Research

Research

Baya Lee SafhillStephanie Yarrow

Audience Research2012 - (1,582 children and 1,491 adults)• 2% of both adults and children reported that they were vegetarian• Less than 1% reported following a vegan diet2011 - (1,095 children (1.5-18 years), 1,031 adults)• 2% of both adults and children reported that they were vegetarian• Less than 1% reported following a vegan diet2010 - (583 children (1.5-18 years), 548 adults)• 2% of both adults and children reported that they were vegetarian• Less than 1% reported following a vegan diet2011• 6% 'mainly vegetarian' (ate fish but no meat)• 3% estimated to be completely vegetarian• 2001-2011 number of people completely vegetarian fell from 3 million to 1.9 million2007 - 1,003 adults• 8% claimed 'I, or another member of this household, is a vegetarian who perhaps eats fish'• 7.5% claimed 'I, or another member of this household, used to be vegetarian, who perhaps ate

fish'2006 - 1,000 adults• 12% claimed to be vegetarian, or someone in the household was vegetarian• 9.9% claimed they, or someone else in the household, used be vegetarian

http://www.vegsoc.org/page.aspx?pid=753

Vegetarian Demographics

The Vegetarian Society guesses that there are around 4 million vegetarians in UK which is 7% of the population, but recent surveys show that the figures near the 3 million mark which is 5% of the population. In 2001 the UK population had around 4% of people which were vegetarians, which meant that 16% of people ate meat free meals most of the time or all of the time.

Fact

The meat-free and free-from food markets were valued at £949 million for 2012 with almost four in 10 consumers in the UK, buying vegetarian or meat-free food, while one in five (20%) have bought free-from food.Over 1.3 billion human beings could be fed each year from the grain and soybeans that go to livestock in the United States.It takes 7.5 pounds of protein feed to create 1 pound of consumable hog protein; and it takes 5 pounds of protein feed to create 1 pound of consumable chicken protein. Close to 90% of protein from wheat and beans is lost to feed cycling.

History

Vegetarianism is believed to have come from India and Ancient Greece in the 5th century BCE.However Vegetarianism has now grown over almost all religions and in almost all countries; especially in Egypt, India and Asia; with beliefs that non-violence towards animals was an ideal in life. This belief was promoted by religious groups and Philosophers and spread the idea of Vegetarianism. The idea that animals, if not most, were declared to be protected spread the idea of Vegetarianism further.This covered all animals from parrots to bats to boneless fish to squirrel to all four-footed creatures. They would allow the animals that had young or feeding their babies to be protected too. They also wouldn’t allow people to burn down trees/forests just so then they could get birds. It was all banned by the “Edicts of Ashoka, Fifth Pillar”

When the Romans invaded Europe, vegetarianism disappeared in all places apart from India. In medieval Europe some monks banned the eating of fish; their fish were mammal like dolphins and seals. They also ate Porpoise, Barnacle geese, Puffin and beavers.

The first Vegetarian society was formed in 1847 in the united Kingdom. Other countries followed like Germany, Netherlands. The international Vegetarian union was founded in 1908. During the 20th century the popularity of Vegetarianism grew as a result of nutritional, ethical and environmental and economic concerns

Introduction and Definition

Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat. This includes red meat, poultry, seafood and the flesh of any other animal. It may also include abstaining from the by-products of animal slaughter; this includes animal-derived rennet and gelatin, as well as animal produce such as eggs and milk for example. Vegetarianism covers Vegans and Vegetarians as well as Lacto, Ovo, Ovo-Lacto, Raw Veganism, Fruitarianism, Buddhist Vegetarianism and Jain Vegetarianism.

