Hot Topics: Defending Veganism and Vegetarianism

By Christine Scarcello

In the September issue of Today’s Dietitian magazine, Denise Webb, PhD, RD, writes about veganism and the common misconceptions that many people have about the vegan diet. As future professionals in dietetics, I thought that this article was important to our profession. We will one day need to be aware of special diets in order to properly counsel individuals who have questions regarding a specific diet and also knowledgeably defeat any myths about those diets.

Veganism consists of a diet that excludes meat, poultry, fish, seafood, dairy products, and eggs. It is estimated that 1.4% of Americans are vegan, which is about half as many that are vegetarian. Among vegetarians there are a few types: lacto-ovo vegetarians (eat dairy and eggs), lacto-vegetarians (eat dairy but not eggs) and ovo-vegetarians (eat eggs but not dairy). Both vegan and vegetarian diets are plentiful in fiber, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Like anyone on an omnivore diet, if poor food choices are selected, vegans and vegetarians can be unhealthy. But if properly planned, veganism and vegetarianism are extremely healthful lifestyles.

Veganism and vegetarianism are diets that often get a bad wrap in society by people who do not understand them. As a vegetarian, I chose to not eat meat products for general health purposes as well as personal reasons regarding animal welfare and concern for the environment. Many others adopt a vegan or vegetarian diet for religious purposes, or because they were simply raised that way. I am always uncomfortable when I get bombarded with questions by meat-eaters regarding my diet, because I hate explaining it. To many people, I may come off like a “know-it-all” or someone who thinks she is “holier-than-thou”. I also hate being questioned about my level of protein, iron, and other vitamins.

While I prefer not to explain my personal reasons for vegetarianism, I do think it is important for society to know about the health benefits of eliminating, or greatly reducing, meat in their diet. This is also why I was glad to see this article in Today’s Dietitian, because it promoted Veganism as an “acceptable” diet that can be endorsed by food professionals as healthy. It highlighted benefits such as lowered cholesterol and cardiovascular disease risk, lower body fat percentage, lower risk of cancer, and improved glycemic control for diabetics.

The author also discusses many issues, including getting enough protein (which really isn’t hard!), vitamin and mineral deficiencies (mainly vitamin B12 and Calcium), vegan diet appropriateness for children, and with whom to seek counsel regarding a vegan diet. This last issue really surprised me, and is what prompted me to write about it for Hot Topics. The article states that there is a consensus among both vegan and nonvegan RDs that many RDs are ill equipped to counsel vegans. The problem, the article suggests, is the limited information about veganism in nutrition textbooks and the lack of exposure. Vegetarianism is, however, more widely understood by RDs.

As future Registered Dietitians, I hope that we all take the time to learn about various diets, including those that may seem “extreme” to us, like veganism. Since veganism and vegetarianism are on the rise, it is important to learn the facts about these diets and dispel any myths we might personally have. While you might not have a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, I would encourage you to learn more about its health benefits so that you are aware of them; many individuals turn to vegetarianism for the proposed health benefits, and as future food professionals we should be aware of how a vegetarian or vegan diet impacts one’s health.