A study by the US Humane Research Council
revealed that 84 percent of modern-day vegetarians gave up their
new diet less than a year after they started. The participants
included 11,000 vegetarians, former vegetarians, and
non-vegetarians in the United States. According to the study, 88
percent of Americans above age 17 have never gone vegetarian, 10
percent are former vegetarians, and 2 percent are vegetarians.
However, only one in five vegetarians stay that way with the
rest returning to eating meat. Of that figure, one-third dumped
the vegetarian diet after three months while the rest got rid of
it in less than a year. One-third of vegetarians said they
started eating meat after they got into a relationship with
someone who ate meat. Others went back to meat due to health,
financial, or social reasons. All former vegetarians ate less
meat than they did before they became vegetarians.
A new group of vegetarians has popped up in Australia. They are
kangatarians, vegetarians who only eat kangaroo meat.
Kangatarians usually stop eating meat for ethical reasons.
Ethical vegetarians do not like the way that animals are reared
and slaughtered on farms. Australia has an abundance of wild
kangaroos and since they are not reared on farms, these
vegetarians have no qualms about eating them. Kangatarians
further justify their consumption of kangaroo meat by claiming
that kangaroos are greener for the environment since they do not
produce as much ozone-destroying methane as cattle and sheep
raised on farms.
Vegetarians can receive all the vitamins and minerals they need
from a plant-based diet except vitamin B12, which is available
in meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. Vegetarians could get this
vitamin from vitamin-enriched cereals and supplements, but it is
not usually enough. Vitamin B12 deficiency can trigger the
excessive production of homocysteine, leading to depression,
fatigue, weakness, nausea, constipation, anemia, heart disease,
and stroke. The people at most risk are vegans who do not
consume any kind of meat or animal product. However, regular
vegetarians are also at risk of developing vitamin B12
deficiency. Another study revealed that 92 percent of vegans and
67 percent of lacto-ovo vegetarians suffer from B12 deficiency.