Good Reasons to be a Vegetarian

Hi All,

I've been making some efforts to improve my health and lose some weight, and a lot of what I've been doing goes along with being a vegetarian. I rarely eat meat (and when I say "meat" I'm including fish), but I do eat dairy and egg products. I don't call myself a vegetarian, mostly so I won't tick off those who never eat meat or those who eat no animal products at all. I do say I follow a ovo-lacto vegetarian diet 99% of the time, and for some very good reasons.

1) I love animals. I'm not going to get into the many reasons of why a vegetarian diet is humane. The story of how farm animals are treated is horrifying and depressing. If you're an animal lover, I don't have to convince you. And if you aren't, nothing I say will change your mind. My hope is that many of the other good reasons for vegetarian eating will encourage you to reduce your meat consumption. In the end, it's a winning situation for everyone.

2) A vegetarian diet makes far better use of our natural resources than does meat production. I forget the exact statistics (will get those later), but it takes several acres of vegetable crops to produce a pound of meat. Yet, those acres of vegetable crops could be combined to create a complete, low-fat protein and feed hundreds in a meal while the pound of meat would feed, maybe, two or three people. There's also the questionable use of hormones and antibotics in the meat we're eating.

3) You would actually have to work to make a veggie diet higher in fat and lower in fiber and nutrients than a meat-based meal, although it can be done if one overdoes it with dairy, eggs and oils. Most people lose weight when they switch to this way of eating. There will be lots and lots more about this later. ;-)

Also, you'll naturally be eating more fruits and vegetables with this diet, so you'll be increasing the nutrients in your diet every day.

4) You'll save money! No really. And it will be easy. Obviously, I haven't priced a lot of meat lately, but a can of beans or a pound of tofu is roughly 1/4 the price of a pound of high quality ground beef.

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Now, personally, I've never been able to make a drastic change overnight, and switching to a vegetarian diet can be a big change - especially if you cook for people who will also need some convincing. Baby steps, Grasshoppa.