the US population regard themselves as vegan. In 2007 in the UK, where the market for tofu and mock meats was £786.5 million in 2012, two percent identified as vegan in a government survey. The Netherlands Association for Veganism estimated that there were 16,000 vegans in the Netherlands as of 2007, around 0.1 percent of the population. The German Vegetarian Society said in 2013 that there were 800,000 vegans in Germany (out of a population of nearly 82 million). According to a survey in Israel in 2014, nearly five percent there are vegan.

Animal products

Avoidance

The issue that divided the 19th- and early 20th-century vegetarians, namely whether to avoid animal products for reasons of ethics or health, persists. Dietary vegans avoid consuming animal product, but might use them in clothing and toiletries. Ethical vegans see veganism as a philosophy; they reject the commodification of animals and will not use them for food, clothing, entertainment or any other purpose. The British Vegan Society will certify a product only if it is free of animal involvement as far as possible and practical, including animal testing.

Philosopher Gary Steiner argues that it is not possible to be a vegan entirely, because animal use and products are "deeply and imperceptibly woven into the fabric of human society." They include meat, poultry and seafood, eggs, dairy products, honey and beeswax, fur, leather, wool, silk, goose down and duck feathers, and lesser known products such as bone char, bone china, carmine, casein, cochineal, gelatin, isinglass, lanolin, lard, rennet, shellac, tallow, whey and yellow grease. Many of the lesser known ones may not be identified in the list of ingredients.

Ethical vegans try to avoid these products, as well as anything tested on animals or relying on animal use in any other way. They will avoid certain vaccines: the production of the flu vaccine, for example, involves the use of hens' eggs. Depending on their circumstances, vegans might donate non-vegan items to charity, or use them until they wear out. Some vegan clothes, in particular leather alternatives, are made of petroleum-based products, which has triggered criticism because of the environmental damage associated with production.

Eggs, milk, honey and silk

The main difference between a vegan and vegetarian diet is that vegans exclude eggs and dairy products. Ethical vegans state that the production of eggs and dairy causes animal suffering and premature death. In egg production, most male chicks are culled because they do not lay eggs. To obtain milk from dairy cattle, cows are made pregnant to induce lactation; they are kept pregnant and lactating for three to seven years, then slaughtered. Female calves are separated from their mothers within 24 hours of birth, and fed milk replacer to retain the cow's milk for human consumption. Male calves are slaughtered at birth, sent for veal production, or reared for beef.

There is disagreement among vegan groups about insect products. Agave nectar is a popular vegan alternative to honey. Neither the Vegan Society nor the American Vegan Society considers honey, silk and other insect products as suitable for vegans, while Vegan Action and Vegan Outreach view it as a matter of personal choice.

Vegan diet

Soy

Vegan diets are based on grains and other seeds, legumes (particularly beans), fruits, edible mushrooms, and nuts. Meat analogues (mock meats) based on soybeans (tofu), or wheat-based seitan/gluten, are a common source of plant protein, usually in the form of vegetarian sausage, mince and veggie burgers.

Dishes based on soybeans are a staple of vegan diets because soybeans are a complete protein; this means they contain all the essential amino acids for humans and can be relied upon entirely for protein intake. They are consumed most often in the form of soy milk and tofu (bean curd), which is soy milk mixed with a coagulant. Tofu comes in a variety of textures, depending on water content, from firm, medium firm and extra firm for stews and stir-fries, to soft or silken for salad dressings, desserts and shakes. Soy is also eaten in the form of tempeh and texturized vegetable protein (TVP) (also known as textured soy protein, TSP); TVP is often used in pasta sauces.

Plant milk, cheese

Plant creams and milks--such as soy milk, almond milk, grain milks (oat milk and rice milk), hemp milk, and coconut milk--are used in place of cows' or goats' milk. Soy milk provides around 7 g of protein per cup (240 ml or 8 fluid ounces), compared with 8 g of protein per cup of cow's milk. Almond milk is lower in calories, carbohydrates and protein. Soy milk should not be used as a replacement for breast milk for babies; babies who are not breastfed need commercial infant formula, normally based on cows' milk or soy. The latter is known as soy-based infant formula, or SBIF.

