What Are the Advantages of a Vegetarian Diet?

God’s original diet for humanity was vegetarian. God told Adam, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food’” (Gen. 1:29, NIV). In the ecologically devastated world after the flood, God told Noah and his family, “Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything” (Gen. 9:3, NIV). In Leviticus 11, the Law of Moses outlines what meats should be considered “clean” and suitable for eating, such as those with divided hooves which chew the cud (v. 3) or which have fins and scales (v. 9), and certain hopping insects (vv. 21 and 22). It also describes those which are “unclean” and should not be eaten, such as vultures (v. 13), ravens (v. 15), water-based animals lacking fins and scales (v. 12), camels (v. 4), rabbits (v. 6), and pigs (v. 7).

Modern science has demonstrated the advantage of both avoiding unclean meat and eating a wholly vegetarian diet. Some of the benefits of vegetarianism include:

• Improved health. A vegetarian diet rich in fruits, nuts, whole grains, vegetables, and legumes has been found to reduce the risk of stroke, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and early death. A balanced vegetarian diet cuts the risk of certain cancers by up to fifty percent, and vegetarians are significantly less likely to suffer a heart attack.
• Reduced environmental impact. It takes far less energy and expense to grow grain for humans to eat than to grow grain for cattle that humans will eat. It takes nine hectares of land to feed a non-vegetarian for a year, but less than half a hectare for a vegetarian. Raising animals for food also takes a heavy toll on our ecosystem. The meat industry is responsible for over half of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Clearing of land for livestock is a primary cause for the continuing destruction of rainforests, responsible for over 90 percent of deforestation. The raising of livestock is a major part of why a third of the world’s land has been turned into desert.
• Reduced pollution. The meat industry is a major source of pollution. Pigs excrete about ten times as much waste as humans, meaning a large pig farm can produce as much sewage as a major city. Pig farms collect their sewage in open-air lagoons, polluting the air around them, causing people living nearby to suffer from stomach aches, nausea, watery eyes, headaches, and more.
• Ethical responsibility. Animals raised for meat production are often confined in tiny quarters with little room for exercise, and subject to intense cruelty.

Because our minds and bodies are connected, and we communicate with God with our minds, there is a strong correlation between our health and our spirituality. The apostle John wrote, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in good health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 1:2). A balanced, plant-based diet can make a great difference in your health.