“If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian” –Paul McCartney
Many people around the world choose to live their lives with the motto that animals are our friends not food. However this is an extremely controversial topic that is up for debate between “meat lovers” and “animal lovers”. However if you are a person who chooses to eliminate meat or any type of by products from slaughter houses it is important to be informed and educated on the vegetarian lifestyle. There are many credible sources that are available through the internet that provide insight, opinions, studies as well as academic journals about vegetarianism. If you are a new member of the vegetarian community or thinking of switching I do not recommend retrieving information from the first search engine that you may type in your search bar, being Wikipedia. Wikipedia is not a reliable source of information and this can be proven by looking at the "talk" page that is provided on its website regarding the topic of vegetarianism.
Wikipedia seems to be one of the most popular websites available on the internet in order to retrieve information on various topics. Jensen mentions in his article that in terms of Wikipedia’s daily usage that the site ranks in the top ten web pages in the world. However I am here to convince you that Wikipedia should be taken with a grain of salt, because some of the information that is provided on their web pages can be biased as well as have a lack of credible sources to back up the information that they provide.
Ever since Wikipedia has even been an option to gain information students have been advised that it is not a credible source and to not use it as a reliable source of information. This is due to the fact that anyone can edit the content that is on a Wikipedia page (Royal 139). We live in such a collaborative creative economy that it is often dangerous the amount of information that is available to us being it is such a mass amount of information (Van Dijck, 860). In terms of finding credible and reliable information about vegetarianism it is important to find accurate information because potentially you could be looking up information that deals with your health and well being. There will be so many different opinions, perspective, and even health myths presented on a Wikipedia page regarding the topic of vegetarianism that a aspiring or current vegetarian has to be careful of the information that they are ingesting.
Under the vegetarian page section it is quite evident that what is provided on the Wikipedia page about the topic of vegetarianism is not accurate information and cannot be taken literally. Facts are stated on the page without any referencing information for where the information came from. Jensen says that to come across a “good article” on Wikipedia is rare because often times they do not have verified and accurate information with a neutral point of view (Jensen 1170). While I was reading through the talk page I noticed quite a few people pointing out the fact that information was not sourced, therefore people who are trying to gain knowledge about vegetarianism have no idea whether the information is true or not. For example it stated the fact that “vegetarianism cause’s depression” however there was no link to source this information or where the fact even came from. The editor who pointed out this flaw also posted academic sources that proved that vegetarianism does not cause depression within humans. This is a reason why Wikipedia’s information should not be taken literally. Vegetarians out there do not let Wikipedia wrongly inform you and change your opinions about being a vegetarian!
Another reason why you vegetarians out there should not use Wikipedia for information about not eating meat is because the Wikipedia talk page provides information that is irrelevant and off topic. After reading some of the posts listed on the talk page I noticed that there were quite a few people who felt that a lot of the information that was posted on the vegetarian page was irrelevant. For example on the vegetarian page “animal-to-human-disease-transmission” is mentioned. However this information is not related to being a vegetarian or wanting to become a vegetarian. It almost seems as if the person who included this into Wikipedia page wants to convince and persuade people that this is the reason why they should stay away from meat, and not information about the practice itself.
The last reason as to why Wikipedia should not be used as a reliable source of information is because it provides information that is incorrect. Being a vegetarian can often be hard at times in order to properly receive the right nutrition’s and vitamins for your body. When looking for information about where your body can receive these nutrients you don’t want to be lead on by false accusations. In the vegetarian page it is mentioned that peanut butter provides a person with “complete protein” which means that you receive all eight types of amino acids. However the editor mentions that peanut butter cannot be a source of complete protein. This intrigued me because that is information that I would over look being a vegetarian because it sounds believable. So Wikipedia can lead vegetarians to believe the peanut butter is a protein supplement however it is not. So in order to verify this information I continued reading and looked at a link provided by the editor that proved otherwise to peanut butter being a “complete protein”. The editor provided the information that peanut butter was not considered a “complete” protein because it did not provide the amino acid L-methionine.
By reading over Wikipedias talk page it can be proven that it is not a valuable source for gaining reliable and accurate information about being a vegetarian. To gain the basic facts about being a vegetarian I believe that Wikipedia is a great place to start your research. However for scientific facts about the nutrients and vitamins that your body must receive and how different ways to supplement protein I think that it is important to research academic sources provided by doctors and health care professionals!
Work Cited
Royal, C. & Kapila, D. (2009). What's on Wikipedia, and What's Not . . . ?: Assessing Completeness of Information. Social Science Computer Review. 27, 1. pp 138-148.
