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Brittany Shea

Dr Cassel

ENG 1201

31 July 2020

Literature Review

What are the effects of a plant-based diet? There are so many. Plant based diets tend to

lead to a healthy body mass index which in turn can lower your risk of disease. There are so

many diseases that can be treated and avoided based on a person’s diet. When you go to the

doctor with an illness, they give you medication, when food may be real the cure. A popular

belief is that the protein in our diet must come from eating animals and animal products, but

plants have protein too. Some say eating a vegan diet is the answer to being healthy, while others

say that you can’t get the nutrition you need from plants. Another point worth mentioning is that

animal farming is bad for the environment and a major contributor to rising greenhouse gases,

not to mention the mass murder of animals. There are many effects of switching to a plant-based

diet, and they are all positive, as long as people are willing to take the time to learn about the

nutrients our bodies need to function.

Plant based diets have been around since the 6th century B.C. Many people over the span

of time have adopted a plant-based diet for various reasons, based on religion, philosophy,

morals, and health. Some people thought it would make them live longer while others wanted to

respect animals. “In the 1400s, Leonardo da Vinci famously became a vegetarian; in the 1700s,

Benjamin Franklin did as well.” (Hultin) There are many types of plant-based diets including

vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian, lacto-ovo-vegetarian, lacto-vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian, vegan, raw

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vegan. Vegetarians sometimes eat eggs and dairy, lacto-ovo-vegetarians do eat eggs and dairy,

ovo-vegetarians eat eggs but not dairy, and lacto-vegetarians eat dairy but not eggs. A pesco-

vegetarian eats seafood. Then there are vegans who don’t eat any products from animals, and

raw vegans who eat the same as vegans but don’t cook their food. These diets are all slightly

different but they’re still all classified as plant-based diets because their main source of food is

plants. (Hultin)

There is quite a lot of scientific research stating that a plant-based diet is better for the

environment due to lowing your carbon footprint. “It’s been estimated that diets, and the food

chain which support them, are associated with around one third of human influence on climate

change and land use.” (Castañé, et al.) As the world's population continues to rise so does the

consumption of food, and most concerning meat. This causes a big threat to the environment, it’s

important that we find a diet that is more sustainable. (Castañé, et al.) There was a study done

comparing the impact of a Mediterranean diet and a vegan diet, and the results were clear that if

humans were to at least cut back on their meat consumption it would lower greenhouse gases,

deforestation, and harm of animals and their habitats. (Castañé, et al.) There seems to be a

psychological reason that people don’t cut back on meat, because the environmental impact

research has been well documented for some time now. (Goldstein, et al.) There are many other

research articles worth looking into on this topic that will be incorporated. For example,

“Evaluating the Environmental Impact of Various Dietary Patterns Combined with Different

Food Production Systems” covers more scientific research that shows the importance of moving

towards a plant-based diet in order to be able to sustain a growing world population.

Another research point that stands out, is that a well-planned plant-based diet can prevent

or reverse certain medical conditions, and help people to lose weight and keep it off. The
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American Dietetic Association wrote an article that covers the ability of a plant-based diet to

fend off health conditions including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity,

cancer, osteoporosis, renal disease, and dementia. Another article called “Vegan Diet and

Chronic Disease: A Brief Report” also covers the positive health effects of a plant-based diet and

their ability to help people avoid chronic illnesses. Both articles touch on the possible nutrient

deficiencies that can come with a vegan/vegetarian diet and mention that people should talk with

a professional about how to eat plant based, safely. This is a topic worth reading further into.

There is a documentary film called “Forks Over Knives” that covers all the same topics and

mirrors all the research in these articles. It will be beneficial to dive deeper into the science

behind the health benefits of a plant-based diet.

Many people worry about people on a plant-based diet not getting enough protein, omega

3-3 polyunsaturated fats, vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, iodine, iron, and zinc. (McEwin, et

al.) This is true if you don’t do any research before switching to a plant-based diet. While fruits

and veggies do contain protein and many vitamins and nutrients, it’s important to also

incorporate beans, nuts, and seeds into your diet, as well as possible supplements to help you

transition. If you haven’t done research, it’s a good idea to consult your doctor or a dietician.

They can help monitor your health and stear you in the right direction while you are learning

how to eat what your body needs to function properly.

There are many misconceptions about vegans. People think that they only eat salads,

when really there is so much variety in vegan food. There are different styles of cooking or

eating food raw, and different ways to spice things. Another common misconception is that

vegan food is expensive. Vegan food is only expensive if you are buying imitation meat and

cheese or processed packaged foods. When you go to the produce and bulk food isle your
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shopping bill goes down drastically. It would be worth looking up data on this point. It’s all

about buying whole foods and skipping the processed foods. Lastly, people assume that all

vegans are healthy when actually, it is possible to be quite unhealthy and even overweight on a

plant-based diet. If you don’t take time to learn about your body and the food it needs you can

make food choices that are vegan but unhealthy. (McEwin, et al.) Some vegans end up eating too

much salt, sugar, oils, and processed foods. “Some plant-based diets with higher amounts of less

healthy plant foods are linked to increased risk of diseases, such as cardiovascular disease.”

(McEwin, et al.)
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Works Cited

Baroni, L., et al. “Evaluating the Environmental Impact of Various Dietary Patterns Combined

with Different Food Production Systems.” European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol.

61, no. 2, Feb. 2007, pp. 279–286. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602522.

Castañé, Sílvia, and Assumpció Antón. “Assessment of the Nutritional Quality and

Environmental Impact of Two Food Diets: A Mediterranean and a Vegan Diet.” Journal

of Cleaner Production, vol. 167, Nov. 2017, pp. 929–937. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.04.121.

Corry,John. Fulkerson,Lee. “Forks Over Knives” Orfanopoulos, John. Crance,Brian. Fahey,

Michael. 6 May 2011. Netflix. Accessed 27 June 2020.

Goldstein, Benjamin, et al. “Potential to Curb the Environmental Burdens of American Beef

Consumption Using a Novel Plant-Based Beef Substitute.” PLoS ONE, vol. 12, no. 12,

Dec. 2017, pp. 1–17. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0189029.

Hultin, Ginger. “The History of Vegetarian Diets: Explore the Progression of Plant-Based

Eating.” Food & Nutrition. 30 Aug. 2019, https://foodandnutrition.org/from-the-

magazine/the-history-of-vegetarian-diets-explore-the-progression-of-plant-based-eating/.

Accessed 4 July 2020.

McEwen, Bradley, and Maddie Bingham. “Vegan Diet and Chronic Disease: A Brief Report.”

Journal of the Australian Traditional-Medicine Society, vol. 25, no. 2, June 2019, pp. 77–
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79. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=a9h&AN=137322002&site=ehost-live.

“Position of the American Dietetic Association: Vegetarian Diets.” Journal of the American

Dietetic Association, vol. 109, no. 7, July 2009, pp. 1266–1282. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1016/j.jada.2009.05.027.