Question:
Being a vegetarian is better for your body, for the animals, and for the environment than a meat-eating diet. It’s true! A vegetarian diet is just better all around. Here are some facts from the book A Teen’s Guide to Going Vegetarian by Judy Krizmanic:

Body

·Vegetarians are at a lower risk for heart disease.

·Vegetarians are less likely to get certain types of cancer.

·Vegetarians are at a lower risk for other types of illnesses too!

·A vegetarian diet can give you more energy.

·A vegetarian diet can help you lose weight and build more muscle.

·A vegetarian diet can also improve your skin!

Animals

·In this country, more than 6 billion animals are slaughtered for food every year.

·About 90% of the animals raised for food in this country are raised in confinement. The animals are crowed into pens, cages, and tanks that are too small for them.

·Animal factory farmers try to make the poor creatures grow faster by feeding them antibiotics and hormones.

·Plus many other horrifying things…

Environment

·About 45% of the land in the continental U.S. is used for meat production. It’s all used to grow grain to feed the animals.

·About 40% of the world’s grain supply is fed to livestock. In the U.S. it’s even more. 70% of the grain grown in this country is to feed the livestock.

·The reason for these high numbers, is that it takes at least: 7 pounds of grain to make 1 pound of pork, 5 pounds of grain to make 1 pound of beef, and 3 pounds of grain to make 1 pound of chicken.

·About 50% of the water consumed in the U.S. is for livestock production. In the western states, it’s more than 70%!

·On average in this country, it takes 2,500 gallons of water to make 1 pound of feedlot beef.

·Livestock waste pollutes rivers, lakes, and groundwater. Plus, gases from the manure escape into the air and contribute to acid rain.

·For every pound of feedlot beef produced, 35 pounds of topsoil erode away.

·It takes 200 to 1000 years for nature to form 1 inch of topsoil!

·Rainforest are being cleared in Central America for area to raise cattle.

·As the forests are cleared, we’re losing species of wild animals.

·As more and more trees are felled, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases. This causes the greenhouse effect, which contributes to global warming.

Now, I know this is a very long post but I hope you took the time to read it all. If you can, try picking this book up at your local library. So becoming a vegetarian can do more than you think.

Now here is a poll just for fun. How would you describe your diet?

Choices:
Vegetarian (No meat)
Vegan (No animal products at all)
Meat eater
Other

 

I would say that I'm somewhat vegetarian because I don't eat most meats... except for seafood, which I only eat rarely... in my case its more because I'm allergic to certain meats, so I've chosen not to eat any...

i believe in the right and idea of not harming animals but in need some meat in my diet, and i dont think that i could not eat burgers. some of the veggitarian food donesnt taste very good either

I haven't eaten meat in two days and I'm in a horrible mood. I could never be a vegan.

Although I think being vegan makes more sense than being vegetarian, I've tried being vegan, and I can't do it. So, lately, I've been cutting out a lot of meat in my diet, and I hope to reach the point where I've eliminated all meat from my diet. Then, if or when I fell comfortable, I'm going to take the next step, and try my hand at being vegan, again. My reasons for wanting to be vegetarian and vegan aren't ethical; they're more personal and health related.

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We live in a world of natural selection. It's killed or be killed. As many have pointed out before, most animals eat other animals. Also, a lot of animals would eat us if we were alone and defenseless with them. So I don't think there's really any ethics to it at all.

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Umm...wrong. You can say that for people who don't do it because they don't want to kill animals that you would like to present that argument, but please do not direct it at all ethical vegetarians. I am an ethical vegetarian, but I only have a problem with tortured and inhumanely killed meat. Natural selection is fine, I would eat a hunted deer, but how often do you see lions raising animals in cramped, inhumane conditions?

I know some animals toy with their food, but I'm not going to do it, especially for it's entire life, nor will I support a system that does that. Tell me how there are no ethics in that. Oh, and just because you don't agree with the ethical reason someone does something that doesn't mean the ethics aren't there, it just means they aren't your ethics.

And when was the last time you had to live kill or be killed? Animals live in a world of kill or be killed, most of us live in a protective bubble in that world for most if not all of our lives.

~Kitty

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Do vegetarians or vegans cook their food differently?

