Why are YOU a vegetarian/vegan?

Question

I'm not veggie, but I want to know why YOU are vegetarian/vegan (If you are one). The best explanation gets 10pts

Answer 1

I'm not one. The food chain is part of life. Animals eat other animals, it's nature. If we didn't have the food chain we'd all die.

Answer 2

As a child I could observe that there was some kind of love reciprocation between me and animals.

I noticed that animals seemed more intelligent than we often gave them credit.

I also noticed that eating meat was sometimes gross, costly and problematic. For instance, meat was difficult to cut up. It was difficult to keep from swallowing a bone and so on.

When my mother died from cancer I told my friends I was going to become a vegetarian. I did not become really serious about vegetarianism until I ran away from home and college to join the Hare Krsna Temple in the winter of 75.

I now find both material and spiritual reasons for remaining vegetarian. I believe animals have a soul though their intelligence may be covered. I believe have feelings and some capacity for love.

Materially there are also statistical issues. The production fo meat products is a strain on the earth's resources.

Another health issue: protein for meat is not always best for the body.

Also, spiritually, we are advised in bhakti yoga practice, to give up eating all meat, fish and eggs.

Answer 3

It is for ethical reasons. When I got my dog and saw how sentient she is it really made me start thinking about other kinds of animals, too. I have been a vegetarian for about 6 yrs. I do not believe that animals were given to us to be treated in the way that they are today. And the way they are farmed makes eating meat really unhealthy because of all the antibiotics and hormones they use in factory farming. It is quite easy to be a vegetarian. People don't need as much protein as Americans eat, anyway.

Answer 4

I am a vegetarian because I dislike the idea of eating dead animal.
To be completely honest, I started my vegetarian diet two years ago because it was something a little different than the rest of my classmates, and I had read that, on average, vegetarians are far slimmer than people who eat meat. By being a vegetarian, one consumes far less food than someone who eats meat. (The animal has to be raised, being fed grain and such. The conversion from pounds of grain to pounds of meat is incredibly wasteful. If everyone were to follow a vegetarian diet, there would be far less famine and hunger- in theory).
Now I've found that even the thought of meat is enough to turn my stomach, and the smell and taste make me physically ill. This is unfortunate, because on one or two occasions I've found myself in predicaments where I've accidentally consumed a soup made from chicken or beef broth, or something cooked with meat. None of these situations ended in my favor.
However, if you're considering trying a vegetarian diet, I highly recommend it. Just make sure that you take vitamins and get all of the protein that you need. And make sure to check at restaurants to see what they're cooking with.

Answer 5

What they do in factory farms was enough to convince me to go vegetarian, then vegan. (see http://www.atourhands.com/miscfood.html and http://www.goveg.com/vegetarian101.asp ). Then there's the environment (" America's meat addiction is poisoning and depleting our potable water, arable land, and clean air. More than half of the water used in the United States today goes to animal agriculture, and since farmed animals produce 130 times more excrement than the human population, the run-off from their waste is fouling our waterways." -goveg.com), and of course the health benefits. Did you know animal products are the ONLY source of cholesterol (of co use your body makes it too, but a vegetarian diet is significantly lower in "the bad" fat than carnivorous)? High cholesterol causes heart disease and strokes. A carnivorous diet is also more likely to lead to strokes, obesity, osteoporosis, arthritis, Alzheimer's, multiple allergies, diabetes, and food poisoning.
So basically, all three of the most popular reasons, but I probably wouldn't be vegan right now if it weren't for the animal abuse. There are people who say that's what animals are meant for. It's a popular opinion. Personally, I disagree ("The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men." -Alice Walker), but even if you do believe it, the cruelty (see the atourhands link above) involved in our farming of them is completely unnecessary.
See goveg.com, the second link, for more information.

Answer 6

I'm not really. I eat vegetarian because of my mother and step father, plus the cost of meat. And the fact that too much of it, isn't good for you. I do, however, eat meat- I'm picky about what kind, though. I've never been a vegan, and don't plan to become one.

Answer 7

I was a vegan for over 15 yrs, thought it was healthy, in some people it is quite the opposite, important to have an excellent Dr.
had major heart attack and surgery before I was 40. Balance is the key. Just one adventure in my journey of life

Answer 8

First of all...I was born into it by Jainism...but I'm guessing I would have chosen to be vegetarian anyways. It is plain cruel to eat animals. I mean would you think of killing your pet dog and eating it? I don't think so. I mean the animals have a life too and they should have the right to be able to live just as much as you do. Also if you know how they kill the animals you would never think of it again. They butcher the cows illegally as well.

Answer 9

I can't stand the thought of eating something that has a face and feelings. I also can't stand the way animals are treated/raised to become our food. Also, it's not energy efficient to eat meat. The gas and byproducts produced by factory farms pollutes the environment.

Answer 10

i am a vegetarian for two reasons:
a) i have never really liked the taste or texture of any type of meat nor have i been tempted to try it.
b) after all the things i have seen and read about on how badly they (slaughter house people and people who raise animals for food) treat the animals and the attitude many people have towards animals, i consider it wrong to support such an inhumane practice.