Surveys suggest that, in recent years, more Canadians have been adopting veganism or vegetarianism. From Ben & Jerry’s delectable Cherry Garcia vegan ice cream, to the more acquired taste of McSween’s vegetarian haggis, grocery store aisles today abound with plant-based food creations.
A meatless lifestyle, however, is nothing new. Pythagoras of Samos (yes, the same guy who gave us the Pythagorean Theorem) lived in the 6th century B.C.E. He believed in reincarnation and so taught his followers to avoid eating meat and fish. From ancient times, Jains, Buddhists and others have likewise adopted a vegetarian diet for religious reasons.
Today, there are many reasons why people choose to pursue a plant-based diet. For example, some do so for health reasons, while others do so out of consideration for animals or the negative effect on the environment that modern meat production creates.
Plant-based diets also live on a sliding scale. From veganism, which excludes all foods that come from animals, to a plant-based diet that focuses on plant foods but may consist of some animal-derived products.
Some detractors of plant-based diets have claimed that proper protein intake and nutrition cannot be gained from plants alone. However, this has been proven to be false. With the right planning, plant-based proteins are easy to add to your diet. [1]
In the new Plant-Based Nutrition certificate [2] offered by the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences, students will investigate how to achieve the nutrients needed for optimum health and the management and prevention of disease while implementing a plant-based diet. Students will also learn about the history of plant-based diets and their impact on individuals and the planet. And elective courses in the program give students an opportunity to put their learnings into practice.
The course is timely given the focus on sustainable healthy diets, including the 2019 Canada's Food Guide recommendation to choose plant-based proteins more often," said Jess Haines, associate director of the Guelph Family Health Study [3]. "This course helps students to learn more about the evidence behind such recommendations as well as practical strategies to incorporate plant-based proteins into their diets."
Each of the seven required courses is four-weeks in length and consists of 20 hours of coursework. Students who are interested in learning more about the certificate can visit the OpenEd website [2] which outlines the curriculum.