Let's eat leaves

As anthrax and other diseases related to cattle have become more than just a problem of animals, I hereby would like to invite you all faithful readers to see the great advantages of being a vegetarian, a herbivore -- eating neither meat nor animal product of any kind. Difficult?

No, it's easy, you can start by being a "lactovegetarian", eating no meat, poultry or fish, but still consuming milk and its products including cheese; or you can be a "lacto-ovovegetarian", and also eat eggs.

If you worry about protein intake, vegetarians can easily improve this intake by eating high protein legumes such as peanuts, dry beans, soybeans and peas.

For calcium or iron, take dark green leafy vegetables like broccoli, turnip greens, collards, etc.

Seaweeds and fermented soybean foods (like tempe) contain sufficient vitamin B12. Eating meat, fish or poultry is not essential to obtain all necessary nutrients.

Further, we have all heard of health problems caused by meat or animal products mostly comprising of fatty acids leading to obesity, cardiovascular problems, arteriosclerosis or even breast cancer.

If being healthy does not appeal enough to you, how about being slim and lively like Cindy Crawford, Michael Jackson or Paul McCartney, or being an animal lover like Steven Spielberg or Oprah Winfrey, or merely being religious like Mahatma Gandhi?

Whatever your reason, it's high time for us to stop taking risks by still consuming meat -- at least for the time being -- and to start a healthy life by being a vegetarian.

As singer John Denver said: "Many things made me become a vegetarian. Among them, the higher food yield as a solution to world hunger."

LULU FUAD ALMUSSAWA

Cipanas, West Java