Many people around the world choose to live their lives with the motto that animals are our friends not food. However this is an extremely controversial topic that is up for debate between “meat lovers” and “animal lovers”. However if you are a person who chooses to eliminate meat or any type of by products from slaughter houses it is important to be informed and educated on the vegetarian lifestyle. There are many credible sources that are available through the internet that provide insight, opinions, studies as well as academic journals about vegetarianism. If you are a new member of the vegetarian community or thinking of switching I do not recommend retrieving information from the first search engine that you may type in your search bar, being Wikipedia. Wikipedia is not a reliable source of information and this can be proven by looking at the "talk" page that is provided on its website regarding the topic of vegetarianism.
Wikipedia seems to be one of the most popular websites available on the internet in order to retrieve information on various topics. Jensen mentions in his article that in terms of Wikipedia’s daily usage that the site ranks in the top ten web pages in the world. However I am here to convince you that Wikipedia should be taken with a grain of salt, because some of the information that is provided on their web pages can be biased as well as have a lack of credible sources to back up the information that they provide.
Ever since Wikipedia has even been an option to gain information students have been advised that it is not a credible source and to not use it as a reliable source of information. This is due to the fact that anyone can edit the content that is on a Wikipedia page (Royal 139). We live in such a collaborative creative economy that it is often dangerous the amount of information that is available to us being it is such a mass amount of information (Van Dijck, 860). In terms of finding credible and reliable information about vegetarianism it is important to find accurate information because potentially you could be looking up information that deals with your health and well being. There will be so many different opinions, perspective, and even health myths presented on a Wikipedia page regarding the topic of vegetarianism that a aspiring or current vegetarian has to be careful of the information that they are ingesting.
Under the vegetarian page section it is quite evident that what is provided on the Wikipedia page about the topic of vegetarianism is not accurate information and cannot be taken literally. Facts are stated on the page without any referencing information for where the information came from. Jensen says that to come across a “good article” on Wikipedia is rare because often times they do not have verified and accurate information with a neutral point of view (Jensen 1170). While I was reading through the talk page I noticed quite a few people pointing out the fact that information was not sourced, therefore people who are trying to gain knowledge about vegetarianism have no idea whether the information is true or not. For example it stated the fact that “vegetarianism cause’s depression” however there was no link to source this information or where the fact even came from. The editor who pointed out this flaw also posted academic sources that proved that vegetarianism does not cause depression within humans. This is a reason why Wikipedia’s information should not be taken literally. Vegetarians out there do not let Wikipedia wrongly inform you and change your opinions about being a vegetarian!
Another reason why you vegetarians out there should not use Wikipedia for information about not eating meat is because the Wikipedia talk page provides information that is irrelevant and off topic. After reading some of the posts listed on the talk page I noticed that there were quite a few people who felt that a lot of the information that was posted on the vegetarian page was irrelevant. For example on the vegetarian page “animal-to-human-disease-transmission” is mentioned. However this information is not related to being a vegetarian or wanting to become a vegetarian. It almost seems as if the person who included this into Wikipedia page wants to convince and persuade people that this is the reason why they should stay away from meat, and not information about the practice itself.
The last reason as to why Wikipedia should not be used as a reliable source of information is because it provides information that is incorrect. Being a vegetarian can often be hard at times in order to properly receive the right nutrition’s and vitamins for your body. When looking for information about where your body can receive these nutrients you don’t want to be lead on by false accusations. In the vegetarian page it is mentioned that peanut butter provides a person with “complete protein” which means that you receive all eight types of amino acids. However the editor mentions that peanut butter cannot be a source of complete protein. This intrigued me because that is information that I would over look being a vegetarian because it sounds believable. So Wikipedia can lead vegetarians to believe the peanut butter is a protein supplement however it is not. So in order to verify this information I continued reading and looked at a link provided by the editor that proved otherwise to peanut butter being a “complete protein”. The editor provided the information that peanut butter was not considered a “complete” protein because it did not provide the amino acid L-methionine.
By reading over Wikipedias talk page it can be proven that it is not a valuable source for gaining reliable and accurate information about being a vegetarian. To gain the basic facts about being a vegetarian I believe that Wikipedia is a great place to start your research. However for scientific facts about the nutrients and vitamins that your body must receive and how different ways to supplement protein I think that it is important to research academic sources provided by doctors and health care professionals!
Work Cited
Jensen, R. (2012). Military History on the Electronic Frontier: Wikipedia Fights the War of 1812. Journal of Military History. 76, 1. pp 1165-1182
Van Dijk, J. & Nieborg, D. (2009). Wikinomics and its discontents: a critical analysis of Web 2.0 business manifestos. New Media & Society. 11, 5. pp 855-874.
Check out some other students Blogs about Wikipedia!
No comments:
Post a Comment