The Vegetarian Alliance

It's amazing how many people out there have no idea what vegetarianism and veganism is. A list of facts and misconceptions has been compiled to set the record straight. There is also a lot of useful information here for those who have been vegetarian or vegan for awhile. If you have any to add, send us an e-mail and we may add it to the list.

Facts

• Yes, we get enough protien!

• With the right diet and a little planning, you can get all the vitamins and minerals you need from a vegetarian/vegan diet.

• Not only can we get calcium from soy milk, but most fruits contain some calcium as well. Other sources are asparagus, artichoke, peas, carrots, broccoli, kale, lima beans, spinach, almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pecans...the list goes on and on!

• Vitamin B12 is not found naturally in any fruits, vegetables or nuts. You can use nutritional yeast or products fortified with B12. If you feel adventurous, there is actually an edible weed called Chickweed that does contain B12 naturally.

• Everyone is talking about the importance of Omega 3 in one's diet...but how can we get Omega 3 without squeezing the oil from dead fish? Not to worry, you can get Omega 3 from another edible weed called Purslane, or from any of the following botanical alternatives: Flax (most available), Kiwifruit, Lingonberry, Chia, Perilla, or Camelina. Other sources are Acai fruit, Oil from Brown Algae, and even Walnuts have a small amount. Vegetarian friendly suppliments are available as well.

• Every second, one football field of rainforest is destroyed in order to produce 257 hamburgers.

• According to the US Department of Agriculture statistics, one acre of land can grow 20,000 pounds of potatoes. That same acre of land, when used to grow cattle feed, can produce less than 165 pounds of edible cow flesh.

• Each vegetarian saves about 95 animal lives a year!

• It takes about 300 gallons of water per day to produce food for a vegetarian, but it takes more than 4,000 gallons of water per day to create the food needed to feed a meat-eater.

• Every vegetarian saves an acre of trees every year! More than 260 million acres of U.S. forest have been cleared to grow crops to feed animals who are raised for meat, and another acre of trees disappears every five seconds.

• Any milk with a somatic cell count (pus) of higher than 200 million per liter should not enter the human food supply, according to the dairy industry. Yet every state but Hawaii is producing milk with pus levels so high that it shouldn’t enter the human food supply.

• After looking at 34 published studies in 16 countries, researchers at Yale University found that the countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis—including the United States, Sweden, and Finland—were those in which people consumed the most meat, milk, and other animal foods.

• The calcium absorption rate from milk is approximately 30 percent, while figures for broccoli, Brussels sprouts, mustard greens, turnip greens, kale, and some other green leafy vegetables range from 40 percent to 64 percent.

• According to American Institute for Cancer Research, women who consume more than 2 ounces of red meat a day are 56 percent more likely to develop breast cancer. Those who ate more that 3/4 of an ounce of processed meat per day were 64 percent more likely to develop breast cancer.

• The World Cancer Research Fund completed it's review of more than 7,000 clinical studies linking diet and cancer. Consuming processed meats was found to increase pancreatic cancer by 67 percent and colorectal cancer by 50 percent. Processed meats contain sodium nitrite, a carcinogenic ingredient that increases the formation of cancer-causing nitrosamines in the human body.

• The USDA tried to ban sodium nitrite from food in the 1970's but was vetoed by the meat industry, who insisted that the chemical was safe and accused the USDA of trying to "ban bacon."

Misconceptions

• "A vegetarian diet can't be healthy...how do you get all that you need without eating meat?"....Sure, any diet can be unhealthy if not done properly. If you ate nothing but pasta you'd be considered vegetarian, but you'd probably be pretty unhealthy. All it takes is a little research, planning and effort, and you can maintain a healthy, balanced diet without meat or dairy.

• "You eat chicken and/or fish, right?"...It's amazing how often this comment comes up. As a vegetarian, it's hard to understand what part of "I don't eat living creatures" that people don't get. If you eat fish (or any seafood) you are not vegetarian, you are pescetarian.

