Welcome to Gaia! ::

In the very least, being a vegetarian makes you healthy.
So cudos to you!
And I believe the vegetarian population is growing.

Nevertheless, meat is an important factor in human life and diet.
And it's very tasty XDD!

However, I don't think vegetarianism is a lost cause.
If you don't want to eat meat, then you shouldn't.
You can also look at it this way: there is no such thing as a meatetarian LOLOL!

I've been a vegetarian for 5 years now, and I hope to one day become vegan, so my opinion is biased. wink

I think being vegetarian helps.
To me it's like a boycott of sorts.
like, every dollar not spent on meat that goes towards a soy product in a way encourages that store to keep stocking non-meat options. you know?

They probably will never stop producing meat, but isn't one of the main reasons for going vegetarian 'animal cruelty'? It makes me wonder: if the animal cruelty stopped, would a bunch of vegetarians go back to eating meat?

[[hell, even if they started loving on those animals before they killed them, i dont think i could go back to eating meat]]

P.S tofurkey is amazing heart

That sounds odd. Probably just Garcia effect. :/

Yay for positive thinking!
In that case, I'm sure your efforts haven't been in vain. =D

However, I do have a question.
Is vegetarianism simply for the preservation of life?
If so, then what about the plants?
Are they not living things?
How many plants have to die for one salad?
Plants are also necesary for creating air.
And they make it very slowly.
I wouldn't say that vegetarianism really has any effect on the oxigen in the environment, especially at the rate they're cutting down the rain forests AKA air factories.
I simply ask that you keep the plants in mind as well, because nobody else ever does. =D
It is impossible to eat without killing something; it is the choice of what to kill that makes the difference.
*thinks*
No, I don't think there is anything edible that was not once alive.
Seeds, maybe, but they still have the potential of life.
*knaws on a rock*

all vegetarians are diffrent and they o it for different reasons. i don't like the way the animals were treated when they were alive of after they died. i was also never a big meat eater so i don't see the point in killing something for meat that i don't enjoy it seems like there death was in vain. and finely i feel better physically and about my self when I'm not eating meat.

and plants also don't have a brain so are unable to fel pain and or fear.

And for my actual opinion, in brief, bearing in mind the above post:

1. Humans are omnivores. No one can deny that. We are meant to eat a large variety of foods to stay healthy. That being said, all of the vital macro and micro nutrients that we need to survive can be obtained from plant sources except for one B vitamin (B12) that is only found in meat.

2. Vegetarianism is not always the healthier alternative. However, people who are Vegetarians are more likely to care about their health, or at least to cite it as a reason for their dietary choices. This mentality alone will lead to better lifestyle choices (i.e., not smoking, limited alcohol, exercise, etc.)

3. There are measurable environmental benefits that could be obtained by the mass reduction of meat consumption and/or changes in the way meat is produced not limited to cleaner waters and airs around meat processing plants.

4. Regardless of dietary choices, people should not be consuming vast amounts of processed "foods" that are so altered that they are not recognizable as whole foods any longer. Vegetarian/vegan foods are bought because they are not recognized as the whole foods any longer. However, meat, dairy, cheese, breads even should not be taken apart and put back together according to their sum components; they are more than the sum of their individual parts. I buy soy burgers because they are made of soy; meat that is half soy and half beef from cows raised on artificial growth hormones and seeds that are not their native diet does not count as meat and is not healthy.

5. There are not really enough vegetarians/vegans to do anything about the problems they are standing up for except to raise awareness of the diet as a socially acceptable means of eating.

6. It's natural for animals to eat what's below them in the food chain, which can be plants or animals; plants capture energy using the sun, the animals next in the chain capture their energy and their nutrients, and the next animal captures that animals energy and nutrients. It's being too idealistic to think that it is possible for humans to survive without harming any other living creature.

7. People seem to be able to enjoy a vast majority of diets as long as they choose what they are eating.

8. People are not the sum total of their labels; and corollary to this is that no two people will have the same labels. People will want to eat what they want to eat. I don't eat meat because I don't like it. Other people don't eat it because of animal cruelty, or environmental benefits related to reduced production of animals, or because of various health benefits. The men I know tend to love their steak. No one diet can be best for everyone. Some people may need dairy because without it they become deficient in certain vitamins; others may not be able to digest the sugars in milk and therefore need to abstain from it.

(I can probably write a thesis on this subject, btw biggrin )