rather than vegetarianism in the strict sense; however, he
has been a vegetarian since the late 1970s, and his chapters
on commercialized hunting, fishing, and factory farming
are of particular interest to vegetarians.
Stepaniak, Joanne.The Vegan Sourcebook, 2nd ed., with
nutrition section by Virginia Messina. Los Angeles:
Lowell House, 2000.
Stuart, Tristan.The Bloodless Revolution: A Cultural History
of Vegetarianism from 1600 to Modern Times. New
York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2006.
PERIODICALS
American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada.
‘‘Position of the American Dietetic Association and
Dietitians of Canada: Vegetarian Diets.’’Canadian
Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research64 (Summer
2003): 62–81.
Key, T. J., P. N. Appleby, and M. S. Rosell. ‘‘Health Effects
of Vegetarian and Vegan Diets.’’Proceedings of the
Nutrition Society65 (February 2006): 35–41.
Leitzmann, C. ‘‘Vegetarian Diets: What Are the Advan-
tages?’’Forum of Nutrition57 (2005): 147–156.
Michel, K. E. ‘‘Unconventional Diets for Dogs and Cats.’’
Veterinary Clinics of North America, Small Animal
Practice36 (November 2006): 1269–1281.
Shapin, Steven. ‘‘Vegetable Love.’’New Yorker, January 22,
- Available online. URL: http://www.newyorker.
com/critics/content/articles/070122crbo_books_shapin.
This article is a review of Stuart’s book.
Stahler, Charles. ‘‘How Many Adults Are Vegetarian?’’.
Vegetarian Journal, no. 4 (2006). Available online
at http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2006issue4/
vj2006issue4poll.htm.
Willett, Walter, MD. ‘‘Lessons from Dietary Studies in
Adventists and Questions for the Future.’’American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition78 (September 2003):
539S–543S.
OTHER
Indian Vegetarian Cooking Videos, vol. 1 and vol. 2. Simple
step-by-step demonstrations of vegetarian cooking in
the Indian tradition by a registered dietitian. Nutri-
tional information is provided for the recipes in the
videos. To order, call (757) 464-0786 or e-mail
[email protected].
Mayo Clinic Staff.Vegetarian Diet: A Starter’s Guide to a
Plant-Based Diet. Rochester, MN: Mayo Clinic Foun-
dation, 2006. Available online at http://www.mayoclinic.
com/health/vegetarian-diet/HQ01596.
North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS).Vegetarian-
ism: Answers to the Most Commonly Asked Questions.
Dolgeville, NY: NAVS, 2005. Available online at
http://www.navs-online.org/frvegetarianism.html.
Prieur, Ran. ‘‘How to Drop Out.’’Ran Prieur.com, April 2,
- URL: http://ranprieur.com/essays/dropout.html.
Personal essay explaining freeganism.
Seventh-day Adventist Dietetic Association (SDADA).A
Position Statement on the Vegetarian Diet. Orlando, FL:
SDADA, 2005. Available online at http://www.sdada.
org/position.htm.
ORGANIZATIONS
American Dietetic Association (ADA). 120 South Riverside
Plaza, Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60606-6995. Telephone:
(800): 877-1600. Website: http://www.eatright.org.
American Vegan Society (AVS). 56 Dinshah Lane, P. O. Box
369, Malaga, NJ 08328. Telephone: (856) 694-2887.
Website: http://www.americanvegan.org/index.htm.
Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA). P.O. Box 201791,
Cleveland, OH 44120. Telephone: (216) 283-6702.
Website: http://www.all-creatures.org/cva/.
Dietitians of Canada/Les die ́te ́tistes du Canada (DC). 480
University Avenue, Suite 604, Toronto, Ontario, Can-
ada M5G 1V2. Telephone: (416) 596-0857. Website:
http://www.dietitians.ca.
North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS). P.O. Box 72,
Dolgeville, NY 13329. Telephone: (518) 568-7970.
Website: http://www.navs-online.org.
Seventh-day Adventist Dietetic Association (SDADA). 9355
Telfer Run, Orlando, FL 32817. Website: http://www.
sdada.org. SDADA is an official affiliate of the ADA.
Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG). P.O. Box 1463, Dept.
IN, Baltimore, MD 21203. Telephone: (410) 366-
VEGE. Website: http://www.vrg.org/index.htm. Pub-
lishesVegetarian Journal, a quarterly periodical.
Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom. Parkdale, Dun-
ham Road, Altrincham, Cheshire, England WA14
4QG. Telephone: 0161 925 2000. Website: http://
http://www.vegsoc.org. The oldest organized vegetarian
group, founded in 1847.Rebecca J. Frey, PhDVitamin A
Definition
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble organic compound that
the body needs to remain healthy. Humans cannot
make vitamin A, so they must get it from foods in
their diet. Vitamin A is sometimes called retinol.Purpose
Vitamin A affects many different systems of the
body. It is especially important to maintaining good
vision, a healthy immune system, and strong bones.
Vitamin A also helps turn on and off certain genes
(gene expression) during cell division and differentia-
tion. Getting the correct amount—not too little and
not too much—of vitamin A is essential for health.
People who get too little vitamin A have vision defects,
are more likely to have damaged cells in the lining ofVitamin A