What are the reasons to become a vegetarian?

Question

or what are the reasons against being one

Answer 1

The reasons for:

1) Health--veg*ans tend to have lower rates of heart disease, cancer, obesity, diabetes, and other diseases of affluence. Not that there aren't obese vegans out there, but they're less likely than omnivores. Check out www.vrg.org

2) Environment--meat production takes a great toll on the environment, wasting resources, contaminating the water, and--according to the UN--contributing more to global warming than automobiles. Google "vegan diet global warming" for more information.

3) Animal rights. The animals bred and raised for meat, dairy, and eggs, are treated horribly from birth to death. They are pumped up with hormones and antibiotics, crammed into crowded cages and barns, trucked long miles to slaughterhouses where speed trumps all, and the animals are brutalized to the death. Check out www.cok.net for more information on that.

The reasons against amount to propaganda from the meat, dairy, and egg industries. People won't become veg because "I like meat too much." They are what author Carol J. Adams calls "blocked," and that blocking force if pretty powerful.

Answer 2

I am a vegetarian because of animal rights. I have loved animals all my life, and last year I saw a video about slaughterhouses...from then on, I have been a vegetarian. I can't stand the thought of eating something that came from a living thing, that was killed inhumanely. =D

Some people are against vegetarianism because they think they can't live without meat, or that you aren't saving any lives, or that you won't get enough protein in your diet.

But...I respect my friends and family who eat meat, and they respect me not to.

Answer 3

Being an ovo, lacto, pollo, or pesco vegetarian is very healthy. The nutters on here will say that's not vegetarian, but then again they are nutters. It's very healthy diet. Not restricting and you can have a life without foraging for food all the time.

Avoid being a vegan. Unless you want to be a social leper and spend your life foraging for food, reading labels and becoming neurotic over anything and everything.

Answer 4

It is a personal choice, it is entirely up to you to decide, you should not allow anyone to influence your decision. You must weigh up the pros and cons on both sides and then decide which path you are most comfortable with. As an omnivore I would not try to persuade you either way (although you may find the vegetarians more vehement in their persuaviseness).

I have just read the answer from ALFyakuza, now you see what I mean about persuasion. This contributor is trying to make you feel guilty if you eat ANY animal products (including milk, eggs etc.). Please remember, it is YOUR decision, do not allow yourself to be bullied either way.

Answer 5

The truth of the matter regardless of how many people try to sway this debate for personal interest is that both diets can be healthy. The fact of the matter is though that not all necessary vitamins and minerals can be obtained in a strict vegan diet but they can be obtained from meat alone.

A major problem with most studies is that the omnivore group used in the study is on the typical western fast food diet, or eating a majority of their meat from feedlot/megafarms. Both sources of meat are bad. The fact is that studies have shown that people eating naturally raised beef, chicken and pork or wild game are in very good health and live longer.

Each diet has its disadvantages but either one can be a healthy choice for MOST people.

Omnivores have a big disadvantage in finding good quality meat. This is becoming less of a problem as more people are becoming aware of the totally unethical practices of the food giants and more farmers markets are opening. Hunting is another way to source excellent meat. The big problem most meat eater have is staying away from the fast food places.

Vegans have a big disadvantage when it comes to menu planning. They have to pay much much more attention to what they eat to ensure they get all the nutrients they need. If they don't eat dairy or eggs then it becomes even more difficult. The biggest problems found in most vegan diets are B-12, iron, Vitamin D and amino acid deficiencies. All of them are most easily found in meat and in more digestible forms. These can be found in a few particular plants or supplements of course but in less digestible forms.

So really you have to ask yourself is which one is most easily followed based on your location and do you have any morale issues with eating meat.

I will say one thing here that will probably cause some to thumbs down me, but from all I have read it is not wise at all to raise kids as vegans. There is enough credible research out there to show that given kids eating habits that it is practically impossible to feed them a strict vegan diet without impairing their growth. I wouldn't do it because my child's health would be monumentally more important to me than any morale dilemma I was facing. A diet deficiency in a infant or young child is devastating and has lasting consequences.

Soy has been proven to have a negative impact on the maturing of boys and lowering of fertility in men in general. Studies on soy are highly skewed and a lot are backed by Agribusiness with huge financial stakes in having a positive outcome. Regardless there is enough out there that should make anyone skeptical of eating too much soy.


Several people that have answered above me fit this description
"One can spot ideologic vegetarians by their exaggerations of the benefits of vegetarianism, their lack of skepticism, and their failure to recognize (or their glossing over of) the potential risks even of extreme vegetarian diets. Ideologic vegetarians make a pretense of being scientific, but they approach the subject of vegetarianism more like lawyers than scientists." excerpt from one of the below sites.

Here are a couple of good sites for a balanced look at this issue

http://www.acsh.org/healthissues/newsID.760/healthissue_detail.asp

http://www.handbag.com/healthfit/diet/veggievsmeat/

http://www.mercola.com/article/diet/bible_diet.htm

http://www.mercola.com/article/diet/former_vegan.htm

Answer 6

To exclude yourself from the meat industry and stop sponsoring pain, cruelty, torture and death is a good set of reasons to skip meat.

There are no reasons against being vegetarian. People come up with lots of excuses, but no real reasons.

Being veggie allows you to live a perfectly healthy and fit life. why kill animals when its not necessary ?

and, of course, not being part of the same group as Batman is a good reason - so many cliches in such a short answer !

...and don't forget to all "abuse report" ALFyakuza's answer. Most of us are just about sick of that cut and paste standard answer we see every day.

Answer 7

A life style.

Sometimes because of faith to some kinda GOD or a promise to yourself.

As to me ,meat is too expensive,becoming a vegetarian is a wisdom choice,despit,it seems a little of hard to me!

BY the way,like Phebe in Friends says:"I never eat the food has a face!"

Answer 8

the only reason to become a vegetarian is maybe if ur in some weird religion. other than that there is no logical reason. it dont reduce gas no matter what u eat itll still be made. its not healthier the human body is meant to eat both. at the same time its not healthy for a human to eat only meat. u have herbivores;carnivores and omnivores. humans are omnivores for humans to live a true healthy life u got to have a balance of both plus exercise. the one answer is rite blood does stink but heck who goes around drinking blood anyway.lol thats why most vegetarians are hypocrits. they will eat fish;chicken;seafood;cheese and drink milk
milk and cheese are animal products of course. and poultry and seafood are still meats

Answer 9

Because the way that animals are killed is cruel and inhuman, and not to talk about animals being use for fur coats etc by people like jennifer lopez...

Answer 10

Most of the time it is simply that people want to make a statement, either that they dont like eating things that 'were once alive' (though vegetables were alive once too) like putting something that had probably eaten grass all its life, into their mouth. Other times its just that kind of look they go for, that 'hey im a vegetarian, im special' attitude, no offence vegetarians out there. Its like going Goth, except with vegies =)