Vegetarianism is a good idea for anyone, whether young or old, healthy or sick.

Reasons supporting
vegetarianism are inarguable since becoming a vegetarian is scientifically proven to improve one's
lifestyle in several different ways. First and most importantly to many, vegetarianism improves one's
health tremendously. Secondly, it can improve or display one's spirituality and beliefs. Another
reason for changing to a vegetarian lifestyle that most people don't know is for the ecology and our
surroundings. All of the above reasons and many more show that vegetarianism is a wonderful
enhancement to anyone's overall life.
Health should be a considerable priority in every individual's life and vegetarians are proven to be
healthier than carnivorous humans in various ways. First, medical studies show that a human being's
body was not made to be carnivorous (for example; humans have no fang s or claws) and because
are digestive system was not made to digest meat, a vegetarian diet is much easier and healthier for
our bodies. Secondly, as known around the world, the most common cause of death is heart attack
and the average man is at a 50% risk while a vegetarian man is at a 4% risk. Another fact most don't
think about is that every one out of three chickens is infected with salmonella bacteria. Speaking of
bacteria and disease, the U.S. Department of Agriculture implies that it protects meat-eaters
through regular and thorough meat inspection while in reality, fewer than one out of every 250,000
slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues. As a matter of fact, breast milk of a meateating mother versus a non meat-eating mother is 35 times higher for contamination of milk due to
pesticides found in meat. Vegetarianism also prevents cancer by 50%, and prevents heart disease,
lowering blood pressure, gallstones, kidney stones, osteoporosis and can even reverses diabetes.
Health
There are many real health advantages of being a vegetarian. Over recent years the impact of meat
in our diets has been studied and researched. Some people will say that it is unnatural for humans to
eat meat, others will say that it is a totally natural process. What is certain, however, is the modern
meat-eaters diet includes a greater proportion of meat than that of our ancestors. This increase can
cause health problems for a variety of reasons.
Meat can be difficult to digest. The fats are unhealthy. Meat can contribute to high cholesterol
levels. Some cancers such as bowel cancer are more prevalent in meat eaters.
In contrast, a vegetarian diet is typically high in fiber and rich in vitamins and minerals, which is
important to a healthy diet.
Animal Welfare
No animal is harmed in order to feed or clothe a vegetarian. As less people eat meat, there is a
reduced requirement for the farming of livestock for meat. This means less need for intensive
farming methods. As more people become vegetarian, farming and the meat production industry
will change.
Environmental Issues
A vegetarian lifestyle will help address some key environmental concerns. In an interview with PETA,
Sir Paul McCartney says about turning vegetarian, "That is a simple but extremely effective step that
many people could take to help the environment and improve their own health at the same time".

Real environmental benefits can be realized by people reducing their consumption of meat or
becoming a vegetarian. The GoVeg website quotes Environmental Defense that reports that "if every
American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetarian foods instead, the
carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than a half-million cars off U.S. roads".

Vegetarianism has become the most popular diet among the young generations facing the new
millennium. This discipline eliminates the intake of meat and in some cases also the consumption of
dairy products and eggs. Are there enough reasons to make you change your eating habits? My
purpose is to prove that vegetarianism is the diet that offers more benefits to our health, spirit, and
society.
Nowadays, health is the number one individual and governmental concern. Health is a fragile factor,
and its behavior relays mostly on the nutritional quality of the food we ingest. A balanced nonvegetarian diet allows the consumption of all four main food groups including meat and other
animal by-products that are important protein and fat sources. Most of us consume more proteins
and fats than we need. An excess of proteins can cause kidney failure and/or osteoporosis, and a
high-fat diet can eventually lead to heart disease, cancer, obesity, and diabetes. On the other hand,
vegetarians get protein from grains, beans, vegetables, and low-fat food. This is how they reduce the
risk of most diseases caused by fats. It is a myth to believe that vegetarians don't get enough
proteins or that their diet is not balanced because they don't eat meat. The key is variety and
accurate combinations of energy and protein sources.
If I were asked to describe a vegetarian, I would immediately mention they are very disciplined
people. It has been proved that there exists a remarkable correlation between the people who
succeed and people who follow a disciplined lifestyle. People who are faithful to the disciplines they
have acquired show integrity, a remarkable behavior, and they are usually in a good mood.
Vegetarians, always concerned about quality and discipline, develop a greater social responsibility
that motivates them to improve their environment.
Moreover, environmental issues have been capturing public attention because of their relevancy
and increasing deterioration of our quality of life. If you are concerned about the environment,
consider that massive meat production can have a negative impact on tropical rain forests, soil
stability, and air and water quality. Large extensions of forests have been cut and changed into
grasslands that provide cattle with food. To conserve grasslands, fertilizers and other chemical
substances are used; consequently, soil and water resources are polluted. Even though there are
methods that avoid this kind of deterioration, producers prefer to ignore them so they can keep
satisfying the increasing meat demand without affecting their production rates.
Vegetarians' life spans are increased and through this discipline they learn to live quality in all the
possible aspects. Besides, their beliefs are congruent with their lifestyle and they take responsibility
and action for problems within their own bodies and in their surroundings. Take a look at yourself. Is
your health at risk? Have you been able to reach your goals? Are you a factor of change and
improvement within your society? You must at least try becoming a vegetarian now that you know it
is a tempting challenge and an exciting experiment that has advantages and no risks. Do it for your
body, for your lifestyle, or for your environment, but do it. Stop letting others have all the credit, the
fun, and the quality.

