It's Vegetarian Week 2008 and time to revisit the 'meat is murder' debate. According to Rick Wilson, Director of Nutrition & Dietetics, King’s College Hospital, London, we are in fact omnivores: "Our vestigial appendix and our canine and incisor teeth indicate this." So why do so many buck nature’s master menu plan? 4Food spoke to two vegetarians – one past, one present – to get a better understanding of why anyone would want to ditch steaks for soya.
"I was about 8 years old when I decided to become a vegetarian. There was no one main event - my main reason was for the love of animals and a gradual realisation of where meat came from. All of my family are meat eaters and would always encourage me to try different types of meat when I was younger but I was determined to stick to my choice. As I had decided to become a veggie at such a young age there was obviously the main concerns of iron intake etc… so I did undergo a few blood tests at the GP just to make sure I was OK. After I was told by the doctor that I was just as healthy as any other child, I didn’t really worry so much about my health.
Young children are growing fast and have difficulty getting enough nutrients into the volume of food they can manage. There is also a problem with iron deficiency in this country in children under the age of five. This can cause developmental delay. Mothers wishing their child to be vegetarian or vegan should seek the advice of a dietitian - Rick Wilson, Director of Nutrition & Dietetics
I will eat eggs, dairy products and so forth but no fish or any other type of meat. I don’t really wear anything leather as the smell puts me off; I tend to stick to the fake leather.
I have absolutely no problem with other meat eaters, as everyone has a choice with their diet (like myself) and I have handled meat in the past (ham or beef) just to feed my dog. The only meat I can’t stand to be around is either chicken or fish as I find they resemble an animal more than a plate of beef, which has no resemblance to a cow, for example. I could never eat meat. I have often been asked if I've tried meat recently and I was once accidently given a beef pasty instead of a cheese one - took a bite and the taste was horrible...so at least I know I'm not missing out on anything. Luckily the vegetarian options in restaurants and supermarkets are much better than before. I especially love the Linda McCartney range of food. Restaurants are also starting to realise that more and more people are becoming vegetarian and are increasing their veggie options on the menus."
"Basically I stopped eating meat because I just don't find it that eventful to eat - just like some people find pasta dull, I don't find that meat adds anything to the taste of my meal and realised I was just eating it for the sake of it. So I tried cutting it out, survived, and carried on. Basically, I just prefer the taste of veggies.
All mothers need to take folic acid supplements when planning to conceive and up to the 12th week of pregnancy. Vegetarian mums who drink milk and eat eggs probably do not need to take any further measures – although there is often a need for pregnant and breast feeding mothers to take iron supplements – there are very few good dietary sources of iron and iron from plant sources is not as well absorbed by the body as iron from animal sources. Vegan mums do need to take special care to ensure that they have a varied and mixed diet which includes plenty of pulses and nuts. If there is a history of allergy in the family then peanuts may need to be excluded from the diet and vegan mums should seek the advice of a dietitian in this circumstance - Rick Wilson, Director of Nutrition & Dietetics
Early on in my pregnancy I just went completely off anything soya (not that I was a regular soya eater anyway). I've never been an egg person and with the limitations on fish/cheeses, I was a bit stuck for protein (you need to eat a specific amount of protein during pregnancy, not only for the foetus but for the extra blood cells your body has to make).
I didn't want a wonky kid, but also didn't have the time (working full time up till 39 weeks pregnant) to sit and count the number and types of beans/pulses that I was eating. It was just easier to eat a bit of meat - although I am very picky about what I eat and would still only eat it once or twice a week, making sure I ate the max oily fish (two times per week) with white fish in between. I'm still eating meat as I need the protein for breast milk, (oily fish restrictions still apply) but maybe once a week. Partly I feel that my little girl should be given the opportunity to decide for herself whether she wants to stop eating meat or not, and ensure she has the best start in life. Try as you might, you'll never find a more complete protein than meat and babies and kids have greater demands than we do because they're growing. And again, I couldn't be fussed with bean-counting (or chronic flatulence).
Proteins are made of building blocks called amino acids. Human flesh has a basic scaffold of protein which is also made of these building blocks. The perfect mixture of building blocks to make human flesh is human flesh i.e. cannibalism!! The next best is protein from organisms that are like us i.e. animals and fish. No single plant protein has all the necessary building blocks and so vegans have to have a diet containing lots of different, complementary plant protein. This is why lions only need to eat every couple of days but zebras need to spend most of their waking life eating - Rick Wilson, Director of Nutrition & Dietetics
Obviously being veggie and pregnant can work, but my thoughts were more to give my daughter an optimal start in life and her right to chose later. Because of that I was happy to make some dietary sacrifices (trust me, that's a small one to make as a parent - I miss the full night's sleep more). And convenience was pretty high on the agenda, too. Once I stop breast feeding I'll probably just cut it out again. But it will definitely still be a part of Lucy's meals until she is old enough to make her own informed decisions. However, this rule will not hold for the inclusion of fruit and veg in her diet! That's just my personal take, so I guess I'm actually a Wannabe-Veggie."
Fancy trying your hand at some veggie cuisine? Try our delicious vegetable recipes.
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