Many cultures have traditionally followed a meat-based diet, but an increasing number of people are now replacing to animal product in their diet with plant base diet. This essay will examine key drivers of this trend and argue that is largely a positive development.
The most common reason for becoming a vegan seems to be based on ethical or environmental concern. In recent years confronting information about practices involved in some large-scale meat and dairy farming has emerged such as inhuman condition in which some raised, transported and killed. As a consequence, many people feel they can no longer ethically justify eating meat. We are also now better informed about the massive contribution of livestock farming to deforestation and greenhouse gas emission compared to growing plant crops, leading many people who are concern about climate change to avoid eating meat.
This trend toward plant base eating is generally positive. A diet of fruit ,vegetable and whole grain has numerous health benefits, including preventing cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. If more people adopt this way of eating ,the taxpayer burden of treating these health condition ,which are often associated with a heavily meat base diet ,may decrease. More importantly as consumption of meat and dairy falls, production level will follow suit helping to reduce carbon emission and preserve carbon storing forests. A major shift away from animal products would have a negative consequences for that industry ,however Mitigation strategies would need to be implemented to prevent unemployment and build resilience in farming communities.
To conclude, a desire to be more compassionate towards other living creatures and less destructive of the environment seems to be the main impetus for the current rise in plant -based eating. While a vegan diet rich in whole foods is undoubtedly positive for health of people and planet ,a wwholesale transition away from meat will need to be carefully managed.