Vegetarianism, vegetarian...

Dear students, 

We have talked about food and discovered that some of your classmates are vegetarian. I decided to write about this and give you some assignments and questions to discuss.

Have fun.
Irena

What do you eat? Do you eat fruit and vegetables? Do you eat meat and fish? What do you know about vegetarianism? What is it? Is it good or bad for your health? 

A vegetarian is someone who doesn't eat meat, and mostly eats foods that come from plants, like grains, fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Some stricter vegetarians avoid more than just meat. They also avoid animal products, which are non-meat foods that come from animals.

Vegetarianism is a special diet with no meat. 

There are 4 basic types of vegetarian.

Lacto-ovo vegetarian: they eat no meat, but eat dairy products and eggs. 

Ovo-vegetarian: they eat no meat or dairy products, but eat eggs. 



Vegan: they eat no meat or animal products, such as dairy.



Lacto-vegetarian: they eat no meat or eggs, but eat dairy products.






Hereare some new words you should know. 

They are :

- carnivores is an animal that feeds on flesh (eat meat only)

- omnivores is an animal or person that eats food of both plant and animal origin (eat meat and plants)

- herbivorous is an animal or person that eats plants only

This video shows you why being carnivores is not good for you. Watch the video and think about it.

Why do people become vegetarians? What's the difference between "vegetarian" and "vegan"? We are going to talk about it a little. I hope you'll learn something new.

Do you know why some people choose not to eat meat or meat products? There are many different reasons to choose vegetarianism. 

People have different reasons for becoming vegetarians. Some follow vegetarian or semi-vegetarian diets for health reasons. For instance, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and grains tends to be low in fat and cholesterol, which is good for your heart. It's also likely to be high in fiber and can be lower in calories.

Concern for animals and environmental reasons are also cited by vegetarians when they explain why they don't eat meat. In addition, some cultures and religions have vegetarian diets.



Here are 10 reasons why people choose vegetarianism:

1. Religious Beliefs
Some religions have dietary restrictions (limitation, limit). Many religious texts promote vegetarianism.

2. Personal Preference
People usually choose what they want to eat. Those, who don't like the taste of meat may choose vegetarianism. These who eat seafood are not true vegetarians.

3. Cost
In many countries people can't afford to eat meat because it's very expensive and fruit and vegetables are cheap. They can save a lot of money on a vegetarian diet. Instead of spending a lot of money buying meat, they can spend much less buying fresh produce.

4. Environmental Reasons
The space needed to raise cows and other livestock is immense (very big, huge). Some vegetarians argue that this space should be used for crops that could feed more people.

5. Health Problems
Some people have trouble digesting meat. Red meat can be very difficult to digest. People with high cholesterol may turn to vegetarianism.

                                                

6. Animal Rights
Vegetarians are often animal lovers. They disagree with the use of animals for feed and complain about how livestock (farm animals - sheep, cows, goats, etc.) are treated.

7. Contamination
Have you ever had food poisoning? Food contamination refers to the presence in food of harmful chemicals and microorganisms which can cause consumer illness. Contaminated (polluted, infected) food can turn you off meat forever.

8. Peer Pressure
Many people become vegetarian in their teen years. Peer pressure may cause a boyfriend to choose vegetarianism to please his girlfriend, or vise versa (backwards).

9. Family
Some people are born into vegetarian families.

10. Weight Concerns
Vegetarians are less likely to be overweight. Fruit and Vegetables have fewer calories than meat.

Please, watch this short video and think about vegetarianism. Do you think it will help to keep our planet in a good condition? 

So, what do you think about vegetarianism? Is it really good? Would you became a vegetarian? If yes, here are some recipes for cooking a vegetarian meals. Enjoy it!

  

SO.... ARE YOU A VEGETARIAN?!

THIS IS YOUR CHOICE!

Nobody can tell you what to eat.

A SMALL JOKE...