Download Research Proposal_MaigCastellon

Should Humans Switch to a Vegan/Vegetarian Diet?
Research Proposal, Spring 2017
Maig Castellon
Virginia Commonwealth University
SECTION ONE: STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND POSSIBILE OUTCOMES
I care about my argument because I have personally considered becoming
vegetarian, and at some point vegan. The treatment of animals is, by itself, a hot button
issue that can merit a whole paper onto itself, but it is one of the major reasons of why
many people go vegetarian or vegan. Not only is the treatment of animals an issue, but
also by the concern of whether or not humans are meant to eat meat at all? With today’s
availability of nutritional supplements and vitamins, is it even necessary to eat meat when
there are so many other options? It is very easy to go animal free in today’s time, due to
the point in human evolution that we have reached; we are no longer concerned with how
we are going to get our next meal, but what we will get. My attempts at going vegetarian
normally would last less than a week, because of the fact that it takes to much work to try
to be a meat free. It would require me to go out and buy food that my parents would not
because of money issues or their refusal to let me not eat meat.
Research about being meat and animal product free bring back lots of different
opinions with many obvious biases. It is very hard to get the straight facts about the
benefits of an animal free and animal inclusive diet. But recently, it seems like everyone
is going vegan, people claiming that it is much better for a person’s health, and many of
these people taking any chance to brag that they are vegan.
The research of my question can offer me a lifestyle change if the facts uncovered
support it. I do not have anything to gain, but might lose the sense of peace I have when
eating animal products, no longer being able to think to myself reassurances like “it is
natural for a person to eat meat”. Many people make the claim that it is necessary for a
human to eat meat to be healthy, without looking at a single research article, so my
research can potentially change the lifestyle of many people including my self.
The conclusion of my research can be used by others to formulate their own
decisions on why going vegan/vegetarian is a good idea. I hope to bring accurate facts
that will benefit the accuracy of my conclusion. If my research were to lead me to the
answer that animal products are bad for a human's health and there is no need to consume
meat, than my reaction, I think, would not be very big. I do not think I would change my
lifestyle or the way I live because going vegetarian or vegan has been a very hard task for
me in the past, especially when dealing with sharing a home with others. Sadly, doing the
right thing is not a common attribute in human nature that every person shares. Even with
the potential facts I might uncover, I could possibly still go on to consume animal
products such as meat, solely for the fact that it gives me a pleasure that I rather not live
without.
SECTION TWO: PERSONAL BIAS AND EVOLVING PERSPECTIVES
Like many people I know and have met, it is commonly believed that consuming
animal products: such as eating meat, drinking milk, or eating eggs is natural for a human
to do. Many people in today's society also tell us to consume animal products, including
our own parents. How often would your mother tell you to “drink your milk”? Right now,
at my age, being fit is as important as doing well in your classes. To maximize muscle
mass, more protein is always the remedy to low gains, easily remedied by an increase in
meat and eggs. I believe this is why people think that eating animal products is natural,
because they only see the good benefits of it, and turn a blind eye to the disadvantages of
eating meat, which no one makes apparent except for vegetarians and vegans. Those who
do make bring up the negatives of eating meat are immediately suspected of being biased
because of their own lifestyle.
In my own opinion, eating meat is healthy for a human, but I also do think that we
do consume more meat than we should. Based off what I already know, chimpanzees,
which share 99% of human DNA, are omnivores that regularly eat meat. I use this fact to
confirm to myself that eating meat is natural. I do also acknowledge the fact that gorilla’s
share 98% of human DNA, and are strictly herbivores. On top of this, gorillas share more
human characteristics than do chimpanzees, which are incredibly savage in nature. Other
than these facts I already know, I do not have a solid idea of whether eating animal
products are healthy.
The sources I gathered gave me lots of good incite onto what information is used
incorrectly. It did not confirm nor deny any of my notions because I really did not have
one. After reading all my sources, new questions have arisen that definitely speak to a
person's character and decisions on what is right and what is wrong. The biggest question
I have to ask now is, “Do you think the treatment of animals for the food industry is
humane?” The answer to this is: absolutely not, especially for big animal farmers like
Tyson. The next question would be “Do you wish that these animals are treated better?”
Obviously most people would say yes, but when it comes down to it, is one ready to put
in the effort to actually do something about this mistreatment of farm animals? To some,
being a vegan or vegetarian is a moral obligation; at this point in human evolution, there
is no need to kill animals to sustain ourselves, not with the ability to harvest nutritionally
rich crops and produce vitamins.
