TRENDS: Are You A Flexitarian?
 Save the planet, order the bean burrito instead! |
According to the Vegetarian Research Group, about 3% of American adults are true vegetarians who say they never eat meat, fish or poultry. But at least 10% of adults consider themselves vegetarians, even though they eat fish or chicken occasionally. These are “flexitarians,” people who seek out vegetarian meals but will eat fish and/or chicken. More formally, flexitarianism describes the practice of eating mainly vegetarian food, but making occasional exceptions for social, pragmatic, cultural or nutritional reasons. Flexitarians may occasionally eat meat and/or other animal products. | |
| Eating vegetarian doesn’t automatically translate to a healthier diet—there are plenty of high-fat, high-calorie choices, including pasta, bread, fried foods, sauces, cookies, cake and candy. However, the main point is that advocates consider it humane not to kill animals unnecessarily, for food. Equally (if not more) important these days is the looming global warming crisis and the desire of many people to live more “green” lives. Animal agriculture has a huge impact on global warming. While most people are aware of the effect of carbon dioxide on climate change, the most significant non-CO2 greenhouse gas is methane. Methane, produced by decomposing animal manure, is responsible for nearly as much global warming as all other non-CO2 greenhouse gases combined. Animal agriculture produces more than 100 million tons of methane a year; global meat consumption has increased fivefold in the past 50 years and continues to grow. You can do your part by choosing a bean burrito or Margherita pizza instead of the beef burrito or the pepperoni pizza, whenever possible. | ||
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