Reasons to become one:
Economics - It's just plain cheaper. $3.68/lb for 7% lean beef hamburger, corn is $0.92/lb, beans $0.64/lb. You can easily not be cheaper by buying things such as agave nectar, organic health food ingredients, etc. It only is cheaper if you cook from scratch with whole foods.
Green Concerns - It takes 10 times the amount of crops to feed humans on a meat diet as opposed to feeding them on a vegetarian diet. Up to 18% of greenhouse gases come from livestock production.
Health - Going meatless means less chlorestorol. Meat has injected growth hormones and hydrolyzed injected proteins. Western culture is addicted to protein and many of our illnesses are related to excess protein (and fats, sugar and calories in general). Read The China Study to hear of some compelling studies on the relationship between excess animal protein in our diets and a host of killer diseases, cancer among them. Eating more fruits and vegetables, in itself, brings back balance to missing vitamins and nutrients we are missing.
Religious and Personal views - Kindness to animals is a big reason in the US. The cruelty in chicken production to improve yield involves cutting part of their beaks to keep them from pecking to death chickens in adjacent cages, bone disease so bad that chickens cannot stand and develop burns on their undersides from sitting in their own filth and heart attacks from growth hormone overuse.
Photos here
Hinduism and Buddhism are major religions that promote vegetarianism.
Extinction / Environment - Over fishing to extinction is one reason to give up eating fish. On average, 80% of soy/corn/grain production goes to meat production. 50% of US water and 80% of land use is tied up in meat production in the US. The livestock sector is in the top 2-3 contributors of environmetal issues.
Factoid:
There is a learning curve in understanding how to combine protein types in your vegetarian diet to make a healthy combination. No single vegetable type has all that is needed to make a complete protein cocktail (combining maize and beans is a good good example of complimentary vegetable proteins).
Types of Vegetarians:
1. Those who still eats fish and eggs and cheese - ovulo-lacto vegetarians
2. Those who still eat milk and cheese only -lacto vegetarians - WARNING: Cheese may have meat additives injected in them so check the label. Eggs are a common ingredient in most baked goods.
3. Those who eat no meat, fish, eggs, dairy of any type, honey - commonly called Vegans. Vegans need to suppliment B-12 and possibly Lycine amino acids and Omega-3 fats with non-food sources.
Misc facts:
Man is technically an omnivore but has characteristics closer to herbivores (majority of teeth are blunt, longer intestinal tract). By contrast, cows have multiple stomachs and no incisors. Cats have short intestinal tracts and almost all incisors and by nature are carnivores. An eloquent quote on this is given below:
From http://www.indianvegan.com/faq.php
"Some animals are herbivores and some animals are carnivores and yet others are omnivores. Because of our anatomy and the structure of our digestive system we are not omnivores as is commonly believed, but herbivores. To explain it simply, unlike an omnivore, we’re unable to kill, tear apart, and devour the animals that we eat, with our own anatomy. Nor do we eat the whole animal, as do carnivores or omnivores. We take off the skin, then, we take out the bones and then hack it, cook it and eat it. An omnivore does not need to do this, and will eat its prey from head to tail, hair and all. Nature is not usually wasteful."
My only counterpoint is that eating grubs from under rocks or beetles or ants or wild bird eggs, as is common in primitive cultures or in survival classes, still would fit inside our anatomical capabilities.
A much better counterpoint can be found here: Dr. John McArdle's talk on Vegetarian Resource Group
Two thirds of vegetarians in the US are women.
3% of the US population are vegetarian.
0.5% of the US poulation are pure vegan.
40% of the population of India are vegetarian. Hindu culture allows for eating diary products. There is a smaller portion of pure vegans in India than in the US or Great Britain.
Vegetarian diets are often tied to interests in health food. Since many food additives now have animal protein matter, this seems prudent.
Links to Vegetarian Websites:
Vegetarian Times
Vegetarian Resource Group
Veg Source
USDA Vegetarian Resources
The Vegetarian Society
Shattering the Meat Myth - Huntington Times
Best Vegan Blog List - Happy Healthy Life Site