Cheese analogues are made from soy, nuts and tapioca. Vegan cheeses such as Chreese, Daiya, Sheese, Teese and Tofutti can replace both the taste and meltability of dairy cheese. Nutritional yeast is a common cheese substitute in vegan recipes. Several recipe books describe how to make cheese substitutes at home; one recipe for vegan brie combines cashew nuts, soy yogurt and coconut oil. In 2014 Oakland's Counter Culture Labs and Sunnyvale's BioCurious produced vegan cheese in the lab from casein extracted from genetically modified yeast. Butter can be replaced with a vegan margarine such as Earth Balance.

Egg replacements

Vegan (egg-free) mayonnaise brands include Vegenaise, Nayonaise, Miso Mayo, Just Mayo, and Plamil's Egg-Free Mayo. Eggs are used in recipes as thickeners and binders; the protein in eggs thickens when heated and binds the other ingredients together. This effect can be achieved in vegan recipes with ground flax seeds or chia seeds; replace each egg in a recipe with one tablespoon of flaxseed meal mixed with three tablespoons of water. Commercial egg substitutes, such as Bob's Red Mill egg replacer and Ener-G egg replacer, are also available.

For vegan pancakes a tablespoon of baking powder can be used instead of eggs. Other ingredients include, to replace one egg, one tablespoon of soy flour and one tablespoon of water; a quarter cup of mashed bananas, mashed prunes or apple sauce; or in batter two tablespoons of white flour, half a tablespoon of vegetable oil, two tablespoons of water and half a tablespoon of baking powder. Silken (soft) tofu and mashed potato can also be used.

Vegan food groups

Since 1991 the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has recommended a no-cholesterol, low-fat vegan diet based on what they call the New Four Food Groups: fruit, legumes, grains and vegetables. Legumes include peas, beans, lentils and peanuts. The vegan food group was intended to replace the Four Food Groups - meat, milk, vegetables and fruit, and cereal and breads - recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) from 1956 until 1992.

PCRM recommends three or more servings a day of fruit (at least one of which is high in vitamin C, such as citrus fruit, melon or strawberries); two or more of protein-rich legumes (such as soybeans, which can be consumed as soy milk, tofu or tempeh); five or more of whole grains (such as corn, barley, rice and wheat, in products such as bread and tortillas); and four or more of vegetables (dark-green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, and dark-yellow and orange such as carrots or sweet potatoes).

In 1992 the USDA replaced its model with the food guide pyramid, and in 2011 with MyPlate, which is consistent with a vegan diet. It is divided into five food groups: grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy (or calcium-fortified soymilk), and protein. The protein includes meat, poultry, seafood, beans and peas, eggs, processed soy products, nuts and seeds). In the UK the National Health Service recommends the Eatwell Plate, also with five food groups that are consistent with a vegan diet: fruits and vegetables; potatoes, bread and other starchy foods; dairy or non-dairy alternatives; meat, fish, eggs or beans for protein; and fat and sugar.

Nutrients

Protein

Proteins are composed of amino acids. Vegans obtain all their protein from plants, omnivores usually a third and ovo-lacto vegetarians half. Sources of plant protein include legumes such as soy beans (consumed as tofu, tempeh, texturized vegetable protein, soy milk and edamame), peas, peanuts, black beans and chickpeas (the latter often eaten as hummus); grains such as quinoa (pronounced keenwa), brown rice, corn, barley, bulgur and wheat (the latter eaten as bread and seitan); and nuts and seeds. Combinations that contain high amounts of all the essential amino acids include rice and beans, corn and beans, and hummus and whole-wheat pita.

Soy beans and quinoa are known as complete proteins because they each contain all the essential amino acids in amounts that meet or exceed human requirements. Mangels et al. write that consuming the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of protein (0.8 g/kg body weight) in the form of soy will meet the biologic requirement for amino acids. In 2012 the United States Department of Agriculture ruled that soy protein (tofu) may replace meat protein in the National School Lunch Program.