Semi Vegetarianism

Semi vegetarian diets are diets that adopt one aspect of meat into their diet, this can be pork, beef, fish, chicken etc. Semi vegetarian diets include; • pescetarianism, which includes fish and seafood• pollotarianism, includes chicken and other poultry• pollo-pescetarian, a white meat only diet which

includes poultry and fish• macrobiotic diets consisting mostly of whole

grains and beans, but may sometimes include fish

What Vegetarians Eat

Vegetarians abstain from eating meat, but this protein intake needs to replaced, and there are many meat substitutes available now for Vegetarians to consume.These include chicken, pork, fish and beef style products and can be made from plant based materials from either soy or wheat protein or from grains and pulses or mycroproteins. These products can be available fresh, dried or frozen and include foods such as Tofu, Tempeh, Seitan, Quorn (a branded form of mycroprotein) as well and whole grains and legumes which include pinto beans, navy beans, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts and other notes and black eyes and split peas.

Link; http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/meat-replacements.aspx

What Vegetarians Cannot Eat

Depending on how strict the vegetarian is depends on what products they do and do not consume. However all meat based products such as chicken, pork, beef, and fish are avoided. Foods that the individual has to decide on consuming are animal products such as eggs, milk, honey, cheeses and creams, or animal by-products such as gelatin and animal derived rennet. Most sweets, especially jelly styled sweets contain gelatin and it is up to the Vegetarian to decide what they can and cannot eat, however most tend to avoid gelatin.

Why People Become Vegetarian

People become Vegetarian for a variety of reasons, however most choose to become Vegetarian due to not wanting to consume meat; either on personal, religious of health grounds.

We are going to explore why people become Vegetarian.

Animal Welfare and Animal Rights

People usually become Vegetarian due to Ethical reasons and this is known as Ethical Vegetarianism. Ethical Vegetarianism is popular in developed countries such as the United States and the Europe due to the rise of factory farming and the lack of animal welfare and animal rights that this causes.The Foods Standards Agency, along with the help of The RSPCA investigates cases of animal cruelty in farming, and set up a Red Tractor, which helps consumers knows that the meat that they are buying is produced to the required standards. However there have been cases where this has been discovered to be untrue.Animal Cruelty in farming includes the mistreatment of animals and abuse as well as a lack of medical treatment for sick animals.

The news story to the right is from Farmers Weekly after an RSPCA investigation into Red Tractor meat, discovered animal abuse at a pig farm in Norfolk.The RSPCA started to investigate this farm due to receiving footage from an insider that revealed the mistreatment of pigs at the farm.Consumers can never be certain how the meat that they are buying and consuming, especially when news stories such as these are being produced, and this is one reason why people can abstain from eating meat.

Link; http://www.fwi.co.uk/articles/14/02/2012/131426/rspca-investigates-pig-farm-cruelty-case.htm

Health and Well BeingSome Vegetarians choose to abstain from eating meat on the grounds of health reasons. Health reasons include animal to human disease transmission, personal health and dietary reasons, as well as longevity reasons.

LongevityLongevity is used to describe life expectancy, and ways to increase someone's life span through changes to their lifestyle and their diet.

In 1999 a metastudy was created, and combined the data from five studies conducted in Western countries. This metastudy reported mortality ratios as well as the number of deaths in each category. It concluded that regular meat eaters and Vegans shared a mortality rate of 1.00, which was higher that that of fish eaters (pescetarians) at 0.82, Vegetarians at 0.84 and occasional meat eaters (less that once a week) at 0.84.

This shows that eating meat increasing mortality. However individual lifestyles vary and this could also have an impact, but the overall conclusion is that eating meat can increase mortality, and this could be a reason why some people become Vegetarian.

Animal to Human Disease Transmission

Some Vegetarians chose to become Vegetarian on the grounds of stopping Animal to Human Disease Transmission which arises when an infected animal has infected a human, making them ill. An example of a Animal to Human Disease Transmission is Salmonella, which has been reported to infect half of all chickens that are sold in the United States alone.Cows also carry Animal to Human diseases, one of which is the Bovine Leukaemia Virus which has been linked with the HTLV1 which causes cancers in humans. Cows also carry a form of HIV which is known as BIV – the Bovine Immunodeficiency Virus – which can infect human cells.Animal to Human disease transmissions can also cause human cancers, birth defects and mutations in babies, as well as many other diseases in humans according to scientists.Avian Influenza causes human deaths and is known as H5N1 and has been found in Chickens in Hong Kong in 1997 and in the UK in the spring of 2006. The next two slide shows how Avian Influenza was spread in the UK.Therefore avoiding eating meat decreases the chances of being affected these diseases.

