The Times reports, on the first day of the New Year, that the British are the world’s best at eating fruit and vegetables. The analysis was made by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
They concluded that 33% of the citizens of the UK and Ireland eight 5 portions of fruit and vegetables daily.
The Times describes the British as a “nation of closet veggie chompers”.
It’s probably fair to say that people who are vegetarian also eat more fruit than average.
Looking at the percentage of citizens of a wide range of countries who would be described as vegetarian, India comes top by quite a distance. The UK, does quite well with 10% of citizens being vegetarian. That would seem to be on the better side of average for the countries listed on Wikipedia.
So one reason why Britons are the world’s best at eating their greens is because they are vegetarian. But clearly a lot of non-vegetarians eat lots of greens as well. Why do they do this? Probably primarily for their health which is possibly in contrast to vegetarians whose prime motivation for being vegetarian is ethical concerns.
They believe that killing animals for food is morally wrong. They are also animal advocates many of them or they have a concern for animal welfare and nature. They probably object to factory farming practices which are known to be cruel.
Another reason why people become vegetarians is because there is an environmental impact from eating meat. Animal farming is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. It also causes deforestation such as has occurred in the Amazon forest over millions of square miles. Vegetarians want to contribute to the protection of the planet and to do their bit to minimise global warming.
But like non-vegetarians, personal health benefits also feature in their decision-making. Much research supports the fact that a well planned vegetarian diet can provide various health benefits such as primarily reducing the risk of heart disease. Vegetarian diet can also minimise certain types of cancer and obesity.
I’m going to guess, here, but the reason why India tops the list of vegetarians is because of religious and cultural beliefs. Religion and culture plays a huge role in this sort of decision-making.
Concerns over food safety is also a factor because some people believe that meat can be a source of foodborne illnesses caused by pathogens such as bacteria and parasites. Some vegetarians feel that they are reducing their exposure to these contaminants.
And finally vegetarians prefer a vegetarian diet because it tastes better for them.
The accolade of being the world’s best at eating greens is a rare one. It is rare for the British to be at the top of any table. Russia is at the very bottom of the table of vegetarians at 1% of the population. Britain is at 10% and India is at 20-39%. The United States is at 4.2%.
