The Diet of the Average American

You’re probably eating too much meat. Now, I know what you’re thinking – don’t worry, I’m not trying to push a vegetarian lifestyle on you. However, an average American eats over three times the global average amount of meat and consumes one and a half times the average protein requirement in a day, according to a 2010 report, and meat intake in Americans has increased even since then. Further, most Americans do not meet the daily recommendations for vegetable or fruit intake. We’re seeing a wide-spread excess in meat/protein consumption and deficiency in the nutrients provided by plants.

The Health Benefits of Eating Less Meat

High meat consumption is associated with a plethora of health risks. Meat products often contain environmental pollutants that are highly soluble in fat, meaning that they won’t be flushed out in waste but rather stored in the body fat; this increases health risks, specifically for cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. Studies have also shown that a quarter of the meat eaten by Americans consists of processed meats like bacon, deli meats, hot dogs or sausages. Processed meats are much higher in cholesterol and saturated fats, which increases the risk of heart disease, hypertension and cerebrovascular incidents where blood flow to the brain is disrupted; additionally, processed meats were classified as carcinogenic to humans, specifically in relation to colorectal cancer, by the cancer agency of the World Health Organization. In the same study, red meats were classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” There is also strong evidence that high red meat intake increases the risk of diverticulitis, inflammation in the colon, among men. Multiple studies have also noted a link between red meat consumption and ulcerative colitis (UC), which is contributed to by the interaction of meat heme and amino acids with the gut microbiome; those components are converted into toxins that increase risk for UC. 

Diets that rely on more plant-based foods, however, provide various benefits to human health. Focusing on grains, lentils, peas, nuts, beans, vegetables and fruits culminates in a diet that is much richer in vitamins, fiber and other nutrients. This helps support heart and digestive health, as well as disease prevention. Meat-based proteins lack the amount of fiber, minerals, vitamins and antioxidants provided by plant-based proteins. That said, plant-based proteins are typically not complete proteins on their own, meaning they don’t contain all of the essential amino acids that your body needs to derive from food. As such, it is important to consume proteins from a wide variety of sources.

How to Make a Change

Making any big changes in your diet can be difficult, but you don’t have to make those changes all at once. A great first step may be to eat a meal with no meat once or twice a week. When eating plant-based proteins like beans, try to pair them with a whole grain like brown rice; this will provide the complete spectrum of amino acids that your body needs. Certain plant-based protein options do offer complete proteins completely on their own, such as tofu. These foods may seem overwhelming to prepare, but there are a lot of great resources online that outline easy ways to put together tasty dishes with no meat. Budget Bytes, for example, has great options listed for a variety of types of meals, and they’re all affordable. Alison Roman also keeps a list of unique dishes with no meat, which can be fun to make. Beyond Meat is a popular meat substitution brand, and their website includes recipes that teach you ways to prepare meat substitutes, if you’re interested in trying some of those out. There are many different ways to approach a meatless meal, and the internet is a wonderful resource for exploring them.

When you do eat meat, you may want to focus your consumption primarily around leaner meats, such as fish or poultry. Avoiding red meat outside of special occasions could be enormously beneficial, especially if eating entirely meatless meals is a struggle for you. You don’t have to completely cut anything out of your diet unless you want to, but being mindful about what you put on your plate now can make such a huge difference for your health down the line.

October 1st was World Vegetarian Day, a great day to celebrate a meatless lifestyle and its benefits. The vegetarian diet and lifestyle are widely held worldwide with 8% of the world population identifying as vegetarian.

Historically, people have adopted vegetarianism for religious and cultural reasons. But today, many are embracing the lifestyle for health, environmental and ethical reasons. A vegetable-rich diet holds nutritional value as it’s high in fiber, magnesium, unsaturated fat.

Further, such a diet is more environmentally conscious due to the amount of fossil fuels it takes to produce meat. Many vegetarians who cite ethical reasons for going vegetarian dislike the inhumane practices of the meat industry.

Overall, vegetarianism has become more mainstream, with many restaurants and businesses developing meatless options for consumers. Recently, Burger King announced plans to phase in plant-based chicken nuggets, a successor to their popular impossible burger.

Mason Spiderman Wittmaier, a sophomore, is a vegetarian who adopted the lifestyle at the beginning of 2021. He cited ethical reasons for vegetarianism as he believes the industrial farming of animals is unethical and will be frowned upon in the future.

“I don’t need to eat animals to live,” Wittmaier said. “When I eat meat that is produced unethically I’m choosing personal taste over the quality of lives of animals and supporting unethical production.”

Mason’s favorite go-to vegetarian food may surprise some people: Taco Bell. He says that Taco Bell has many vegetarian options and his favorite is the spicy potato soft taco. He also substitutes black beans for meat as an alternate source of protein. Eating out at restaurants is not too challenging, he explains further, and he selects restaurants that have good veggie-based dishes such as many Asian restaurants. Mason also enjoys making vegetarian alternatives to traditionally meat-based dishes, such as chicken sandwiches with fake chicken patties. 

The hardest part of vegetarianism for Mason is time, money and finding good protein sources. As a Jewell student, Mason says that more vegetarian and plant-based options in the Cafe would be appreciated since sometimes his only option is pasta or salad. For anyone who wants to go vegetarian, Mason suggests starting with reducing meat intake overall and gradually going meatless by exploring protein alternatives.

This kind of repression has clearly left some students angsty. Even though many students have nothing profound to say and in fact wouldn’t engage in large-scale political movements regularly, the fact that they can’t makes the idea much more attractive. Some students have even taken to civil disobedience, albeit unsuccessfully.

Thursday, March 24, five masked people staged a sit-in in the dining hall. The protest lasted six minutes. The group held signs displaying phrases including: “Meat is Murder”; “Would you eat your cat with barbecue sauce?!”; “Animals are people, too”; and, my personal favorite, “NO cheez, pleez.”

Apparently, this anonymous group is morally opposed to the eating of meat, dairy, eggs and other animal byproducts. It is still unclear how they meet their daily protein needs.

One of the protesters allowed me to ask him some questions. However, he refused to reveal his identity.

“I just don’t understand why people don’t understand why meat is bad, you know?! We just love the environment and animals and, honestly, human rights, you know,” he said.

I asked if he was aware of any arguments for free-range or small scale farming and how they reduce the environmental and animal rights necessities of veganism.

“I don’t know. Honestly, usually, if people start to disagree with me, I just say, ‘But have you given anything up for what YOU believe?!’” he said. “Like sometimes people try to start asking me what my political views are, like how I feel about gun control or whatever, so I just say, ‘Well, I’m vegan.’”

While the people involved in the sit-in continue to refuse to come forward, there are some conspiracy theories as to who they are floating around campus.

“I mean, I only know five people who would actually admit to being vegan,” said Erin Melton, sophomore and well-known campus carnivore.

One of the five protesters tried to throw red paint on a fellow student asking for a hamburger, but she was too weak to lift the bucket.

All photos by Chandler Eaton