To what extent is veganism an appropriate diet?

The definition for veganism is “the practise of eating only food not derived from animals and typically of avoiding the use of other animal products” (Google, 2022). There are four main types of vegans: ethical vegans, environmental vegans, health vegans and religious vegans. A vegan cannot eat meat, seafood, dairy and eggs or wear any animal products, like leather. As a result of this, adopting a veganism diet is, to a certain extent, not an appropriate diet.

As mentioned above, vegans do not consume animal products, such as dairy, meat, seafood, and eggs. These food products contain key nutrients; for example, meat provides us with iron, seafood with omega 3 fatty acids, dairy contains calcium and eggs have vitamin B2. These nutrients are key to give us the energy to allow our bodies to perform their essential functions, like growing. If a person is lacking in nutrients, it can lead to serious issues, including stunted growth, eye problems, diabetes, and heart disease. If a person would adopt a carnism lifestyle, the opposite to veganism, they would find all of those key nutrients in the typical food that they would eat, however would lack others in fruits and vegtables. The lack of, and difficulty accessing, nutrients whilst eating vegan show that it is not an appropriate diet.

Having a vegan diet is often seen as healthier than other diets because it contains more organic products such as vegetables and fruits. But this is not always the case. What would happen if a child adopted the vegan lifestyle? They could have severe problems with their health, including weight loss, malnutrition, stunted growth, eye problems, diabetes, and heart disease. Without the parent of the child being fully informed about what is in their child’s diet, their child could fall short in certain nutrients, for instance, calcium. Calcium is key to maintain healthy bones in a child. Research has shown that “45% of our bone mass is accrued (made) before the age of eight”. It is therefore essential that calcium requirements are met for children, particuarlly those eating a vegan diet. Without natural resources, like milk and cheese, to meet these requirements children will have to eat plant based spreads, almonds, calcium set tofu, beans, and green leafy vegetables This shows that a vegan diet is not appropriate, particuarlly for children, who are even more negatively impacted by a lack of nutrients.

However, there are also advantages of being vegan. Research has shown that a vegan diet can help promote weight loss, reduce risks of heart disease, lower the chances of getting certain types of cancer and manage diabetes For example, it can prevent heart disease because you are not eating as much fat as you would in an ordinary diet when eating meat. Vegans also consume greater amounts of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, etc. Eating those sorts of food instead of animal products can results in a higher daily intake of certain beneficial nutrients. Studies have shown that vegan diets provide more fibre, antioxidants and beneficials plant compounds. Therefore, adopting a vegan diet could benefit you in diverse ways resulting in you being healthier because you are consuming more organic products containing beneficial nutrients.

Becoming vegan has many positive effects on the environment. The animal agriculture industry is a main driver behind our planets environmental crisis. Adopting the vegan diet and lifestyle reduces deforestation, soil degradation, and greenhouse gas emissions. This helps to slow climate change. It also means that our global food supply is more secure. If everyone shifted towards a plant based vegan diet, “we could free up 75% of global farmland” which is currently used to farm animals and produce animal feed. That proportion of land could go towards growing healthy, plant based protein to feed more people and “alleviate world hunger”. Leaving animal products off our dinner plate is one of the best ways we, as a planet, can reduce our individual impacts on the environment. It helps prevent the threat of climate change, which according to the United Nations is the “biggest threat modern humans have ever faced”. Becoming a vegan can help prevent climate change.

In conclusion, becoming a vegan is not an appropriate diet. This is because, whilst it does prevent animal cruelty and climate change, adopting a vegan diet can lead to serious health problems and takes a lot of time, effort and money to make sure that you are eating the right products that contain the right nutrients.

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