Link; http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4882824.stm

Cancer and Other IllnessesPeople can also chose to become Vegetarian to help them recover or have a better quality of life from diseases and illnesses such as Arthritis and Cancer.This is due consuming a diet that is full of vitamins, phytochemicals and fibre, which are all essential in helping prevent, fight and recover from illnesses such as cancer.The article to the right is from the NHS describing that Vegetarians are less likely to develop cancer at a rate of -45%.A statement about why becoming Vegetarian or being Vegetarian, and its health benefits states that ‘One particular study made the link between dairy products and the risk of ovarian cancer due in part to the fact that the process to break down lactose (milk sugar) in turn damages the ovaries. For men, daily meat consumption increased their risk of prostate enlargement by triple.’

Links; http://www.nhs.uk/news/2009/07July/Pages/VegetarianDietCancerProtection.aspxhttp://www.howtobecomeavegetarian.org/Vegetarians-And-Cancer.html

ReligionPeople right adopt a Vegetarian diet due to religious, spiritual or philosophical reasons, and many religions state that leading a Vegetarian diet is beneficial.

Religions that have Vegetarian diets are Baha’I Faith, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Sikhism and Rastafarism for a variety of reasons.

We are going to explore these religions and why these Religions have adopted this dietary choice.

Links; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dietshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism#Treatment_of_animals

ChristianityDespite Vegetarianism being an uncommon practice in current Christian culture it does occur especially with Seventh-Day Adventists, Quakers, members of the Orthodox Church and has its history of Vegetarianism from William Cowherd. Cowherd adopted a Vegetarian diet and founded the Bible Christian Church in 1809. He was also one of the first people to found the philosophical beliefs of the Vegetarian Society. He encouraged his members to abstain from eating meat. Seventh-day Adventists are encouraged to engage in healthy eating practices by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Nutrition Council (GCNC). Ova-lacto-vegetarian and Vegetarian diets are recommended by the GCNC for Seventh Day Adventists.Members of the Orthodox Church follow a vegan diet during fasts.Quakers have had a relation with Vegetarianism since the 1700s due to society purity, social issues and vivisection, they founded the Friends Vegetarian Society in 1902.Two diets which Christians follow are the Edenic diet and the Hallelujah Diet. The Edenic diet is a diet based on what Adam and Eve are believed to have consumed in the Garden of Eden and it is either Vegetarian or Vegan but based on fruit, this is popular amongst Christians.The Hallelujah diet was developed in 1970, and states that Christians should only consume seed bearing plants and fruits and this is a form of Vegetarianism.

Bahá'í Faith

The Bahá'í Faith was founded in Persia, but is practiced by over six million people in more than 200 countries in the world. Its faith has been created by the messages from different messengers that include Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad among others.The Bahá'í Faith has no dietary restrictions in the Bahá'í Faith the son of the religions founder (`Abdu'l-Bahá), stated to the faiths followers that a vegetarian diet consisting of fruits and grains was ‘desirable’ to those people who were not sick. Bahá stated that the ‘future society should gradually become vegetarian’ for the good of animal compassion.

BuddhismBuddhism does not have any specific dietary rules but some Buddhists practice Vegetarianism. This is based on the strict interpretation of the Five Precepts. Vegetarianism has also been based on the Buddhist monks belief that if they ‘see, hear or know’ that a living animal has been killed for them to eat, they must refuse it, otherwise they will incur an offense from Buddha.This does not include meat which has been commercially purchased for people to eat.Even though Buddha states that meat should be avoided, certain meats cannot be eaten at all and these are human, elephant, horse, dog, snake, lion, tiger, leopard, bear, and hyena meats due to their symbolism.Chinese Buddhists tend not to eat meat where as Tibetan and Japanese Buddhists tend to as a majority

Hinduism

Many Hindis hold vegetarian belief for different reasons; the principle of nonviolence applied to animals; the intention to offer only pure food to a deity and then to receive it back, and the conviction that a sentient diet is beneficial for a healthy body and mind and that non-vegetarian food is essential for mind and spiritual development.Hindu vegetarians usually consume milk and dairy products in a lacto-vegetarian diet.However, the food habits of Hindus vary according to their community and according to regional traditions.