The American Dietetic Association said in 2009 that a variety of plant foods consumed over the course of a day can provide all the essential amino acids for healthy adults, which means that protein combining in the same meal may not be necessary. Mangels et al. write that there is little reason to advise vegans to increase their protein intake, but erring on the side of caution, they recommend a 25 percent increase over the RDA for adults, to 1.0 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is a bacterial product needed for cell division, the formation and maturation of red blood cells, the synthesis of DNA, and normal nerve function. A deficiency can lead to megaloblastic anemia and nerve damage. The consensus among nutritionists is that vegans and even vegetarians should use supplements or eat foods fortified with B12, such as soy milk or cereal. B12 supplements are produced industrially through bacterial fermentation-synthesis; no animal products are involved. That vegans are unable in most cases, at least in the West, to obtain B12 from a plant-based diet is often used as an argument against veganism.

Neither plants nor animals make B12; it is produced by microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi and algae. Herbivorous animals, such as rabbits, obtain it from bacteria in their rumens, either by absorbing it or by eating their own cecotrope faeces. When those animals are eaten, they become sources of B12. Plants from the ground that are not washed properly may contain B12 from bacteria in the soil, often from faeces. Drinking water may also be contaminated with B12-producing bacteria, particularly in the developing world.

Nutritionist Reed Mangels writes that bacteria in the human digestive tract produce B12, but most of it is expelled in the faeces, with tiny amounts expelled in the urine. James Halsted, a medical researcher, reported in the 1960s that villagers in Iran eating little or no animal protein were found to have normal B12 levels because they were living with animal manure near their homes, and were eating vegetables grown in human manure and not thoroughly washed. The human mouth is another source of B12, but in small amounts and possibly analogue (not biologically active).

There is disagreement within the vegan community about supplements; several studies of vegans who did not take supplements or eat fortified food, including in Western countries, have found no sign of B12 deficiency. There is no gold standard for assessing B12 status, Mangels et al. write, and there are very few studies of long-term vegans who have not used supplements or fortified foods. Fermented foods such as tempeh and miso, as well as edible seaweed (arame, wakame, nori and kombu) have been cited as B12 sources, as have spirulina, certain greens, grains and legumes, and rainwater. Barley malt syrup, shiitake mushrooms, parsley and sourdough bread have also been referenced, but may be sources of inactive B12. According to Mangels et al., all Western vegans not using supplements or eating fortified foods will probably develop a B12 deficiency, although it may take decades to appear.

Calcium

Calcium is needed to maintain bone health and for several metabolic functions, including muscle function, vascular contraction and vasodilation, nerve transmission, intracellular signalling and hormonal secretion. Ninety-nine percent of the body's calcium is stored in the bones and teeth.

Vegans are advised to eat three servings a day of a high-calcium food, such as fortified soy milk, fortified tofu, almonds or hazelnuts, and to take a supplement as necessary. Plant sources include broccoli, turnip, bok choy and kale; the bioavailability of calcium in spinach is poor. Vegans should make sure they consume enough vitamin D (see below), which is needed for calcium absorption.

The EPIC-Oxford study suggested that vegans have an increased risk of bone fractures over meat eaters and vegetarians, likely because of lower dietary calcium intake. The study found that vegans consuming at least 525 mg of calcium daily have a risk of fractures similar to that of other groups. A 2009 study found the bone mineral density (BMD) of vegans was 94 percent that of omnivores, but deemed the difference clinically insignificant. Another examined over 100 vegan post-menopausal women, and found no adverse effect on BMD and no alteration in body composition. Biochemist T. Colin Campbell suggested in The China Study (2005) that osteoporosis is linked to the consumption of animal protein; he argued that, unlike plant protein, animal protein increases the acidity of blood and tissues, which is then neutralized by calcium pulled from the bones.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D (calciferol) is needed for several functions, including calcium absorption, enabling mineralization of bone, and bone growth. Without it bones can become thin and brittle; together with calcium it offers protection against osteoporosis. Vitamin D is produced in the body when ultraviolet rays from the sun hit the skin; outdoor exposure is needed because UVB radiation does not penetrate glass. It is present in salmon, tuna, mackerel and cod liver oil, with small amounts in cheese, egg yolks and beef liver, and in some mushrooms.

Most vegan diets contain little or no vitamin D without fortified food. People with little sun exposure may need supplements. The extent to which sun exposure is sufficient depends on the season, time of day, cloud and smog cover, skin melanin content, and whether sunscreen is worn. According to the National Institutes of Health, most people can obtain and store sufficient vitamin D from sunlight in the spring, summer and fall, even in the far north. They report that some researchers recommend 5-30 minutes of sun exposure without sunscreen between 10 am and 3 pm, at least twice a week. Tanning beds emitting 2-6 per cent UVB radiation have a similar effect, though tanning is inadvisable.