• "Vegetarians are weak and lack energy."...This comment is far from the truth. In general, vegetarians have more energy than meat eaters because their diets tend to be lighter and use less of the body's energy to digest.  Think about it...how much energy do you have after a big meal of steak and mashed potatoes? You would probably want to unbutton your pants and lounge on the couch for awhile. That's your body telling you that it needs all the energy it can muster to digest the food you just ate. Also, carnivors have short digestive systems made to digest meat before it begins to rot. The human digestive system is long and is more suited for the digestion of plant matter, so when you consume meat it sits in your digestive system and begins to rot long before it's used by the body. As for being weak, check out Mike Mahler, a aggressive strength coach, 15 year vegetarian and 10 year vegan - http://www.mikemahler.com/  Or how about Mac Danzig, UFC champ, voted one of the top 25 fittest men in America by Men's Fitness Magazine and a vegan. Even NFL all-star tight-end Tony Gonzalez is a 247lb vegan! It's hard to call guys like that "weak."

• "You're vegetarian? You must be anemic."...Again, if you do not have a balanced diet you can create deficiencies in your body. Women are more prone to anemia because they are more likely to have an iron deficiency...but this is true for everyone, not just vegetarians. If you maintain a healthy, well-balanced diet, then it shouldn't be an issue.

• "How do you get any protien?"...Here's that protien question again! There are many, many foods that contain protien without having to eat meat. For example; whole wheat bread, nuts and soy to beans, legumes, avacado and peas (yes, peas! 1 cup of peas contain about 8.58 grams of protien).

Famous Vegetarians

• Alanis Morissette
• Alicia Silverstone - vegan
• Alyssa Milano
• Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls
• Andre 3000 of Outkast - vegan
• Andy Dick
• Angela Bassett
• Annie Lennox
• Ashley Judd
• Belinda Carlisle
• Bill Maher - vegan 
• Bob Dylan
• Bob Marley
• Bonnie Raitt
• Bryan Adams - vegan
• Bruce Springsteen
• Charles Darwin
• Christian Bale
• Clint Eastwood
• Common (rapper)
• Dennis Kucinich, Ohio (D) - vegan
• Dustin Hoffman
• Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam
• Erkyah Badu (R&B) - vegan
• Fiona Apple
• Forest Whitaker
• Franz Kafka
• Gandhi
• H.G. Wells
• Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Henry David Thoreau
• Ian McKellan
• Jackie Chan
• Jamie Lee Curtis
• Jared Leto
• Jennifer Connelly
• Joan Jett
• Joaquin Pheonix - vegan
• John Lennon of the Beatles
• Johnny Cash
• Kate Winslet
• K.D. Lang
• KRS-One (rapper)
• Leonardo Da Vinci
• Linda Blair
• Lisa Kudrow
• Mac Danzig (UFC) - vegan
• Mark Twain
• Martin Shaw - vegan
• Mary Tyler Moore
• Meatloaf (ironic, isn't it?)
• Melissa Etheridge
• Michael Bolton
• Michael Jackson
• Moby - vegan
• Morrissey - vegan
• Mr. Rogers
• Natalie Portman - vegan
• Nelly (rapper)
• Nick Rhodes of Duran, Duran - vegan
• Oliver Stone
• Olivia Newton John
• Orlando Bloom
• Pamela Anderson
• Paul McCartney of the Beatles
• Paul Newman
• Peter Gabriel
• Pierce Bronsnan
• Pink (pop singer)
• Plato
• Prince
• Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Richard Gere
• Ricky Williams (NFL)
• Ringo Star of the Beatles
• Ru Paul
• Samuel L. Jackson
• Seal
• Sir Isaac Newton
• Socrates
• Suzanne Vega
• Thom Yorke of Radiohead - vegan
• Tobey Mcguire
• Tony LaRussa (MLB)
• Tony Gonzalez (NFL) - vegan
• Tracy Chapman
• Travis Barker of Blink 182
• Vanessa Williams
• Vanna White
• Victoria Beckham of the Spice Girls
• Vincent van Gogh
• Wayne Static of Static-X
• Weird Al Yankovic - vegan
• William Blake
• William Shatner
• Woody Harrelson - vegan
• Yoko Ono