Rastafarian FaithThe Rastafarian faith, I-Tal, has a set of principles which affects the diet of many Rastafarians, and it states that only natural foods should be consumed, and as a result most Rastafarians tend to follow a Vegetarian diet.

Other Religions That Follow Vegetarianism• Jainism• Judaism• Islamic• Sikhism• Latter Day Saint Movement

Sources of Information

• PETA• Vegetarian Society• Quorn• Redwood• NHS Choices• The Food Doctor• Vegan Society

Companies that Produce Vegetarian Products

• Redwood• Bute Island Foods – Sheese• Granose• Just Wholefoods• Orgran - 'Free From' Foods• Soyatoo• Cauldron• Quorn• Linda McCartney

Quorn Foods’ vision is to help consumers eat more healthily and was launched nationally in 1995. It is the UK’s 35th biggest food brand. Quorn offers a wide range of meat-alternative products, made using Mycoprotein. Quorn products have the taste and texture of meat and are significantly lower in saturated fat and calories whilst being a good source of protein and fibre.Quorn products are available in 11 countries;• Sweden• Netherlands• Belgium• Denmark• Norway• Switzerland• Republic of Ireland• United States• Australia• New Zealand• UK

Redwood

Redwood are a company that specialises in foods that are totally free from animal ingredients; alternatives to meat and fish to dairy free cheeses from natural plant based foods.Redwood Foods are also free from hydrogenated fats, eggs, GMOs, cholesterol, artificial colours and preservatives.

The Vegetarian Society

The Vegetarian Society was created in 1847 to give support, advice and information to help vegetarians people and to inform the public of Vegetarianism. The Vegetarian Society is an educational charity working to support, represent and increase the number of Vegetarians in the UK.The Vegetarian Society works alongside businesses, government agencies and charities and relies on membership subscriptions and donations to continue its work.

http://www.vegsoc.org/aboutus

Approved products ad catering

The Vegetarian Society states that for a product to be approved by the Vegetarian Society as Vegetarian it must fulfil all of the following criteria:• Be free from animal flesh (meat, fowl, fish or shellfish),

meat or bone stock, animal or carcass fats, gelatine, aspic or any other ingredients resulting from animal slaughter.

• Contain only free range eggs, where eggs are used.• Be free from genetically modified organisms (GMOs).• There must be no cross contamination with non-vegetarian

products during the production process.• Be cruelty-free - no animal testing is permitted.

http://www.vegsoc.org/page.aspx?pid=650

Famous VegetariansAbraham Lincoln, former President of USAdolf Hitler, infamous German Nazi dictator Alanis Morissette, singerAlbert Einstein, scientistAlbert Schweitzer, philosopher, and physician Alkaline Trio, Punk bank Andrew White, guitarist of Kaiser ChiefsBill Clinton, former American President Boy George, singer Brad Pitt, actor Dalai Lama, leader of Tibetan BuddhismDemi Lovato, actress, musicianEllen Degeneres, TV personalityBenjamin Franklin, former PresidentMahatma Gandhi, religious leaderMartin LutherRalph Waldo EmmersonPope, religious leaderSocratesAlexa Chung

Blur, bandPlatoClaudia Schiffer, modelGary Glitter, singerSting, singerKate Moss, modelBilly Connelly, comedianMark TwainThomas EdisonLeonardo Da VinciCharles DarwinCharlotte BronteRussell BrandRosa ParksMorrisseyPamela AndersonOzzy OsborneBrigitte BardotMike Tyson