1. We dont need to eat animals to survive

Unlike many other animals who kill for their food, humans can survive on a completely plant based
diet. Were not living in the dark ages anymore. Our understanding has evolved and in the process
we have come to learn that eating animals is no longer the necessity we once believed it to be.
Research has proven that plants contain all the vitamins and nutrients that the human body needs to
thrive.
2. We are creating emotional pain and suffering for the animals
The animals we slaughter for food are extremely intelligent and sensitive creatures, and the way in
which we treat them, regardless of whether the meat is factory farmed, free range or organic, is
abhorrently cruel. From stealing their babies from them at birth to keeping them locked in
confinement and denying them their natural behaviors, our actions cause animals immense
emotional pain and suffering.
Societies in which no meat or fish are eaten are rare and usually exist through necessity (e.g. due to
poverty) rather than choice. However, in many Western societies voluntary vegetarianism is on the
increase which raises the questions; should we stop eating other animals or is meat an essential part
of the human diet? The question of whether vegan-ism is morally right is also to be considered as it
is a growing view in Western societies.
The main reason for people choosing to become vegetarian is to reduce the suffering of innocent
animals. It is felt that farm animals such as sheep, pigs, cows, and chickens etc. are sensitive
creatures like us - they feel pleasure and pain as humans do. Is it therefore wrong to cause them
pain when we are able to farm crops and don't require their meat? Should these animals have equal
rights to life as humans? The quality of the animals life is also greatly reduced to lessen the cost of
raising them. Often the animal is farmed in barbaric and cruel conditions - even on some 'free range'
farms. In many countries animals are not even covered by the most basic of animal welfare laws and
so are abused in harsh ways.
On the other hand, it is arguable that eating meat doesn't necessarily mean cruelty to animals. There
are an increasing number of organic and free-range farms that can provide meat without causing
them harm during the animals lives. Perhaps it is a better idea to ask for an extension of animal
welfare laws to protect farm animals rather than eradicating meat from your diet as it does not
mean that eating meat, in principle, is wrong.
Vegetarians also argue that, as humans are omnivores we are able to choose whether to eat meat,
vegetables or both. Men may be 'naturally' violent hunters of animals but that does not, in itself,
make meat eating right. Humans are also 'naturally' violent towards on another but that doesn't
make murder right. Many natural traits are immoral an should be restrained in favour of a just
society. Apes, the creature most similar to ourselves, for example are herbivores. Why can't we be?

However, human beings have evolved to eat meat, with sharp canine teeth for tearing animal flesh
and digestive systems adapted to eating meat and fish as well as fruit and vegetables. Modern
'squeamishness' about eating meat and fish is the convention of a wasteful society, which gets in the
way of our natural instincts and physiology. We were made to eat both meat and vegetables (/fruit)
- cutting out half of this diet will inevitably mean we lose that natural balance which has formed over
the course of our evolution and adaptation.
Becoming a vegetarian is an environmentally friendly thing to do. Farming is a major source of
pollution in rivers today. Beef farming is one of the main causes of deforestation and, as long as
people continue to buy fast food in their billions, we will be financially motivated to continue cutting
down trees to make room for cattle. Also, our desire to eat fish means our rivers and seas are being
drained of fish and many species are nearing extinction. Finally, energy resources are used up much
more greedily by meat farming than by crop farming. Eating meat and fish not only causes cruelty to
animals, it causes serious harm to the environment.
Conversely these problems would still exist without meat farming. Deforestation has been growing
for centuries as human civilisations expand, but can now be counteracted by planting sustainable
forests. There are many worse sources of pollution than farmers, and furthermore crop farmers also
use nitrates, pesticides, and fertilisers, which damage the environment so it is not right to blame
only meat farmers. Lastly the energy crisis is global and so any solution must come from the efficient
use of natural resources and the development of alternative sources of energy. Meat farmers are
only a drop in the ocean.
In conclusion, although vegetarianism has some benefits, they do not outweigh the human instinct
and desire to consume meat. Meat farming does affect the environment but not significantly more
than crop farming and many other pollutants have a much greater effect on the atmosphere.
Deforestation i more often affected by human desire and greed than it is by farming. Animal
suffering is the only real persuasive argument, but even than coule be solved if stricter regulations
were put in place world wide, but the question of who would enforce these regulations and how it is
brought into the equation and, in all honesty, it would be extremely difficult to control the
treatment of farm animals globally. Therefore I believe vegetarianism should be a personal choice
and should neither be forced upon people nor scorned by others.