Flexitarianism (Flexible or Part-Time Vegetarianism): A User-Based Dietary Choice for Improved Wellbeing

Many think that eating meat is nutritionally necessary and beneficial. Industrialising livestock production provides meat that is often “cheaper” than fruit and vegetables. In reality, this has come at a cost for human, animal and ecological welfare. Western mainstream meat consumption is a leading...

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Main Authors: Raphaely, Talia, Marinova, Dora, Crisp, George, Panayotov, Jordan
Format: Journal Article
Published: International Journal of User-Driven Healthcare 2014
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/32437
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author Raphaely, Talia
Marinova, Dora
Crisp, George
Panayotov, Jordan
author_facet Raphaely, Talia
Marinova, Dora
Crisp, George
Panayotov, Jordan
author_sort Raphaely, Talia
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Many think that eating meat is nutritionally necessary and beneficial. Industrialising livestock production provides meat that is often “cheaper” than fruit and vegetables. In reality, this has come at a cost for human, animal and ecological welfare. Western mainstream meat consumption is a leading cause of increasing ill-health, diabetes, cancers, non-communicable and chronic diseases, malnourishment, obesity, antibiotic resistance, spread of infectious diseases, hunger and possible global epidemics as well as climate change, biodiversity loss, water and land degradation. Rather than stop this, vested interests continue to promote meat consumption. If people are deliberately misinformed or have no access to reliable information, what chance do they have to make the right food choices? This paper outlines flexitarianism (flexible vegetarianism) as a personal user-driven opportunity to combat the geopolitical and industrial duplicity about meat. Consumers should have enough information about the implications of their nutritional choices. In addition to health benefits, flexitarianism can help mitigate climate change, environmental and social destruction and reduce animal suffering. The proposed information policy interventions are assessed against their impact on key stakeholders and overall value for public health and environmental wellbeing. They offer an opportunity to reclaim personal health and improve the health of the planet.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-324372017-09-13T15:24:46Z Flexitarianism (Flexible or Part-Time Vegetarianism): A User-Based Dietary Choice for Improved Wellbeing Raphaely, Talia Marinova, Dora Crisp, George Panayotov, Jordan Many think that eating meat is nutritionally necessary and beneficial. Industrialising livestock production provides meat that is often “cheaper” than fruit and vegetables. In reality, this has come at a cost for human, animal and ecological welfare. Western mainstream meat consumption is a leading cause of increasing ill-health, diabetes, cancers, non-communicable and chronic diseases, malnourishment, obesity, antibiotic resistance, spread of infectious diseases, hunger and possible global epidemics as well as climate change, biodiversity loss, water and land degradation. Rather than stop this, vested interests continue to promote meat consumption. If people are deliberately misinformed or have no access to reliable information, what chance do they have to make the right food choices? This paper outlines flexitarianism (flexible vegetarianism) as a personal user-driven opportunity to combat the geopolitical and industrial duplicity about meat. Consumers should have enough information about the implications of their nutritional choices. In addition to health benefits, flexitarianism can help mitigate climate change, environmental and social destruction and reduce animal suffering. The proposed information policy interventions are assessed against their impact on key stakeholders and overall value for public health and environmental wellbeing. They offer an opportunity to reclaim personal health and improve the health of the planet. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/32437 10.4018/ijudh.2013070104 International Journal of User-Driven Healthcare fulltext
spellingShingle Raphaely, Talia
Marinova, Dora
Crisp, George
Panayotov, Jordan
Flexitarianism (Flexible or Part-Time Vegetarianism): A User-Based Dietary Choice for Improved Wellbeing
title Flexitarianism (Flexible or Part-Time Vegetarianism): A User-Based Dietary Choice for Improved Wellbeing
title_full Flexitarianism (Flexible or Part-Time Vegetarianism): A User-Based Dietary Choice for Improved Wellbeing
title_fullStr Flexitarianism (Flexible or Part-Time Vegetarianism): A User-Based Dietary Choice for Improved Wellbeing
title_full_unstemmed Flexitarianism (Flexible or Part-Time Vegetarianism): A User-Based Dietary Choice for Improved Wellbeing
title_short Flexitarianism (Flexible or Part-Time Vegetarianism): A User-Based Dietary Choice for Improved Wellbeing
title_sort flexitarianism (flexible or part-time vegetarianism): a user-based dietary choice for improved wellbeing
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/32437