Vegans, vegetarians, and vegawarians make a difference every day by not eating meat. The meat industry is one of the leading industries responsible for fossil fuel consumption and a 2006 UN report found that the global meat industry produces more greenhouse gases than all of the world’s SUVs, cars, trucks, planes and ships combined.
If done incorrectly, though, vegans and vegetarians can be left without a lot of important nutrients. Protein can be substituted easily enough through tofu, soy, seitan, eggs, dairy and legumes (click here for a wonderful protein-rich quinoa salad recipe). But other important nutrients such as Omega-3, which usually comes in the form of fish oil, are a little tougher to find in vegetarian form.
V-Pure , an EPA and DHA based Omega 3 supplement that is extracted from algae instead of fish, responds to this vegan and vegetarian need (as well as to the needs of Jews and Muslims who observe dietary restrictions). The supplement functions a little like vegetarianism itself by sourcing the nutrients directly from the algae that fish eat (just as vegetarians get their nutrition directly from the sources that livestock animals eat).
Great for vegans and vegetarians, V-Pure’s supplement is also pretty great for the environment. Avoiding the use of fish oil means preserving a biodiverse fish population. The algae that is used instead of fish oil is organically grown and 100% free from toxins and contaminants. The supplement also comes in recyclable packaging.
Water 4, the company that makes the V-Pure Omega 3 supplements, describes its philosophy as being “dedicated to the development and production of innovative, fully sustainable, new generation health supplements, targeted towards vegetarians’, vegans’ and the health conscious individual.”
Water 4’s goals for 2009 are even more focused on the environment. Water 4 has written that “2009 will see the V-Pure brand expand as we introduce further product lines that will begin to form what we envisage to be an extensive portfolio of highly nutritional products of the future that will protect and conserve biodiversity, conserve natural resources and use renewable energies, whilst minimizing pollution and environmental impact.”
(The above photograph of a school of fish was taken by suneko.)
Read more about vegetarianism:
NYTimes Blog: Be a Part-Time Vegetarian
Israel’s Finest Restaurants Offer Vegetarian Specials on Mondays
The Pacifists and Vegetarians from Amirim
Author: Karen Chernick
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
Another added benefit is not burping the taste of fish all day.