What motivated you in becoming a vegetarian?

Question

Related to the subject, today I asked this question:
http://tinyurl.com/jmxzz

Now I would like to know the nature of your convictions in order to draw several reccurent ideas that would help me understand this lifestyle. Bring over the arguments! Thank you

Answer 1

I grew up vegetarian. I never felt deprived, less healthy or less smart than those who ate meat. I chose vegetarianism for myself because it is a pretty cheap way to live, unless you're buying a lot of expensive meat replacers. I also choose it because I have a hard time staring raw flesh in the face and putting it in my frying pan. Cooked meat is one thing, but looking at the bloody mess they sell you in the grocery store is about enough to turn my stomach. I bought some hamburger for my cat once and it took a lot of courage to try to give it to her... She didn't like it anyway, cold, warmish or cooked. Thank goodness I won't be buying it again!

I also see a lot of benifits to my health. I don't have to worry about what the animals were fed (most animals raised for meat are fed diets that contain meat by products... even if they're vegetarian animals), how healthy they were or what kind of steroids or hormones they were given before they were served to me. I don't have to worry about rapid bacteria growth if my food sits out on the table for an hour. I don't have to worry about E coli on my countertops from meat that was sitting there. I read the packages on meat and all the warnings and just thank goodness I don't have to worry about all that rot.

I do eat eggs, milk and cheese, though I am trying to reduce that as they carry some of the same problems meat does with rapid bacteria growth, hormones and high cholesterol problems.

I believe people were intended to eat a completely plant-based diet without animal products, but were also given the choice and ability to eat meat if they so chose. There are healthy meat-eaters and healthy vegetarians, I think it all depends on your choices. I choose to eat vegetarian for my health and hey,if I can save several acres of grain from going into a meat cow and instead be given to someone hungry while I'm at it, I think the world would be better for it.

Answer 2

Animal cruelty. I didn't feel comfortable eating anything that was killed for me to eat. I was 12 when i realized that animals have lives. My mother was coking chicken and it was bleeding! I realized meat was magically made and came from nowhere Animals are being murdered so that us humans can eat and in all reality we don't even need meat to survive. Now it just seems selfish, cruel and sad that this is still going on. I don't want to be a part of it. I'm all for animal liberation and I don't even eat dairy because the dairy industry can be just as gruesome. Most people think that nothing comes out of being a vegetarian or vegan but we save 94 lives a year. Maybe I alone won't be able to stop the slaughter but I am doing my part and making some kind of a difference even if it is small.

Answer 3

I fasted off of meat for 40 days as a promise to God. It was wonderful. I still had plenty of options and I enjoyed food better for some reason and I felt very healthy. However, once the fast was over I added meat again and won't give it up again unless God asks me to but I don't think being a vegetarian is bad or wrong its just not for everyone. I do want to point out to all the vegetarians that most animals eat meat. Maybe not cows, chickens or pigs which are the normal picks for people to eat in America. But if the animals that eat other animals were available at the grocery store I might be willing to switch.

Answer 4

I was a vegetarian for nearly 2 years, and I became one because I just couldn't stand the thought of eating meat anymore. I mean, it used to be alive, and it had feelings, and somebody killed it for no good reason, because it's not like Americans for the most part are starving with our growing problem with obesity. There are LOTS of substitutes out there now. It was easy to do when I was living away from home, but I moved back to the same area where my parents and the rest of my family are living, and that made it a lot tougher because they kept insisting that we should be eating meat. Finally, I got tired of listening to it and caved, but I really wish I hadn't.

Answer 5

Originall I quit eating meat after having a Mcdonalds cheese burger.
I just though meat was kind of gross,
Nothing earth shaking, spiritual etc.
Then I didnt eat any meat ( yea dairy) for about, lets just say a long,long,long, time . Then I was so broke in those days I couldnt afford to eat meat.Then it became a lifestyle.
Ironically the first meat I ate when I went back to eating it ( yes a veg turned carnivor) was a McDonalds cheese burger.
I can say I was thinner without the meat,and felt better.
I went back to it because I was craving it while prego.

Answer 6

Animals

Answer 7

When I was 13 I was helping my mother cook dinner- sweet and sour pork with rice. I had never thought of being a vegetarian before. I was a hard-core meat-eater. I had to have it every day. I loved meat- it's tasty! But, as I was stir-frying the pork, a lightbulb went off in my head- I began to think of how it was once a living, breathing animal. I suddenly got this feeling that it was barbaric to eat meat. 'Why am I more important than animals?' I thought. I began to realize that helpless animals were being slaughtered just so I can enjoy the taste of their flesh. I had never thought of it that way, and it bothered me so much that I didn't eat the pork with my rice during that dinner and I told my mother that I would never eat meat again. She just laughed. I guess she thought I was just going through a phase, but here I am, 15 years later and have not eaten a speck of meat since that day.

There's a lot of ignorance about vegetarianism, I noticed by some of the answers. I am not remotely pompous (learn to spell it correctly) and, while I believe that it is wrong to eat meat, I don't EVER preach to others about why it's wrong. I even cook meat for my boyfriend every day. I don't talk about my vegetarianism unless other people ask me about it first. Sure, I miss meat once in a while, but there are a lot of delicious meat substitutes. There are soooo many non-meat sources of protein and iron. You don't HAVE to eat meat. Sure, we have a few sharp teeth on our mouths and maybe we evolved that way to be able to eat animal flesh. We had to eat meat way back when there were few other items available for consumption. We also were a lot more barbaric back then. We are constantly evolving, as all living things must do, and we are getting more intelligent. As our intelligence grows, so does our compassion and our strength. It takes a special kind of person to be a true vegetarian for life. It takes a certain blend of compassion, knowledge, and open-mindedness. Famous vegetarians: Einstein, Albert Schweitzer, Edison, George Bernard Shaw, Gandhi, Darwin, Thoreau, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Kafka, William Blake, Immanuel Kant, J.D. Salinger, Lord Byron, Da Vinci, Lord Byron, Plato, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Isaac Newton, Susan B. Anthony, van Gogh, Johnny Cash, Voltaire, H.G. Wells... etc. etc. etc. the list goes on.

For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love. - Pythagoras

Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages. - Thomas Edison

Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet. - Albert Einstein

Answer 8

I became vegetarian because I found out that I guy i liked in college was a vegetarian. It has nothing to do about saving animals and being healthy. I had fun with him. That was 8 years ago. Im 25 now and Im still a vegetarian. I have no regrets being one. Give me some tofu, tempeh and edamame anytime!!!

Answer 9

Our teeth are sharp, made for ripping flesh. Humans are made to eat meat. Plus, meat is very good for you. As long as you don't overdo it.

Believe me, no matter how many pompass idiots become vegetarians, it won't stop animals from being slaughtered every day for food. It won't make one bit of an impact, so don't bother.

Eating nothing but fruits and vegetables is bad for you. Your body needs meat to balance out your overall health.

Answer 10

Being vegetarian has a lower impact on the environment, causes less pain and harm to farm animals and also is a better lifestyle for your health. (goveg.com)