A shopper selects vegetables in one of downtown Yangon’s markets. Pic: Lwin Maung Maung

PEOPLE in Myanmar have almost a world of choices when it comes to planning their meals. There are so many vegetables, fruits, grains, meats and seafoods that consumers are spoilt for choice.

Most of those who avoid meat do so because they want to, often because they have had bad experiences in the past.

“I vomited and had bowel problems the last time I ate beef. Since then I’ve made the decision to completely stop eating beef. I think many people from country areas don’t eat beef,” said Yangon resident Ma Pwint. Her distaste for meat is limited to beef and she says pork is her favourite food.

But for Ko Myint San, 27, says pork is the one meat he refuses to eat.

“What benefits does eating pork bring to people? Even before I gave up eating pork, I didn’t like the taste. Now when the rest of my family eats pork I eat fried eggs,” he says.

Some people choose to avoid only eat red meat, which still allows them to eat poultry or fish.

“I don’t eat pork, beef and goat’s meat because they are red meat and I can’t stand the smell. I prefer to eat chicken or fish myself,” says Daw Nay Yee, who is still active despite being in her 70s.

And then there are those who forsake meat completely and become vegetarians.

A vegetarian diet has a number of advantages and disadvantages. Vegetarians must be extremely diligent in monitoring their diet because meat contains so minerals and protein that is hard to replace.

However, because most of the foods used to replace meat are high in fibre – like lentils and rice – vegetarians are less likely to suffer bowel problems. Eating less red meat also helps to lower blood pressure.

Vegetarian Ko Maung Maung, 32, says that he some difficulties when he stopped eating meat. Most importantly, he says he could not sleep sometimes.
“Whenever I had a night when I didn’t sleep I felt weak the next day,” says Ko Maung Maung, now a vegetarian for seven years.

He says drinking yoghurt every day helped to cure the problem.

“I was a pure vegetarian for three years and didn’t eat any meat, dairy products or eggs. But because I was having sleeping problems, I needed to find a solution, so I started drinking yoghurt regularly and occasionally eating eggs. Just like that the problem stopped.”

“My doctor also tells me that I should eat more peas but I don’t like them very much,” he says.

Ko Maung Maung says it was a personal decision to become a vegetarian.
“I worked for three years as a chef and I chose to become a vegetarian because I was sick of eating meat all the time,” he says.

General practitioner U Win says he stopped eating meat on the suggestion of a monk.

“I’ve been a vegetarian since 1993. My wife was strongly against my new diet at first because she worried that I would become weak. But I didn’t listen to her and stopped eating meat,” Dr Win says.

He says the only downside he observed was a short temper but even that was short–lived.

“Frequent hunger made me short–tempered when I started. But I’m used to the new diet now and choose to fill my stomach with fruits and bananas.”

Dr Win says he never regrets being a vegetarian and he is continually finding new benefits.

“I’m fresher than before and I don’t get headaches any more. In 1999, I had an operation on my right kidney. My family tried to care for me by feeding me chicken soup when I was a patient at the hospital but I refused and just ate boiled-rice instead.

“Within two weeks I had recovered. To me that means I still have a strong immune system, even though I’m a vegetarian,” he says.

He says he has never regretted the decision to stop eating meat.

“I decided to become a vegetarian for my health and I’ve never seen too many side effects. I think people who eat red meats are more aggressive because they are absorbing some bad chemicals from the animals they are ingesting.

“Also because the animals die afraid, or angry, I think that spreads through their whole body and is then passed on to the person who eats them.”