Vitamin D comes in two forms. Cholecalciferol (D3) is synthesized in the skin after exposure to the sun, or consumed in the form of animal products; when produced industrially it is taken from lanolin in sheep's wool. Ergocalciferol (D2) is derived from ergosterol from UV-exposed mushrooms or yeast and is suitable for vegans. Conflicting studies have suggested that the two forms may or may not be bioequivalent. According to the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences, the differences between D2 and D3 do not affect metabolism, both function as prohormones, and when activated exhibit identical responses in the body.

Iron

Vegetarian and vegan diets usually contain as much iron as animal-based diets, or more; vegan diets generally contain more iron than vegetarian ones because dairy products contain very little. There are concerns about the bioavailability of iron from plant foods, assumed by some researchers to be around 5-15 percent compared to 18 percent from a nonvegetarian diet. Iron deficiency anaemia is found as often in nonvegetarians as in vegetarians, though studies have shown vegetarians' iron stores to be lower.

Mangels writes that because of the lower bioavailability of iron from plant sources, the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences established a separate RDA for vegetarians and vegans of 14 mg for vegetarian men and postmenopausal women, and 33 mg for premenopausal women not using oral contraceptives. Supplements should be used with caution after consulting a physician, because iron can accumulate in the body and cause damage to organs; this is particularly true of anyone with hemochromatosis, a relatively common condition that can remain undiagnosed.

According to the Vegetarian Resource Group, high-iron foods suitable for vegans include black-strap molasses, lentils, tofu, quinoa, kidney beans and chickpeas. Nutritionist Tom Sanders writes that iron absorption can be enhanced by eating a source of vitamin C along with a plant source of iron, and by avoiding coingesting anything that would inhibit absorption, such as tannin in tea. Sources of vitamin C might be half a cup of cauliflower, or five fluid ounces of orange juice, consumed with a plant source of iron such as soybeans, tofu, tempeh or black beans. Some herbal teas and coffee can inhibit iron absorption, as can spices that contain tannins (turmeric, coriander, chillies and tamarind).

Omega-3 fatty acids, iodine

Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3 fatty acid, is found in leafy green vegetables and nuts, and in vegetable oils such as canola and flaxseed oil. Vegan Outreach suggests vegans take 1/4 teaspoon of flaxseed oil (also known as linseed oil) daily, and use oils containing low amounts of omega-6 fatty acids, such as olive, canola, avocado or peanut oil. Iodine supplementation may be necessary for vegans in countries where salt is not typically iodized, where it is iodized at low levels, or where, as in Britain and Ireland, dairy products are relied upon for iodine delivery because of low levels in the soil. Iodine can be obtained from most vegan multivitamins or regular consumption of seaweeds, such as kelp.

Health effects

Veganism appears to provide health benefits, including a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease and certain forms of cancer. Studies of Adventists have suggested that, compared to non-vegetarians, vegans may have a slightly reduced risk of most cancers, although a greater risk of urinary tract cancers. Both vegetarian and vegan diets are considered to be cancer-protective, though relatively few high-quality studies have been conducted.

According to nutritionist Winston Craig, writing in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2009, vegan diets tend to be higher in dietary fibre, magnesium, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, iron and phytochemicals, and lower in calories, saturated fat, cholesterol, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, calcium, zinc and vitamin B12. Craig wrote that vegans tend to be thinner, with lower serum cholesterol and lower blood pressure. Factors associated with a vegan diet being considered cancer-protective include an increased intake of fruits and vegetables; absence of meat; sources of vegan protein, including soy protein; and typically lower body mass index (BMI).

Eliminating all animal products increases the risk of deficiencies of vitamins B12 and D, calcium and omega-3 fatty acids. Craig advised vegans to eat fortified foods or take supplements, and warned that iron and zinc may be problematic because of limited bioavailability. Vegans might be at risk of low bone mineral density without supplements.

