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Why Be a Vegetarian?
There are a number of reasons that people choose vegetarianism. The
main reasons can be summarized into health, ethical, and
environmental concerns, explained below, as well as
religious and cultural reasons.
| 1. |
Health Reasons for Vegetarianism |
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The most common reason for vegetarianism is for better health.
A well-balanced vegetarian diet is very healthy, and can help to
prevent/control a number of health problems, including
- High cholesterol
- Obesity
- Diabetes
Note, however, that vegetarianism is not fool-proof. A
decision to stop eating meat will not automatically give you
good health; you need to plan your meals and eat a wide variety of the foods
included in your type of vegetarianism.
More information:
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| 2. |
Ethical Reasons for Vegetarianism |
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Some vegetarians believe that it is unnecessary and/or cruel
to raise animals for food. There are two parts to this belief:
- Eating animals is wrong.
- Animals raised for food are treated poorly.*
Ethical vegetarianism can be based on either or both of the
above beliefs.
Examples of questionable treatment:
- Boiled alive: Lobster and other shellfish are not killed before
they are cooked.
- Confinement and starvation: New-born calves are locked in crates,
not allowed to move, and underfed
until they are slaughtered and served as veal.
- Hormones: Cows are fed growth hormones so that they
produce more milk.
- Factory farming: Chickens are packed so tightly into cages
that they can barely move. Excrement falls through the
stacked cages onto chickens below.
*Those concerned about the latter may be semi-vegetarians,
choosing to eat free-range chicken and other humanely-treated animals
if and when they are available.
More information:
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| 3. |
Environmental Reasons for Vegetarianism |
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Raising animals for food wastes resources, because food gives up only part of its energy to the eater.
When chickens eat grain, they get part of its energy. When
humans eat chicken, they get only a part of the energy that the
chicken got from the grain. By cutting out the "middle
chicken" and eating the grain directly, humans get more
energy, and more people can get fed.
Land produces much
more food when used for farming rather than grazing.
Other problems caused by raising animals for food:
- Methane gas, a cause of the greenhouse effect,
is produced by cows and other animals.
- Animals contribute to water, air, and land pollution.
- Grazing leads to a loss of topsoil.
More information:
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Religious and cultural reasons for vegetarianism are discussed in my article Who
are vegetarians?
Why
are you a vegetarian? Back to the FAQ
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