Become A Vegetarian

There are many people who have considered becoming vegetarian for one reason or another. They may have seen a television program demonstrating that man's compassion stops at the door of the animal kingdom! They might have thought that if they were vegetarian it could help to alleviate the problem. They might ask themselves what possible difference one extra vegetarian could make, forget about the TV program, and even wish they had switched it off!

So, if you really set your mind to it, what would be your reason for becoming vegetarian? Would you become vegetarian to:

1) Improve Your Health?

2) Reduce Cruelty to Animals?

3) Improve the Environment?

4) All Three of the Above?

The medical evidence to support the fact that meat is bad for you is overwhelming. There are healthy vegetarian dishes that will more than compensate for the meat that is alien to a vegetarian diet.

Vegetarians are less likely to get heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, or diabetes.

Vegetarians are much less likely to be overweight, or clinically obese.

Vegetarians do not ingest the germs carried by dead animals, or remnants of the drugs that were perversely used to keep them alive.

There have been food scandals in many countries, but the bigger scandal is when they are hushed up. There was a British Health Minister, who was forced to resign and discredited, for telling the truth about eggs and salmonella. Can't really say whether the good lady is vegetarian or not! However, it's not just the eggs that may cause disease, but the chickens themselves. We are advised not to allow them to come into contact with other foods, for fear of cross contamination. Vegetarians don't buy the chickens, so they don't run the risk.

There was another outcry in the UK when cattle was infected with CJD. It is a deadly, incurable disease that destroys brain cells, and ultimately results in an untimely and lingering death. Although much of the cattle was culled, or killed to put it more bluntly, people are still dying from the disease. Fortunately, it seems that the epidemic that could have occurred has not happened, but how long will it be before a new disease arrives or an old one re-emerges? Of course there is a way to protect yourself. Just become a vegetarian!

More recently it has been demonstrated, on national television, that there is an even greater issue threatening the nation from imported chicken, which may cause a drug resistant strain of E. Coli. It seems that there may be many of these imported birds that find their way into supermarket products. Of course it would be convenient to blame all our ills on "foreigners", but it is not that long ago that there was a threat from bird flu, because of the failure of a company to uphold the necessary standards. Of course there is a way to protect yourself. Just become a vegetarian!

There are more reasons for becoming a vegetarian than protecting yourself from disease. What about the animals themselves? Were we really put on this earth to cram chickens into wire cages, with no room to move about? Then debeak them, to stop them pecking each other, and fill them full of drugs, to try to stop them from getting diseases, from the filthy conditions imposed upon them.

Vegetarians know that it's not just chickens, but many other animals that are subjected to the horrors of factory farming. We can be thankful to the oft-criticized media, because they do sometimes draw attention to these matters, and highlight problems that governments would seem to prefer to cover up.

There has been much publicity given to global warming, which is undoubtedly of serious concern, as much to vegetarians as anybody else. However, it is not generally realized that animal waste is a substantial factor. It has been reported that US livestock produce 250,000 pounds of waste per second. That is twenty times as much as humans. The waste is a gaseous substance, adding to the methane passing into the air from both ends of farm animals. Of course if more people were vegetarian, less animals would be required. It is clear that there are environmental reasons - as well as humane reasons - as well as health reasons for becoming a vegetarian.

The more people who become vegetarian, the healthier they will become, in addition to helping our planet. Many people have considered becoming vegetarian, but have found it hard to break their meat eating habit. So, the next time there is a program on the TV, dealing with factory farming, animal welfare, or meat-induced illnesses, make a point of looking in. Record the program and use it as a prop to help you break the meat habit. It is so easy to mean to do something really worthwhile, and then forget it, but a rerun of a horror story might be all that is needed to consolidate your best intentions.

For your health's sake, For the planet's sake, For the animal's sake - Become a Vegetarian.

Richard Wise writes articles on natural health, aromatherapy, herbal remedies, antioxidants, allergies and vegetarianism. If you require to know about vegetarians please visit his web site http://www.vegetarianismonline.com which includes information concerning Why Become a Vegetarian and related vegetarian issues. This article is not intended to serve as a medical source of information. Please use your own judgement with regard to whether a vegetarian lifestyle is suitable for you. To be sure please undertake further research on your own. Anyone unsure about taking a particular food or preparation, be it vegetarian or otherwise, should seek the advice of their doctor, or other suitably qualified professional person.

The author cannot accept any liability whatsoever, for any consequences arising from or thought to be arising from using this article.

My Links : kitchenaid 10 piece cookware set all clad master chef 2 6 quart saute pan all clad stainless steel 10 piece cookware set