The British National Health Service's Eatwell Plate allows for an entirely plant-based diet, as does the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) MyPlate. Since 2012 the USDA has allowed tofu to replace meat in the National School Lunch Program.

The American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Dietitians of Canada stated in 2003 that properly planned vegan diets were appropriate for all life stages, including pregnancy and lactation. People avoiding meat were reported to have a lower BMI, and from this followed lower death rates from ischemic heart disease, lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and fewer incidences of type 2 diabetes and prostate and colon cancers. They indicated that vegetarian diets may be more common among adolescents with eating disorders, but that its adoption may serve to camouflage a disorder, rather than cause one. The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council recognizes a well-planned vegan diet as viable for any age. As of 2011 the German Society for Nutrition did not recommend a vegan diet and cautioned against it for children, the pregnant and the elderly.

Pregnancy, babies and children

As of 2003 the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada considered well-planned vegan diets "appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence." The German Society for Nutrition cautioned against a vegan diet for pregnant women and children as of 2011. The American Dietetic Association added that a regular source of B12 is crucial for pregnant, lactating and breastfeeding women. According to Reed Mangels, maternal stores of B12 appear not to cross the placenta, and researchers have reported cases of vitamin B12 deficiency in lactating vegetarian mothers that were linked to deficiencies and neurological disorders in their children. Pregnant vegans may also need to take extra vitamin D, depending on their exposure to sunlight and whether they are eating fortified foods. Doctors may recommend iron supplements and folic acid for all pregnant women (vegan, vegetarian and non-vegetarian). A doctor or registered dietitian should be consulted about taking supplements during pregnancy.

Vegan toiletries

The British Vegan Society criteria for vegan certification are that the product contain no animal products, and that neither the product nor its ingredients have been tested on animals by or on behalf of the manufacturer, or by anyone over whom the manufacturer has control. The society's website contains a list of certified products.

A number of companies sell vegan toiletries, including a vegan BB cream, in the United States, Canada and the UK. The Choose Cruelty Free website in Australia lists vegan products available there.

Because animal ingredients are cheap, they are ubiquitous in toiletries. After animals are slaughtered for meat, the leftovers are put through the rendering process, and some of that material, especially the fats, ends up in toiletries and cosmetics. Vegans often refer to Animal Ingredients A to Z (2004) to check which ingredients might be animal-derived. Common animal products include tallow in soap, and glycerine (derived from collagen), which is used as a lubricant and humectant in haircare products, moisturizers, shaving foam, soap and toothpaste; there is a plant-based form but the glycerine in most products is animal-based.

Lanolin from sheep's wool is another common ingredient, found in lip balm and moisturizers, as is stearic acid, used in face creams, shaving foam and shampoos; as with glycerine, it can be plant-based but most manufacturers use the animal-derived form. Lactic acid, an alpha-hydroxy acid derived from animal milk, is often found in moisturizers, as is allantoin, derived from the comfrey plant or cows' urine, and found in shampoos, moisturizers and toothpaste.

Philosophy

Ethical veganism

Ethical veganism is based on opposition to speciesism, the assignment of value to individuals on the basis of species membership alone. There is a division within animal rights theory between a rights-based (deontological) approach and a utilitarian (consequentialist) one, reflected in the debate about the moral basis of veganism. Philosopher Tom Regan, a rights theorist, argues that animals possess value as "subjects-of-a-life," because they have beliefs, desires, memory and the ability to initiate action in pursuit of goals. The right of subjects-of-a-life not to be harmed can be overridden by other moral principles, but pleasure, convenience and the economic interests of farmers are not weighty enough.

Law professor Gary L. Francione, another rights theorist, argues that all sentient beings should have the right not to be treated as property, and that adopting veganism must be the baseline for anyone who believes nonhuman animals have intrinsic moral value. He argues that the pursuit of improved conditions for animals is like campaigning for "conscientious rapists" who will rape their victims without beating them. Pursuing animal welfare does not move us away from the paradigm of animals qua property.

Philosopher Peter Singer, a utilitarian, argues that there is no moral or logical justification for failing to count animal suffering as a consequence when making decisions, and that killing animals should be rejected unless necessary for survival. Despite this, he supports the "Paris exemption": if you find yourself in a fine restaurant, allow yourself to eat what you want, and if you have no access to vegan food, go vegetarian. Singer's position reflects the divide between animal protectionism, an arguably more relaxed, consequentialist position, which Singer supports, according to which incremental change can achieve reform, and abolitionism, which sees reform as serving only to persuade the public that animal use is morally unproblematic.

