Why vegetarian food is more than a hype

More and more Belgians are choosing not to have a piece of meat or fish on their plate once in a while. Here are some good reasons why this is not such a bad idea:

• Eating vegetarian every now and then is a conscious choice for a better future health-wise. Eating too much red and processed meat is not recommended by nutritionists if you want to avoid diabetes, strokes and cancer. A vegetarian menu limits these risks.
• Regularly avoiding meat is excellent for your intestinal flora. You automatically eat more fibres from fruit and vegetables, which improves your bowel movements and makes you feel less bloated.
• Vegetarian food is better for the planet. The production of meat leads to increased emissions of greenhouse gases. And we want a lot less of that if we want to combat global warming by 2050. In addition, every day kilometres of tropical rain forest are chopped down for cattle feed.  Alternating between meat and vegetarian food is therefore much more environmentally friendly.
• By eating vegetarian regularly, you also help fight against global famine. For one kilo of beef, no less than twenty-five kilos of cattle feed are needed. Even better, the amount of food that is needed to feed one meat-eater is enough to feed no less than ten vegetarians. In the fields where that food is grown, you can also place crops that are edible for humans. Many of these fields are also located in regions of poverty and famine. You can combat hunger in these areas by eating less cows.
• Using up less fresh water. The production of meat can lead to water scarcity, because cows, chickens and pigs also need to drink, of course. Swap your steak for more greens every now and then, and you'll reduce the global water footprint. Nice touch! 
• Vegetarian food just keeps getting better and better! There are more and more delicious meat substitutes, there are countless books full of tasty vegetarian recipes, and on top of that, chefs are getting more creative with devising delicious original vegetarian recipes (link to 'Vedge). Our delicious Tom & Della's Green Love salads are a fine example of this.

 So why not treat yourself to a vegetarian meal!