SECTION THREE: SOURCE ANALYSIS
One of my sources is a scientific experiment on one of the biggest arguments on
the consumption of meat. It is performed by a group of researchers that posses PhD’s,
are Registered Dieticians, and also Doctors. Experiments were performed, and
quantifiable data from these experiments were provided to help support the final
conclusions of the experiment. My next article disproves the biggest argument against
going vegan/vegetarian. This article is credible because it offers several citations to the
information and conclusions made in the article. This article was also made and published
by a website, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, dedicated to providing
health news and information to doctors. Email addresses and information to contact this
non-profit organization located in Washington D.C. is also provided. My last article is the
least credible of all my sources, but that does not mean it is a bad source. This article
brings up both sides of the argument on whether a vegan/vegetarian diet is healthier for a
human than meat inclusive one. This article is the least credible of my sources based on
the fact that it was published on a lesser authoritative website when compared to my
other sources.
My source that comes from the science journal, Circulation, disproves the biggest
argument made by vegans and vegetarians over why eating meat is unhealthy. It is
commonly misinterpreted that all meat helps cause coronary heart diseases, stroke, and
diabetes mellitus (Renata Micha, 2010). Collection of data from research helped prove
that only processed meat does indeed cause diseases, while red meat is healthy (Renata
Micha, 2010). My article from Times helps connect with the claims made in my
Circulation article. It gives information on what makes red meat healthy. Red meat helps
provide a source of nutrients that veggies cannot provide like: iron, zinc, calcium and
other essential ones (Heid, 2016). The biggest nutrient that is lacking in all veggie diet is
the B12 vitamin that provides cell growth and is found mostly in animal products such as
eggs, fish and meat (Heid, 2016). This information plays with the information provided in
my source from the Committee of Physicians. In this source, information is provided on
what other foods can provide the B12 vitamin. These food sources include cereals like
Total and Kellogg’s Corn Flakes as well as soymilk and yeast (Committee, 2015). Both
arguments for either side is successfully disproven by my sources which now only offers
the argument of whether or not it is necessary for humans to eat meat when there
alternatives. No longer is the argument centered on whether or not it is healthy, but on
moral and societal issues. On one aspect, it seems almost impossible to find a way to
humanely slaughter farm animals without the support of millions of people. On top of
this, what negative repercussions would eliminating the food processing industry have?
The potential elimination of jobs of factory workers and farmers is one consequence.
I plan on keeping all my sources because of the way they play off each other to
offer an unbiased order of thinking. My sources offer a wide range of evidence, ranging
from both sides of an argument, to a median.
My source from Times magazine shares both agreement and disagreement with
both of my other sources because of its unbiased tone. All my sources help me agree with
my hypothesis that eating animal products is healthy for a human; animal products do
offer beneficial nutrients that are easier to attain when compared to eating vitamins and
other crops. But when talking about the bigger picture of whether or not a human should
eat animal products, it could potentially disagree with.
NEW RESEARCH QUESTION AND DIRECTION?
After finding all the information necessary to answer my research question, I
think it is time to move on to a new question, but related to the one I just researched. My
new research question cannot be easily proven with fact and quantifiable data, but on a
study of ethics and morals that will provide correct and wrong answers to its readers.
Now I need to know whether or not I think that my consumption of animal products is
justified or not based of my position in life and whether or not I am morally obligated to
care about other animals.
One strategy I used when researching was reading a Wikipedia article on the
subject of my question to get a better idea, and then looking over the sources used by
Wikipedia to read more in depth of the arguments. I had never tried source hopping, but
after doing it for this article, I will continue to employ it in my future research papers.
Works Cited
Committee, T. P. (2015, November 11). Don't Vegetarians Have Trouble
Getting Enough Vitamin B12? Retrieved Febuary 19, 2017, from The Physicians
Committee: http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/vegdiets/dont-vegetarians-havetrouble-getting-enough
Heid, M. (2016, May 25). You Asked: Is a Vegan Diet Better? Retrieved Febuary
19, 2017, from Time.com: http://time.com/4346551/vegan-diet-vegetarian/
Renata Micha, S. K. (2010). Red and Processed Meat Consumption and Risk of
Incident Coronary Heart Disease, Stroke, and Diabetes Mellitus. A Systematic
Review and Meta-Analysis. Circulation , Volume 135 (7).