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Annotated Bibliography

What are the benefits of vegetarianism?

Marissa Solomon-McRoy
Professor Malcolm Campbell
English 1103
3/10/15

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Annotated Bibliography
Hart, Jane. "The Health Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet." Mary Ann Liebert Inc. Publishers.
Alternative & Complementary Therapies. 15.2 (2009). Web. 9 March 2015
This peer-reviewed journal studied the effects of a vegetarian diet on diabetics and those
without diabetes. According to the American Dietetic Association about 2.5% of
Americans consider themselves vegetarians. A study done by the Adventist Mortality
Study and the Adventist Health Study followed 8401 people for 17 years who did not
have diabetes at the beginning of the study. Research concluded that meat eaters were
29% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes when compared with vegetarians. Another
study was done that had participants with type 2 diabetes follow either a low fat vegan
diet or follow only the American Diabetic Associations guidelines. They were evaluated
at baseline and then again after 22 weeks. 43% of the group eating only the vegan diet
and 26% of the ADA diet group were able to reduce their medications for diabetes at the
end of the study. Both groups had an increase in body weight by 6.5 kg and 3.1 kg
respectively. Of 55, 459 women from the Swedish Mammography Cohort the percentage
of obesity was 40% amongst omnivores, 29% amongst semivegetarians and vegans, and
25% amongst lactovegetarians. The American Dietetic Association also found that
vegetarians have a lower cancer rate compared to the typical every day American. They
also stated that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally
adequate, and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.
But this is all up to the individual to make sure they are eating the proper diet. So overall,
all these studies seem to show that not eating meat provides many health benefits
including weight loss and disease prevention. This journal was very helpful in my

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research because it proved that being meat-free lowered peoples risk of diabetes, allowed
some participants to lower the amount of medications they were taking, and some did
indeed lose some weight. This shows that being vegetarian would be a positive change to
ones diet and is very beneficial to your health. I will be sure to use some of their
statistics in my Extended Inquiry Project.
Issitt, Micah, and Rosalyn Carson-Dewitt. "Counterpoint: Vegetarianism Is An Unhealthy
Dietary Choice." Points Of View: Vegetarianism (2014): 3. Points of View Reference
Center. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.
This article provides a different view of vegetarianism. Many vegetarians have nutritional
deficiencies despite vegetarianism being a healthier choice. Some people over do it
with meat products while some believe vegetarians are on the other extreme leading to
health concerns. Vegetarians must be careful to ensure their diet includes the vitamin B12
which is only found in animal tissues, it is especially important for children. They are
prone to B12 deficiency which can lead to anemia, spinal cord and brain injuries and eye
nerve damage. Vegetarians and vegans are also prone to iron and vitamin D deficiencies,
from not eating enough dairy foods. Another aspect of vegetarianism not being beneficial
has to do with the meat industry. Its one of the biggest industries in the world and
provides key nutrition to people all over the world, and it puts billions of dollars into the
worlds economy. Many countries completely rely on meat farms as their mean source of
revenue. Thus posing that if humans on a large scale were to stop eating meat it would
devastate not just the large meat industries but small farms as well. Its also been said by
the Environmental Protection Agency that the pesticides used for commercial farming are
one of the biggest threats to contaminating clean water. Here it is concluded that being

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vegetarian is not actually healthier unless the individual takes special care ensuring they
avoid dietary deficiencies. The article states that most of the worlds economy counts on
meat-eaters to provide jobs. It also explains that agricultural farming can actually cause
more damage to the environment than the meat industry does. This article was important
for me to find because I needed to see the risks of being vegetarian, and there are many.
The author does state though if eating a proper vegetarian diet most people will avoid
getting the certain diet deficiencies vegetarians are prone to. Basically summed up, if
done correctly, the author admits to vegetarianism not being a bad thing. But if done
incorrectly its very likely vegetarians can develop all kinds of deficiencies which can
lead to injuries. The author also explains how many countries in the world rely on the
meat industry to provide for their economy. Ill be sure to list some of the risks of being
vegetarian in my Extended Inquiry Project.
Key, Timothy, et al. "Mortality in Vegetarians and Nonvegetarians: Detailed Findings from a
Collaborative Analysis of 5 Prospective Studies." The American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition. The American Society for Nutrition, Sept. 1999. Web. 9 Mar. 2015
This journal followed participants for years and recorded their causes of death. This
experiment combined the findings of 5 separate studies comparing death rates from
disease between vegetarians and nonvegetarians. There were 8330 deaths after an average
of a 10.6 year follow up of 76172 men and women (3910 men and 4420 women). For
each cause of death the mortality rate was lower in men than women. Death from heart
disease was 24% lower in vegetarians versus nonvegetarians. Then when comparing
mortality rates with further categorization of diets it was found that death from heart
disease was 20% lower in occasional meat eaters, 34% lower in in those who ate only

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fish, 34% lower in lactoovovegetarians, and 26% lower in vegans. Lower death rates
were also recorded for younger age groups and restricted to those who had been
following the vegetarian diet for at least 5 years. When looking at preventing only heart
disease it appears that it is very beneficial to have a vegetarian diet. The amount of deaths
resulting from heart disease was lower in any form of a vegetarian diet. Although it was
found that lactoovovegetarians (non meat-eaters who eat dairy and egg products) and
people who only ate fish had the lowest mortality rates from heart disease. I am glad I
found this study because this further proves that there are many benefits of vegetarianism.
Less vegetarians died of heart disease than did the general population. I will also include
some of these statistics in my project.
"Vegetarianism and the Environment." PETA. PETA, n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.
PETA is a very reliable but somewhat biased source to use for my research. According to
the Smithsonian Institution, in order to make room to farm animals, every minute seven
football fields worth of land is bulldozed down. 80% of all farm land used in the United
States comes from raising animals and growing their food. Animals in the meat industry
also are the biggest consumers of water in America, with pigs for example consuming 21
gallons of water a day. The Worldwatch Institute has found that 51%, if not more, of
greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock and their byproducts. The United
Nations has also said a global shift toward a vegan diet is one of the steps necessary to
combat the worst effects of climate change. Factory farms produce billions of pounds of
manure every day which can and does lead to contamination of fresh water areas (lakes,
rivers, drinking water). The Environmental Protection Agency states that the number one
source of water pollution comes from agriculture runoff. This article explains the

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environmental concerns when dealing with the meat industry. Many large and powerful
corporations have said that living a meat-less lifestyle would greatly benefit the worlds
environment. This shows that vegetarianism is not only beneficial to your health but to
the environment. I knew quite a bit about this organization so it was not hard for me to
find a good article for my research. Even though this organization will be a little bias,
their facts and statistics are true. Its important to see the damage the meat industry does
to the environment and our health. It was also interesting for me to read that these large
corporations (the UN and EPA) have said being vegetarian would indeed help the
environment.