Healthy Living for Real People
Posts tagged vegetarian
National Vegetarian Week
May 24th
This week, May 23 to 29, is National Vegetarian Week…
What?! You didn’t know?
Well, since you don’t live in England, we’ll forgive you. 
National Vegetarian Week is the UK’s annual awareness-raising campaign promoting vegetarian food and the benefits of a meat-free lifestyle. It’s an event we should definitely emulate here in the United States!
Created by the Vegetarian Society (UK) and celebrated since 1992, the Week gives organizations, schools, community groups, and individuals free promotional tools and inspiration to give vegetarianism a go.
(Hmmm… now we know where Britain’s Jamie Oliver got the idea for his “Food Revolution” TV series.)
The Vegetarian Society has some fun facts on their website:
- Going vegetarian is an intelligent choice. Vegetarians have been shown to have higher IQs than meat eaters.
- The word vegetarian has nothing to do with vegetables. It is derived from the Latin word vegetus, meaning lively and vigorous.
- Animals require much more water than the growing of grain to produce the same amount of protein.
- You can still get all the iron you need in your diet as a vegetarian – it’s found in a number of foods including whole grain bread, leafy green vegetables, dried fruit, nuts, and seeds.
- Good sources of vegetarian protein are legumes, beans, and whole wheat pasta.
Though most of the action for National Vegetarian Week is happening “across the pond” you can still celebrate it, too. Be a vegetarian ambassador… take these fun facts and challenge a friend to try The Hallelujah Diet!
The New Name for “Vegetarian”
Jan 18th
What’s in a name? A lot, apparently. The label of being “vegetarian” has earned itself such a tree-hugging, planet-saving stigma that people are beginning to shy away from the name in favor of more “liberal” terms.
In the UK, research by Mintel shows the number of consumers calling themselves “vegetarian” has not moved over the past 5 years. Vegetarians there account for only 6% of the population. Now for the strange part… The number of people who would not necessarily label themselves as vegetarian yet agree with the statement, “I eat meat-free food” is a whopping 60%.
Mintel researchers say the reason for the dichotomy is the individual’s motive for choosing vegetables over animal products. Apparently, for the 60% who eat “meat-free” it’s not about the ethics of the meat industry, but what’s better for the consumer’s health.
It’s also about choice. The term “vegetarian” has become a word synonymous with “restrictive” and nobody wants to restrict what they eat. Conversely, the term “meat-free” gives a connotation of choice and freedom (gosh that “free” word is powerful).
Here in America you can see the same differences between the terms “vegan” and “healthy.” Being vegan is chic, but most people would assume you have to be a card-carrying member of PETA to qualify. Thus, being vegan is viewed as being “extreme” instead of “creative” or (dare we say) “wise.” Yet everyone wants to be “healthy.”
Personally, when we describe The Hallelujah Diet, we don’t use the words vegan or vegetarian, but “plant-based.” After all, plants are our friends. They give us oxygen, nutrients, delicious flavors, and pump up our immune system.
So, the next time someone asks you to describe your diet, don’t use a “V” word. Say “plant-based” instead and keep the peace.
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