Go vegetarian

I am a vegetarian, and I write here from that position rather than pretending to neutrality. But I would rather give you the honest case than an oversold one.

The reasons that hold up

Health. Large studies of vegetarian populations consistently show lower rates of ischaemic heart disease, lower blood pressure, lower body mass index and lower incidence of type 2 diabetes. The World Health Organization classifies processed meat as carcinogenic to humans and red meat as probably carcinogenic. These findings are real and reasonably robust.

They are also not magic. A vegetarian diet of white rice, fried snacks and sweets is worse than a careful omnivorous one. What the research really shows is that people eating more whole plants and less processed meat do better. The vegetarian label is a proxy, not the mechanism.

Ahimsa. In the Jain and wider Indian tradition, the reason is not health at all. It is non-violence — the position that causing avoidable suffering to a creature that can suffer is wrong. This is an ethical argument and it stands or falls on its own, independent of any nutritional claim. For many people, including me, it is the reason that actually matters.

The environmental case. Livestock accounts for a large share of agricultural land use, freshwater use and greenhouse gas emissions relative to the calories it delivers. In a country facing water stress this is not an abstract point.

What a vegetarian needs to watch

Being honest about this is more useful than pretending the diet takes care of itself.

• Vitamin B12. This is the serious one. B12 occurs reliably only in animal foods and in fortified products. Deficiency develops slowly and can cause permanent nerve damage before it is obvious. Long-term vegetarians — and lifelong vegetarians in particular — should have B12 checked and will usually need a supplement. Please do not skip this.
• Iron. Plant iron is absorbed less readily. Take it with vitamin C — lemon over dal, amla, citrus — and away from tea and coffee, which block absorption.
• Protein. Easily managed with dal, rajma, chana, paneer, curd, nuts and seeds, but it does need managing rather than assuming.
• Omega-3. Flaxseed, chia and walnuts supply the plant form. Conversion in the body is limited, so quantity matters.
• Zinc, calcium, vitamin D. Worth knowing your sources.

If you want to change

Do it slowly. Drop one meal at a time rather than declaring a new identity on a Monday. Learn to cook five vegetarian dishes properly before you drop anything — the usual reason people give up is not conviction but boredom. And if you have children on a vegetarian diet, take proper nutritional advice; growing bodies have less margin for error than adult ones.