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You don't have to. I prefer to cook my own food just so I know what's going in it. Sometimes people use leftover grease that they cooked meat with to finish cooking their vegetables, soups, etc. I don't. Some vegetarians don't mind eating, say, green beans that have been cooked with bacon to "add flavor." I do care and would not eat these green beans. It just depends on who you are.

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you are not going to go hungry if you go vegetarian.

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The reason why I was worried about that is because there's only a few vegetables I like: potatoes, corn, green beans, squash, okra, and pickles (are they even vegetables?). And I wasn't sure if vegetarians ate pasta. Maybe I'll try going vegetarian. It sounds like a good idea and I eat pasta enough as it is. But I might have to sneak a little veal every now and then...

One more question: Do vegetarians or vegans cook their food differently?

Anyways, thanks for answering all of my questions. I think I've learned a lot about different subjects just from coming back to the YN boards. You may have just converted another to the vegetarian tribe Just kidding.

~WorthWaitingFor~

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1) Is it true that some vegetarians do eat some kind of meat, at least once and awhile

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A "true" vegetarian never eats meat. However, each vegetarian chooses for themself what they do and do not eat. When I first went vegetarian my doctor forced me to just drop red meat, then drop chicken, and lastly, drop seafood. He did this so I wouldn't have as many "complications" because I already get anemic and have other problems.

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2) Are there any other reasons why you're vegetarian, other than saving animals? (I'm asking because I don't think that it's any healthier that eating meat.)

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I am vegetarian because 1) I do think its healthier, 2) I don't like eating animals (not to be confused with saving them, confusing I know, and 3)it has helped me lose a little weight. Not much, and I really didn't need to, just a little. I feel like I have a lot more energy and am more active.

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3) What exactly is the difference between being vegan and being vegetarian? It seems to me that, by being vegan, you don't have hardly any selection of food (I'm sorta picky).

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Vegetarians don't eat meat; vegans don't eat any animal products. That means they don't drink milk or eat eggs, cheese, gelatin, etc. You don't limit your selection of food necessarily by being a vegan. There are so many products (most of them soy) now that taste almost identical to the animal product. You don't miss many foods, especially if you are in it for a reason other than losing weight. (I hate to say it but that tends to be true.)

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4) Do you eat pasta or shrimp? If so, I might do alright in the vegetarian world.

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I don't eat shrimp. But I adore pasta. I actually eat that 2 or 3 nights a week. I also eat a lot of beans and rice just to make sure I get my protein. There are a lot of choices for food out there. Some include "fake meat" products such as Veggie burgers, chicken nuggets, sausage links, bacon, and much more. Bottom line: you are not going to go hungry if you go vegetarian. But do get used to eating "side items" instead of a "main course" when you eat out.

Another thing...

About the ethics of eating animals:

We live in a world of natural selection. It's killed or be killed. As many have pointed out before, most animals eat other animals. Also, a lot of animals would eat us if we were alone and defenseless with them. So I don't think there's really any ethics to it at all. In some way shape or form all animals (and not to mention, plants) are going to die at some point in time, just like we are. So it can go either way. It doesn't matter if you're vegetarian or not. If you like being vegetarian, that's fine, the animals are going to die anyways. If you like eating meat, that's cool too. The animals are going to die anyways AND you get to enjoy a good meal. So it doesn't really matter which one you are because both have their good points and bad points and it ends up being pretty much split 50/50 on both sides.

I eat meat myself (mostly chicken and veal---sometimes steak and bacon but I generally don't like pork). But I've considered going vegetarian before, mainly because I need to lose some weight. But I don't think I like enough vegetables to do that (I don't like most vegetables actually and the ones I do usually have lots of starch). I guess I'll just stick with my meat. But I do have a few questions:

1) Is it true that some vegetarians do eat some kind of meat, at least once and awhile?

2) Are there any other reasons why you're vegetarian, other than saving animals? (I'm asking because I don't think that it's any healthier that eating meat.)

3) What exactly is the difference between being vegan and being vegetarian? It seems to me that, by being vegan, you don't have hardly any selection of food (I'm sorta picky).

4) Do you eat pasta or shrimp? If so, I might do alright in the vegetarian world.

