A UK Tribunal ruled last week that ethical veganism should be protected by law as it was a philosophical belief. Jordi Casamitjana took his employer, League Against Cruel Sports to court because he said he was discriminated against on the basis of his veganism. The presiding judge felt that ethical veganism satisfied a series of test – including being worthy of respect in a democratic society, not being incompatible with human dignity and not conflicting with the fundamental rights of others. This is a landmark decision for vegans and could have implications worldwide as vegans could push for similar protection around the world. Vegan food has gained popularity in many countries and has become a billion dollar industry. According to statista.com, US sales of vegan products amounted to $2.22bn; projected sales growth in China’s vegan market is 17.2%, while 25% of Canadians are trying to eat less meat. It has mushroomed in South Africa as well with vegan options becoming more common on menus and food isles stocking more vegan products. Many people are trying out veganism in January in what is called Veganuary, but is it really a healthy option or could the adoption of a vegan diet be detrimental to health? Sumathi Reddy writes in the Wall Street Journal that there are a number of issues you should consider before eating no or less meat. – Linda van Tilburg
What to know before resolving to eat less meat
By Sumathi Reddy
(The Wall Street Journal) – Becky Talbot has pledged to go vegan for a month, joining almost 30,000 people across the US who signed up for Veganuary, a campaign encouraging people to do without meat in January.
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Veganuary – which, like the popular Dry January no-alcohol regimen, also originated in the UK – is one take on New Year’s resolutions to cut back on meat because of health, environmental or animal-welfare concerns. Luiza Bargo, who signed up for Veganuary, has been a vegetarian for about four years. “I’m very passionate about animal rights,” said the 26-year-old social-media marketing manager in San Antonio, Texas. “I don’t think that individual action alone is enough but I do think that it helps a little bit and it also helps spread the message.”
Laura Seyler, a 48-year-old Fredericksburg, Va., resident, isn’t going full vegan in 2020. Instead, she is resolving to eat less meat and adopt more of a “flexitarian” diet, meaning she will have mostly plant-based foods but not rule out meat or animal products. Kaylee Frano, a 28-year-old in Chattanooga, Tenn., said she hopes to do the same, with the ultimate goal of becoming a pescatarian, meaning she will eat fish but not meat.
While dieticians say they see a growing number of people resolving to go vegan or vegetarian, nutrition studies have conflicting messages on meat. The majority of studies show that following a plant-based diet or reducing meat consumption improves health. But many such studies are based on self-reports and don’t pinpoint the cause and effect of diet on a given measure of health. There also is conflicting evidence, such as a recent study showing that a vegan or vegetarian diet is associated with an increased risk of stroke. Another study found no difference between vegans and omnivores for heart disease or mortality risk from all causes of death.
Every new year, patients talk about improving their health, said Nancy Farrell, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, an organisation for food and nutrition professionals. Cutting back on meat is increasingly part of the conversation, she said, with many young patients interested in going vegan. Mrs. Farrell, a registered dietitian nutritionist in Fredericksburg, Va., said experimenting with being a vegetarian or vegan for a month could jump-start a more permanent change. However, often it can take several months to see improvements in health measures, such as blood pressure or blood-sugar levels, from a different diet. “I think a month is actually short, but if the behaviour promotes long-term change, it can be a good thing,” she said.
Ms. Talbot, a 27-year-old grants administrator in Cooperstown, N.Y., committed to Veganuary after coming across the campaign on Instagram. The UK-based campaign is promoted by hundreds of brands, restaurants and supermarkets who launch vegan products and menus. Veganuary, a non-profit organisation begun in 2014, has spread to 178 countries, organisers say, with half a million people signing up over the past five years.
The effort, which launched in the US last year, has enlisted more than 264,000 people globally for January 2020. Participants sign up online and monitor what they eat without oversight from organisers. About 47% of participants report remaining vegan after their month-long experiment, organisers said.
The number of Americans who say they are vegetarian or vegan held steady between 2012 and 2018, according to the most recent Gallup poll. In that poll, 5% of Americans said they were vegetarian and 3% said they were vegan. In Gallup data to be released in January, 23% of Americans said in the past year they are eating less meat than before.
Producers are catering to changing appetites. Market-research firm Euromonitor International estimates the 2019 meat-substitutes market in the US at $1bn, up 78.5% from $586m in 2014. World-wide, the number of food products that claim to fit in a vegan diet rose 170% from 2014 to 2018 and those that are plant-based increased 95% over the same period, according to Mintel, another market researcher.
Romilly Hodges, a certified nutrition specialist in Sandy Hook, Conn., and a board member of the American Nutrition Association, said about half her clients interested in going vegetarian or vegan still plan to eat some meat. Many have environmental concerns and are trying to reduce their carbon footprint. “They are usually the ones who experiment with the alternative-meat products,” she said.
Research shows, Ms. Hodges said, that eating more plant foods – whether part of a vegan or vegetarian regimen or not – increases a person’s consumption of phytonutrient compounds, which are associated with health benefits.
But she cautioned aspiring vegans or vegetarians that “it’s important to avoid a poor version of these diets with a lot of processed and sugary foods and refined carbohydrates.” Many new alternative-meat products are highly processed, Ms. Hodges said.
“We would not be advocating for those kinds of foods in a vegan or vegetarian diet. We would be encouraging whole food, plant-based diets without always strictly avoiding meat,” she said.
Poorly implemented vegan diets can be too high in sugars and other refined carbohydrates, which can increase the risk for type 2 diabetes or heart disease or cancer.
Ms. Hodges said she has clients whose health suffered from long-term vegan diets that weren’t properly implemented. The effects include nutritional deficiencies that often don’t appear for several years. Symptoms can include fatigue, mood changes and poor growth or development in children.
Christopher Gardner, a professor of medicine and a nutrition scientist at Stanford University, says many people cite more options in alternative meat when expressing interest in going vegan. “The Game Changers”, a 2018 documentary that can be streamed online, also has been an influence, Dr. Gardner said. The movie tries to debunk the idea that you need meat to build muscles and achieve peak athletic performance.
“If you combine this new documentary with all the recent stuff about greenhouses gases and climate change, I would say this is the biggest shift I’ve seen in 20 to 25 years of people trying to eat a whole-food, plant-based diet,” Dr. Gardner said.
Filling nutritional gaps
For people eating a vegan diet, here are tips from Romilly Hodges, a certified nutrition specialist, to address common nutritional deficiencies:
Calcium: Eat dark, leafy green vegetables (except spinach, which is low in calcium), almonds, sesame seeds, and fortified dairy alternatives, such as calcium-fortified non-dairy milks.
Iron: Eat seeds, nuts, legumes, and dark leafy green vegetables; consume them with a source of vitamin C for better absorption
Zinc: Eat seeds, lentils, and tofu
Amino acids and protein: Eat whole grains combined with legumes, as well as nuts and seeds
Omega-3 fatty acids: Eat flaxseeds, walnuts, and canola oil
B12: There are no natural sources of B12 in vegan foods so take a B12 supplement or eat nutritional yeast or B-12 fortified foods such as certain soy products and non-dairy milks
Write to Sumathi Reddy at [email protected]
