Why go vegetarian?

I have updated my blog today with a new article. It is about the benefits of being vegetarian and why people go on vegetarian diet.

Vegetarians have lower rates of breast, uterine, ovarian, colon, and some forms of cancers. They have reduced risk of obesity and tend to have a lower risk of coronary disease. They live longer, healthier lives. But how did they come to the decision of embracing a meatless lifestyle? Why go vegetarian?

Most vegetarians cite health reasons as their motivating factor to go for a vegetarian diet. People who eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables suffer less from colon cancer and reduce their chances of having a stroke, developing diabetes, constipation, varicose veins, obesity and piles.

Many said they gave up meat because they thought it was ethically wrong to eat animals. Factory farmed animals are given chemicals so they will grow to unnatural sizes very quickly and antibiotics to keep them alive in the filthy unhealthy conditions in which they live. Most animals are slaughtered in ways so inhumane, it would make humans sick to see it. They are often hung upside-down, skinned or even boiled while fully conscious. If people knew what happened to their food before it reached their plate, they probably wouldn't even think of eating it.

Others cited environmental factors in their decision to become vegetarian. Forests are cut down to provide food and grazing land for meat animals, destroying the eco-system which causes death to the native creatures inhabiting that land.

Personally I became vegetarian years ago when I went with a weight loss diet. Vegetarian foods tasted as good and appealed to my picky taste as well. I read a lot of books and magazines about vegetarianism, and as my knowledge about the practice grew so was my intention to become one. For me, it's more for a health reason.

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