Why Vegetarianism?
By: Hayley Baker
Background
• In 1971, Frances Moore Lappe published the
best selling book “Diet for a Small Planet” in
the United States. With this, vegetarian trends
began to rise in America. Now, 43 years later, a
rather impressive 23% of the population is a
vegetarian.
Credibility
• I have been conducting research and
interviews on this topic for the past few
months now. My fascination began to arise
when I realized how many friends I had living
this lifestyle.
Whether it be part of your ancestry, religious values or
simply a personal choice, there’s a wide range of
reasons for why a person decides to become a
vegetarian. Throughout my speech I will discuss the
most common of these reasons.
1. Animal Cruelty
2. Moral/Spiritual
/Religious
3. Health
4. Environment
5. Religion
6. Other
Animal Cruelty
• 49% of vegetarians
• PETA: People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals
• Largest animal rights organization – more than
3 million people
Moral/Spiritual/Religious
• 30% of vegetarians
• Some countries influence this behavior
• Example: India – 399 million vegetarians.
Major religions – Jainism and Hinduism.
Jainism requires this and Hinduism strongly
suggests it
Health
• 10% of vegetarians
• Decreases risk for: heart diseases, various
cancers (colon, rectal, heart, breast), high
blood pressure and obesity
Environment
• 7% of vegetarians
• Fights global warming – 51% of greenhouse
gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture
Other Reasons
• 4% of vegetarians
• Fear of diseases. Example: mad cow in
England – 3.6 million people switched
• Allergies
• Some just make the personal choice!
In Conclusion
• Vegetarianism is a trend seen with increasing
popularity over the last few decades. The
reasons to make the switch are ultimately
unlimited, but very popular!
Thanks for listening!
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About PETA. (2014). Retrieved October 13, 2014, from http://www.peta.org/about-peta/
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Vegetarianism in America. (2014). Retrieved October 13, 2014, from
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Why Go Veggie? (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2014, from http://www.youngveggie.org/whygoveggie
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Friedrich, B. (2014, January 1). Top Ten Reasons To Go Vegetarian. Retrieved November 6, 2014, from
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Fight Global Warming by Going Vegetarian. (2014). Retrieved November 6, 2014, from http://www.peta.org/issues/animalsused-for-food/global-warming/