Are Vegetarians smarter?

Check out this article

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1215- 05.htm

I had read other article like this one, but I think it sums it up pretty well. Does anyone else have some cool vegetarian statistics?

 "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - Gandhi

There's one from MENSA researchers in Indonesia about how kids with high IQs grow up and become veg...

http://mensaindonesia.blogspot.com/2007/08/ki ds-with-high-iqs-grow-up-to-be.html

I don't know if vegetarians are any smarter then non-vegetarians but they think they are.

Just gonna post here the cliff note version of both of those articles for anyone who is not inclined to read them (and anyone who read both articles is welcome to correct me if I misinterpreted).

They both say that people who are intelligent are more prone to chose vegetarianism.  They do not say that being vegetarian makes one intelligent, rather that intelligence is a quality that many vegetarians have in common.  This is not exclusionary, it simply is what it is.  No where in either article do they say that all smart people are vegetarians, or that a lack of meat in ones diet makes one smarter, or that to be considered smart one must be vegetarian.  I believe both also based their findings on IQ, rather than on education level, financial worth, or any other socio-economic factors. 

It's simply showing a correlation that many people with high IQs choose to abstain from meat.  Which is a pretty logical finding that does not cast aspersion on any meat eater.

I agree with pandajenn.

I think smarter people are just usually more concerned about their health. You see more people who are smart and thin than smart and fat. In my case, atleast.

Original Post by trhawley:

I don't know if vegetarians are any smarter then non-vegetarians but they think they are.

That is a mighty nice generalization you've got there.

And I found the articles interesting, thanks for posting them guys.

Intelligent people did not start out life as vegetarians and neither did any of us.  We where all breast feed or given formula.

Original Post by smartbeez:

Intelligent people did not start out life as vegetarians and neither did any of us. Below is an article that explains. the importance of food and brain development.

http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/fats.html

Those articles weren't saying being a vegetarian makes you smarter, they were saying that more intelligent people make the change to vegetarianism or veganism.

Edited to add: There are many people who are lifelong vegetarians... mostly for religious reasons I would assume since there are 3 religions I can think of that embrace vegetarianism. 

smartbeez, your article indicates that Omega-3 and -6 fatty acids are essential to brain development... 

 Essential Building Materials–To build brain cells you need fatty acids. Two kinds of fatty acids are considered "essential," which means you must get these essential fatty acids (EFAs) from the food you eat. Your body cannot manufacture them.

The first essential fatty acid you need is Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). ALA is the foundation of the "omega-3" family of fatty acids. Food sources of omega-3 ALA include flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts, sea vegetables, and green leafy vegetables.

The second essential fatty acid you need is Linoleic acid (LA). LA is the foundation of the "omega-6" family of fatty acids. Food sources of omega-6 LA include expeller cold-pressed sunflower, safflower, corn, and sesame oils

Seems to me that all of their examples are vegetarian. 

I think it's important to note that this does appear to just be commenting on a correlation, not a cause and effect.

After all, I'm sure a lot of people (myself included) can say they know some pretty flighty vegetarians, and notably brilliant meat eaters.

i've been a vegetarian + fish all my life and just picked up chicken.  i'll let you know if my grades drop ;o)

on a serious note, between the two universities i've gone to, i've noticed that the smarter students are more prone to random social causes (and i mean random), and frequently stop eating meat due to the health issues or the ethical issues.  mind you, these are the same people who hang pictures of che guevara on their dorm room walls... but i do think it is more of a correlation or along the same lines as all the studies that say people with college degrees are significantly more likely to vote democrat.  voting democrat doesn't make them smarter, but the issues that arise in the academic environment lean towards social activism :o) 

Original Post by romeozjul:

i've been a vegetarian + fish all my life and just picked up chicken.  i'll let you know if my grades drop ;o)

WOW!!

People really aren't paying attention to the findings of these studies!!!! The articles don't say eating meat makes you less intelligent, they say intelligent people tend to go veg.

Uh, I believe romeozjul was kidding, kindoflikesarah.  

soooo... what does it mean for all of us who go back and forth to meat eating and vegetarianism (and the meat has been winning)?

Original Post by muttlover:

I agree with pandajenn.

I think smarter people are just usually more concerned about their health. You see more people who are smart and thin than smart and fat. In my case, atleast.

I don't know whether or not this is demonstrably true, but either way it's pretty insulting to imply that heavy people must be stupid. It's obviously smart to care about your health and eat right, but the reasons for overeating are myriad and demeaning generalizations about people are not helpful.

 

I've done the vegetarian thing and went back to eating moderate amounts of meat because I honestly felt better nourished. There are a lot of good reasons not to eat meat (or to eat less meat) - like factory farming, animal welfare, heart disease, etc, but there are valid reasons for eating meat (at least in reasonable amounts) as well.

 

This is the same problem I had with a study that was cited a while back claiming that vegetarians were healthier than omnivores - the studies compared vegetarians to the "general population", IE the people who for the most part do not take care in their dietary choices and eat crap like Chef Boyardee and Cinnabon and Hardee's on a daily basis. To lump people like this together with people like myself (In addition to TONS of freash fruit and vegetables and almost no processed food, I eat about a card-deck size piece of chicken, fish or lean beef per day IF I eat meat) is absurd.

 

Obviously the millions who make McDonald's a big staple of their diet are not very intelligent. They are at least as different from sensible meat-eaters as ovo-lacto vegetarians who eat fish on occasion are from true vegans, if not moreso.

thank you meww.  the next line started with "on a serious note"  and i ended the statement with a winky face

I hope you'll still let us know whether your grades drop, romeozjul, so we can harass you about 'em! :-D

I don't really understand why some people chose to comment but not to read the articles. The articles were just saying that a group of people with higher IQs had chosen not to eat meat, not that it made you smarter.

I don't think that most vegetarians are smug and maybe the reason trhawley thinks they are is because trhawley is feeling guilty for eating meat, which you shouldn't feel guilty about it or judge others for not doing it, huh?

Original Post by meww:

Uh, I believe romeozjul was kidding, kindoflikesarah.  

Well, kidding or not they were still adding fuel to the comments made by people who hadn't even read the articles yet felt insulted enough by this thread to reply.

To me the key to the whole issue is choice.  I would venture to suggest that most people eat what is available to them through environmental factors such as parental upbringing and availability.  They never actually make a choice but continue eating those things that are readily available and that they were brought up eating.

People that are above average in intelligence are more likely to have pondered what they should be eating and have made a choice in regard to diet.  Since westerners are raised primarily as meat eaters it is hard to determine how many meat eaters have given thought to whether or not to eat meat and chosen to continue as a meat eater.  But since vegetarians in western society were most likely raised as meat eaters and then chosen vegetarianism after consideration one could conclude that western vegetarians are of above average intelligence.  But one cannot conclude that more people of above average intelligence chose vegetarianism over meat eating without doing much more extensive studies.