Source:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/page.cfm?objectid=12971726&method=full
All Britons could be vegetarian by 2047 as 2,000 people a week stop eating meat, a study claimed yesterday.
Already 40 per cent of Brits avoid eating meat at least once a week with six per cent of the population totally vegetarian.
Jan Walsh, of the Consumer Analysis Group which did the research with Safeway, said: "To think that we could all be vegetarians by 2047 will come as a shock for some people, but it seems like we will be entering an age where the nation as a whole has finally begun to understand and respect the environment."
She added: "You can almost imagine that in the future it will be the norm to be vegetarian and people will have to consciously opt to eat meat, rather than the other way around."
Britain has the second largest number of vegetarians in Europe after Germany.
The study, released yesterday for National Vegetarian Week, estimated that a lifelong vegetarian saves 760 chickens, five cows, 20 pigs, 20 sheep and half a tonne of fish. And the average non-meat eater visits hospital 22 per cent less often, saving the NHS £220 a year per person - a potential cost cut of £736million.
Safeway spokeswoman Louise Barnett said: "Supermarkets have had a positive impact on the numbers of people becoming vegetarian in the last 50 years - especially by increasing the variety of products available.
"Our task must be to provide a total vegetarian solution: not just more fruit and vegetables, but more innovative products that offer customers choice and a sound nutritional balance.
"We predict that supermarkets will become much more like hubs of world foods, with flavours, smells and textures to tempt every taste bud."
Courtesy of The Animal Spirit Newsletter :
http://topica.com/lists/theanimalspirit@topica.com/
Going vegetarian can be healthier - that's official
SOURCE: South African Broadcasting Corporation,
http://www.sabcnews.com/sci_tech/science/0,1009,59810,00.html
Think that vegetarian diets are risky or just a passing phase? Not so! According to the American Dietetic Association (ADA)and Dietitians of Canada (DC), a well-planned vegetarian diet can be a healthy alternative to standard meat-based eating styles for all age groups.
In a joint statement, published in the June issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, and DC say:
It is the position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.
The statement reaffirms and updates ADA's position on vegetarian diets. It details the most current science regarding key nutrients and how to obtain them through a vegetarian diet. Numerous health benefits are also cited such as lower intakes of saturated fat and cholesterol and higher intakes of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E.
Approximately 4 percent of Canadian adults and nearly 3 percent of adults in the United States follow vegetarian diets and interest is on the rise, according to the ADA/DC statement. Many restaurants and caterers routinely offer vegetarian meals. Substantial growth in sales of foods attractive to vegetarians has occurred in recent years.
"Vegetarians have been reported to have healthier body weight than non-vegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from heart disease, lower blood cholesterol levels and lower rates of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and prostate and colon cancer," says Cynthia Sass, a registered dietitian and ADA spokesperson .
"Planning a healthy vegetarian diet doesn't need to be complicated, but steps should be taken to ensure the diet is nutrient-dense," Sass says. "Just as with a meat-based diet, the key to ensuring the body meets all its nutritional needs is to choose a wide variety of foods."
Sass says the best way to ensure a healthy vegetarian diet is to obtain advice from a nutrition expert, a dietetics professional.
Courtesy of http://www.theanimalspirit.com
{The Animal Spirit Newsletter} Issue 6/9/03-6/15/03