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Argument: Vegetarianism reduces exposure to dioxins found in meats/dairy

Issue Report: Vegetarianism

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  • Dioxin Homepage. Ejnet.org. Retrieved May 19th, 2008 – “The major sources of dioxin are in our diet. Since dioxin is fat-soluble, it bioaccumulates, climbing up the food chain. A North American eating a typical North American diet will receive 93% of their dioxin exposure from meat and dairy products (23% is from milk and dairy alone; the other large sources of exposure are beef, fish, pork, poultry and eggs). In fish, these toxins bioaccumulate up the food chain so that dioxin levels in fish are 100,000 times that of the surrounding environment. The best way to avoid dioxin exposure is to reduce or eliminate your consumption of meat and dairy products by adopting a vegan diet. According to a May 2001 study of dioxin in foods, “The category with the lowest [dioxin] level was a simulated vegan diet, with 0.09 ppt…. Blood dioxin levels in pure vegans have also been found to be very low in comparison with the general population, indicating a lower contribution of these foods to human dioxin body burden.””
  • Reed Mangels “Vegetarians who do not eat animal fats or fish would be expected to have lower blood levels of dioxins and furans. A study of adults in Taiwan who lived near municipal waste incinerators for at least five years compared blood levels of dioxins and furans in 33 vegetarians and 1,675 non-vegetarians. Vegetarians had significantly lower levels of dioxins and furans.”