Bruce Friedrich, a protectionist, argues that strict adherence to veganism focuses on personal purity, rather than encouraging people to give up whatever animal products they can, and that this is anti-vegan because it hurts animals." For Francione, this is similar to arguing that, because human-rights abuses can never be eliminated, we should not safeguard human rights in situations we control. By failing to ask a server whether something contains animal products, we reinforce that the moral rights of animals are a matter of convenience, he argues. He concludes from this that the protectionist position fails on its own consequentialist terms.

Philosopher Val Plumwood argues that ethical veganism, which she calls ontological veganism, maintains the error of human-nature dualism by viewing human beings as separate from the rest of nature. Ethical vegans want to admit nonhuman animals into the category that deserves special protection, rather than reconstructing the human and nonhuman to recognize their "ecological embeddedness." She also argues that ethical veganism is ethnocentric becauses it prioritizes the position of privileged Western consumers.

Environmental veganism

Resources and the environment

Environmental vegans focus on conservation rather than animal rights. They reject the use of animal products on the premise that practices such as farming - particularly factory farming - fishing, hunting and trapping are environmentally unsustainable. Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said in 2010 that all Sea Shepherd ships are vegan for environmental reasons: "Forty percent of the fish caught from the oceans is fed to livestock - pigs and chickens are becoming major aquatic predators."

A report by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, Livestock's Long Shadow (2006), concluded that livestock farming (primarily of cows, chickens and pigs) has an impact on almost all aspects of the environment: air, land, soil, water, biodiversity and climate change. It said that livestock account for 9 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, 37 percent of methane, 65 percent of nitrous oxide, and 68 percent of ammonia; livestock waste emits 30 million tonnes of ammonia a year, which the report said is involved in the production of acid rain. Greenhouse gas emissions are not limited to animal husbandry. Plant agriculture such as rice cultivation can also cause environmental problems.

In 2010 a report from the United Nations Environment Programme, Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Consumption and Production, argued that animal products "in general require more resources and cause higher emissions than plant-based alternatives." It argued that a move away from animal-product consumption is needed to reduce environmental damage.

A 2007 Cornell University study that simulated land use for various diets for New York State concluded that, although vegetarian diets used the smallest amount of land per capita, a low-fat diet that included some meat and dairy - less than 2 oz (57 g) of meat/eggs per day, significantly less than that consumed by the average American - could support slightly more people on the same available land than could be fed on some high-fat vegetarian diets, since animal food crops are grown on lower-quality land than are crops for human consumption.

Animals killed in crop harvesting

Steven Davis, a professor of animal science, argued in 2001 that a plant-based diet would kill more than one containing beef from grass-fed ruminants. Philosopher Andy Lamey calls this the "burger vegan" argument: if human beings were to eat cows raised on a diet of grass, fewer animals would be killed because of the numbers killed during the harvest.

Based on a study finding that wood-mouse populations dropped from 25 to five per hectare after harvest, Davis estimated that ten animals per hectare are killed from crop farming every year. If all 120,000,000 acres (490,000 km²) of cropland in the continental United States were used for a vegan diet, 500 million animals would die each year. But if half the cropland were converted to ruminant pastureland, the number would be 900,000, assuming people switched from the eight billion poultry killed each year to beef, lamb and dairy products. Therefore, he argued, according to the least-harm principle we should convert to a ruminant-based diet rather than a plant-based one. Lamey maintained that, if Davis includes nonhuman deaths in the moral cost of veganism, he must include human deaths caused by his proposed diet.

Gaverick Matheny argued that Davis had miscalculated the number of animal deaths, basing his figures on land area rather than per consumer, and had confined his analysis to grass-fed ruminants, rather than factory-farmed animals. He wrote that Davis had equated lives with lives worth living, focusing on numbers rather than including the harm done to animals raised for food: pain from branding, dehorning and castration, a life of confinement, transport without food or water to a slaughterhouse, and a frightening death. Matheny argued that vegetarianism "likely allows a greater number of animals with lives worth living to exist."

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