February
1996
Way
to Go: More Evidence that Vegetarianism is Everywhere
By David B. Wasser
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Vegetarianism Catches on Big With Young Women
Americans are eating more vegetarian meals these days, and more than
one in ten young women (age 18-24) is a vegetarian, according to a recent
survey conducted for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
(PCRM).
The telephone survey of a random sample of 513 women found that 57%
were eating more meals without meat, poultry, or fish than five years
ago. Those with only a high school education, and those who did not
complete high school are the least likely to go vegetarian, while those
with a college education are especially likely to be "vegging out"
— 70% of those with college degrees report eating more vegetarian
meals than in the past. The popularity of vegetarian meals is growing
especially quickly in moderate and upper income categories, and in urban
areas.
The survey found that 11% of women between the ages of 18 and 24 say
they avoid meat, poultry, and fish. Vegetarianism is especially common
in the Northeast and the West Coast, and is also particularly popular
among Latinos. The survey was conducted by standard random telephone
techniques by Opinion Research Corporation of Princeton, New Jersey.
The margin of error for the survey is 4%.
The popularity — and advantages — of vegetarian diets were
recently recognized by the federal Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee,
saying for the first time, that "vegetarians enjoy excellent health."
The committee also noted that the failure to mention vegetarian diets
in previous federal guidelines was a serious oversight. Vegetarians
have lower rates of heart disease, cancer, hypertension, and diabetes,
and tend to be about 10% leaner than omnivores.
"If the trend toward vegetarian diets continues to grow, we might
see a much healthier population and maybe even lower health care costs
in the future," said Neal D. Barnard, President of Physicians Committee
for Responsible Medicine.
The $60 Billion Drum Stick
And how we need lower health care costs! A study published in the November
issue of Preventive Medicine revealed that meat eating is responsible
for up to $61.4 billion in annual health care costs. The authors of
the study compared the rates of illness among meateaters and vegetarians,
selecting studies that controlled for smoking, exercise, and other potentially
confounding factors. They found that health care costs attributable
to meat consumption reached $28.6 to $61.4 billion annually. These enormous
costs were attributable to seven common conditions: heart disease —
$9.5 billion; hypertension — $2.8-8.5 billion; cancer —
$0-16.5 billion; diabetes — $14.0-17.1 billion; gallstones $0.2-2.4
billion; obesity-related problems — $1.9 billion; and food-borne
illness — $0.2-5.5 billion.
The authors emphasize that this was a very conservative estimate since
the figures were only direct medical costs — that is the costs
for doctors, drugs, and hospitals. Indirect costs, such as lost work
time, disability payments, etc., were not included in the study.
Medical costs attributable to smoking are generally considered to be
$50 billion annually. The combined medical costs of America’s
eating and smoking habits are greater than the estimated costs of insuring
all currently insured Americans.
The Best and Worst Way to Fly
On a lighter note, PCRM recently carried out a check on the availability
of low-fat and vegetarian meals on major airlines and at 19 major airports.
United Airlines scored tops in PCRM’s survey of airline food offerings.
United offers a vegetarian steak and pasta with just 3% fat, a 9% fat
vegetarian ravioli, and a 16% fat mixed grain dish, all with no cholesterol.
Sadly, however, the best offerings from other airlines weighed in at
a minimum of 28% fat. Northwest was the worst, serving up a 39% fat
Bombay curry and a 60% fat penne pasta with gouda cheese. Delta declined
to provide menus for evaluation. An informal poll of nutrition experts
also gave United top honors.
There big differences between airports in the availability of healthy
foods. PCRM went to 19 major airports across the United States and Canada
to see who had the best and worst restaurant offerings. The best airports
for healthy food were Los Angeles, Seattle, Pittsburgh, and Vancouver.
The worst were Memphis, Dallas, Atlanta, and Phoenix, where travelers
seeking low-fat or vegetarian food will find virtually nothing. Burbank,
Calif. airport had some excellent choices, but is a small airport not
used by connecting travelers.
David B. Wasser is the Media Director for Physicians
Committee for Responsible Medicine. For details of these reports, please
contact: PCRM, 5100 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Suite 404, Washington, DC
20016. Tel.: 202-686-2210. Fax: 202-686-2216.
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