wonder why you everthought itwould be difficultto do
without flesh foods.
Apartfromthetastinessoftheirmeals,peoplecontemplating
vegetarianism aremostlikely to worryaboutwhetherthey
will be adequately nourished. These worries are entirely
groundless.Manypartsoftheworldhavevegetariancultures
whosemembers havebeenas healthy,and often healthier,
thannonvegetarianslivinginsimilarareas.StrictHindushave
beenvegetariansformorethantwothousandyears.Gandhi,a
lifelong vegetarian,wasclosetoeightywhen anassassin’s
bulletendedhisactivelife.InBritain,wheretherehasnow
been an official vegetarian movement for more than 140
years, there are third- and fourth-generation vegetarians.
Manyprominentvegetarians,suchasLeonardodaVinci,Leo
Tolstoy, and George Bernard Shaw, have lived long,
immensely creative lives. Indeed, most people who have
reachedexceptionaloldagehaveeatenlittleornomeat.The
inhabitantsoftheVilcabambavalley inEcuadorfrequently
livetobemorethanonehundredyearsold,andmenasoldas
123 and 142 yearshavebeenfoundbyscientists;thesepeople
eatlessthanoneounceofmeataweek.Astudyofallliving
centenarians in Hungary found that they were largely
vegetarian.^29
Thatmeatisunnecessaryforphysicalenduranceisshownby
alonglistofsuccessfulathleteswhodonoteatit,alistthat
includesOlympiclong-distanceswimmingchampionMurray
Rose, the famous Finnish distance runner Paavo Nurmi,
basketball star Bill Walton, the “ironman” triathlete Dave
Scott, and 400-meter Olympic hurdle champion Edwin
Moses.