The Vegan Wave: Health, Hype or Heart. – SAMPLE OUTLINE

 

I.      Introduce Vegetarianism as a dietary option

A.   Rise in popularity within the US

1.      evidence from surveys

2.      restaurants, number; menu options growing

3.      magazines, websites, interest groups etc.

B.   Signs that it is no longer so “marginal”

1.      in numbers of people who practice vegetarianism

2.      attitudes towards the idea

C.   Question: what accounts for the rising numbers and new acceptability of vegetarianism?

1.      Brief explanation of process used to explore this question in the paper.

II.  Outline the major possible causes of the “Vegan Wave”:

A.   Health concerns

1.      growing awareness of need for healthy lifestyle

a)    prior to Atkins craze, US consumption of red-meat seen as a healthy problem

(1)  association with high blood pressure

(2)  heart attacks

(3)  cholestorol, etc.

2.      modern production methods raise concerns

a)    growth hormones

b)   genetic modifcation, i.e. feed contamination

c)     “mad-cow” and feed quality.

B.   Hype: or media and information overload

1.      diet options of various sorts highly publized

a)    popularity of ‘unhealthful’ diets suggests advertising overpowers “health concerns”

2.      Increasingly, shoppers and restaurant-goers are given options that imply they ought to consider a meat-less or meat-low diet

C.   Heart – Animal cruelty and environment

1.      attention to the production of meat has grown, or information is widely available

a)    factory farms burst the illusions about family farm life

2.      once ‘minority’ religious concerns now become general

a)    i.e. ethical groups troubled by farming conditions, pain and suffering

b)   spiritual dimension to sustainability – i.e. leaving the scene as clean as you found it, etc.

3.      large scale farming, grain production and slaughter suspected even of contributing to worsening environmental crises

a)    global warming

b)   deforestation

c)     mono-crop concentration

III.          Health concerns - Survey

A.   Evaluate medical evidence of health effects

B.   The knowledge/impressions of eaters /shoppers

1.      What choices they make

2.      What factors inform those choices

3.      What other lifestyle actions they take

a)    i.e. does “health” stand up? Does the diet change go along with other changes that support the idea that a healthy lifestyle is the aim?

 

 

ETC.