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I became a vegetarian about 5 or 6 years ago. It was more of a gradual decision, frankly made with a "why not?" attitude more than anything. I'd never been very interested in meat, and what little I ate was pretty much just the most unhealthy forms of poultry and fish. Only when I'd stopped did I find more reasons to solidify my decision: the details of the creatures living, suffering, and dying in wretched conditions (at least in the country I am living in)... the environmental factors... health risks... etc. It starts off badly in the factory farms themselves, and the suffering just spreads outward from there, with a variety of negative effects. So despite it being a rather passive choice at the beginning, I feel now that the reasons for me to become a vegetarian were far greater than any reason to have continued eating meat. In my case, I really had none for the latter, so I figured, why do it? sweatdrop

That line, Kagerou Osajima: "I avoid eating animals I wouldn't have the conscience to kill myself." It really interests me. More food for thought, no pun intended. smile

Not to bash vegetarians or anything but we as humans are omnivores (sp) which means we are meant to eat both plants and animals. To deny ourself one or the other would go against our nature. Humans are just animals and some animals eat other animals. It's the way of nature.

Now I can see why some people choose not to eat meat because it destroys animal life. The problem is that plants are living things too (and in my personal belief, are spiritually higher than animals). So no matter what we eat we are taking the life of another but we have to eat none the less.

I wan't to be vegetarian however making to complete transition all at once is firstly unhealthy and secondly expensive I do pray for the life(ves) that it took to continue my own. I don't believe in hunting at all so venison is out of the question though I assume the same applies to fish but for some reason the ame stigma does not surround fish for me anyways.

There's also a healthy side to this.
If you cut down on meat.. or abandon it all together, you don't have to worry so much about all the diseases being ranted about in the media. Mad cow.. which also occurs in deer and the like... or bird flu. Though I do eat seafood, I do admit it does raise the risk of mercury poisoning slightly because of the damage humans are doing to the environment with their burning of coal and illegal dumping. I guess.. when you look at it that way.. it does feel a bit like karma.

I don't eat meat, but I do eat seafood. I swore off meat long before I knew anytthing about Buddhism when I learned how badly factory-farm animals were treated from the time they were born until the end of their unfortunate lives when they were finally slaughtered. I can't animal abuse for any reason, and after learning what I did I couldn't in good conscience continue to support the meat industry. So the meat had to go. I do occasionally missed the taste of ham when it's served on Thanksgiving dinner, but for the most part I haven't really missed the meat much.

Right now I am not a vegetarian, but I am considering it as an option. However, I think that humans eating animals is like the circle of life. I do believe that for one thing to survive, another has to die. You could take it down to the basic molecules, that when you breathe you take apart the molecules into oxygen. That isn't exactly like killing, but you get my point.

In addition, I find it strange that people underestimate the value of plants, and I believe that they have a spiritual enlightenment about them. I have great respect for them, and would feel bad if I ate so many of them and not as many animals. One of my teachers was saying that broccoli screams, in a way: that when you break off a peice of it, it emits a chemical that tells the other broccoli in the area that there is a predator there. Sadly, they can't run, but it does act like a scream to warn them.

Now, I try and say a little prayer of sorts before I eat meat, thanking the animal that it came from for giving up its life to feed me. I'm bad and usually forget, but I am trying to get better.

That's foreboding. domokun