Author Name: StartRight
“The plant-based diet is extreme!”
Vegans get this statement tossed to them quite often, along with various similar misconceptions about a plant-based diet. The truth is, more and more people are now recognizing the amazing health benefits of a plant-based diet and are switching permanently to vegan options.
According to a recent survey conducted by Earth Day Network and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, more than 90% of Americans showed a willingness to add more plant-based food items in their diet. The only bottleneck is the transfer of accurate information about the benefits of a plant-based diet.
Living on a plant-based diet is not extreme; instead, farming livestock for meat and dairy consumption is reckless and should be considered a taboo. You will be astounded to know that we use 30% of earth’s landmass to raise animal food, as reported by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO).
Plant-Based Diet vs. Meat-Based Diet
Do you remember the popular documentary Forks Over Knives released in 2011? The plant-based diet got due prominence due to the success of this documentary that is based on the research of the known American physician, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, and T. Colin Campbell.
In the documentary, Dr. Esselstyn says:
“Some people think that the plant-based whole foods diet is extreme. Half a million a year will have their chests opened up, a vein taken from their leg and sewn onto their coronary artery. Some people would call that extreme.”
Roughly, 22% of the world’s population is considered vegetarian. India, the world’s second most populated country, leads the table where about 35% of the population is purely vegetarian. However, it is imperative to understand the two terms, Vegetarians and Vegans, that are used interchangeably, and people often confuse them.
Are you a Vegan or a Vegetarian?
The primary difference between the two terms is the role of animals in food production. The vegetarians do not eat any kind of meat, but they consume other animal products. While; the vegans avoid all food products that come from animals, including meat, eggs, dairy, and honey.
Vegans are passionate about animal welfare and entirely rely on plant-based food items. However, there are multiple myths and conceptions about the plant-based diet, and we have debunked these myths below one by one.