And a word of the wise: I am not overweight because I eat meat or because I eat fast food all the time or anything like that. I don't have meat for every meal and I only eat fast food once and awhile (and usually that's Subway which I think is the healthiest fast food you can get). I am overweight because I love pasta (which is high in carbs) and I don't exercise enough to get rid of all of that energy that carbs give you so it ends up sticking. I just mentioned that because I was reading some comments about how "America is fat because of meat" or "there's a lot of fat people in America because of the greasy fast food." The key word to why people are overweight is portions. If you eat two hamburgers instead of just one, that's where you go wrong. Not all overweight people eat horribly unhealthy food or are "pigs" thankyouverymuch.

most of the time i m vegetarian, but everytime i stop eating meat entirely my doctors get all freaked out and say i m anemic.Then i get put on more medication, so i eat meat on weekends just for that. Vegetarian is healthier in some aspects but not in others so To each there own.... I guess.

laters~~~~§love is never destroyed§

It's not necessarily true that the animals would die anyway. This actually did happen with milk a few years ago. No one was drinking it so the National Dairy Farmers Association or whatnot lowered the price. Then people were like "WHOA! Cheap milk!" and started drinking it again. The price was then raised gradually but rather high but everyone was still drinking milk. So, minimal amounts of milk cows were killed in the process. I don't think everyone will ever go vegetarian. For those of us that do, not too much changes. Not many cows now a days are being killed because of people going vegetarian. More are because so many people are eating so much more meat (Atkins, South Beach, etc.) Also, if the farmers have an idea which way the trends are going they can prevent calfs from being born so the animal won't die if it's never born.

im vegan 5 days a week

I am an ethical vegetarian. I don't think it is right to raise animals in tortured environments and then kill them inhumanely, but eating animals is natural. Hunt, raise your own chickens, buy from some 4-H kid at an action(the kids raise their animals like pets), everyone acts like there are no alternatives to the tortured mass-production of meat and thats wrong. Though at the same time I will not support a corporate cycle I don't agree with so that "the farmer won't just kill the animals anyways". They will die if I do or do not eat them, but if he is forced to kill them himself because business failed less will die in the future. And I also think as far as health goes cutting any natural part of the diet out completely, like with atkins, is not the healthiest option. It is the quality of the meat people eat, I believe, not the fact that it is meat that makes the biggest difference.

~Kitty

"What can be imagined need never be lost."

Think about it:

A farmer raises chickens for food and eggs.

People stop eating chicken.

Chicken prices go down.

Farmer doesn't make very much money.

Farmer drowns all the chicks that are born.


OR:

Deer arren't killed or hunted.

Deer population flourishes.

Winter comes.

Cold kills all plants, as usual.

Not enough food for the large deer population.

Deer die a much crueler death than if they were just hunted so that their population were just decreased a little.



In the end, the animals will die.

And, if you're so for animal rights, why not for the insects/other animals the animals eat/kill?

We, humans, just happen to be on the top of the food chain.

Not our fault.

Plus, being a vegetarian goes against our nature. We're omnivores. Just saying. Not that being vegetarian is wrong, it's YOUR choice.

But, if everyone in the world were vegetarian, then, would there be enough vegetation for all of the human race AND all the herbavore animals that CAN'T eat anything else. We can.

Also, cows and chickens and sheep, ext... are ALL RAISED FOR FOOD. They are NO WHERE NEAR extinction.

It's just the Circle of Life people.

I would be a vegetarian, and one day I will turn vegetarian because I'm so pro- animal rights...but meat just tastes so good! I love anything that's dripping with grease...especially hot dogs...I know that I don't want to know what's in them...but they taste so good!
and eggs were once alive, but they are only cells and we kill millions of cells every day so I don't see it as counting as real "life"

Well, Ms. Faerie, that IS odd. Maybe I'm your best friend? Is your name Hillary?

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Love, peace, and chicken grease!

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OMIGOD! My best friend says that all the time! Creepy!

The way I see it, there are so many ways to fight this topic, that it ought to be to each his own. If you're Vegitarian, go for it, but if not, oh well. The Earth survived for how long? I'm almost positive that if they shut down all the nuculear power plants, we'd be just fine.

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Being a vegetarian is better for your body, for the animals, and for the environment than a meat-eating diet.

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That is so not true! If people would limit thier portions, they'd be okay. The Bible says that it's okay to eat meat, so I shall eat on!

Love, peace, and chicken grease!
increasethepeace