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What is a Vegetarian? Vegetarians do not eat the flesh of animals. There are two types of vegetarians. Lacto-Vegetarians don’t eat meat, fish or eggs. Vegans do not eat any animal products, including dairy and honey. Sometimes people who eat eggs are called Lacto-Ovo Vegetarians but they are not truly vegetarians because eggs are the flesh of an unborn animal. THE ROOTS OF VEGETARIANISM The roots of vegetarianism can be traced back to India’s ancient Vedic culture. In Vedic culture animals were given shelter and protection in same way as children and other dependents. Cows were considered to be like a person's mother and there were strict laws against mistreating them or killing them. Killing a cow was considered to be like killing one's mother. Cows and animals were treated with such love that, to this day, followers of Vedic culture and many people in India worship cows and consider them holy. In ancient Vedic culture, vegetarian food, including milk, was used as a spiritual offering. By this offering both the animal or plant that produced the food and the human who offered it received spiritual benefit. In this day and age most animals raised for meat and milk are grossly mistreated until their lives are ended in a slaughterhouse. Many people become vegan because they don’t want to support or be part of a system that propagates the mistreatment and killing of animals. 10 Good reason to choose Vegetarian 1) Have compassion for animals: animals who are raised for slaughter needlessly experience incredible suffering throughout their life and death. Many people try not to think of the torturous experiences of the animal whose flesh ended up in their hamburger or on their dinner table. But if it is distasteful to think about, consider what it is like to experience it. 2) Vegetarianism is moral and ethical: give the devastating consequences of meat eating on an individual, social and ecological level, as thinking, caring beings we should choose vegetarianism. Many great philosophers such as Plato, Socrates, Leo Tolstoy, and George Bernard Shaw have taught the morality of vegetarianism. 3) Avoid toxic food contaminants: Flesh foods are loaded with dangerous poisons and contaminants such as hormones, herbicides and pesticides, and antibiotics. As these toxins are all fat-soluble, they concentrate in the fatty flesh of the animals. Not to mention the viruses, bacteria and parasites such as salmonella, trichinella and other worms, and toxoplasmosis parasites. 4) Become a more peaceful person: when we consume animal flesh products we are necessarily at odds with nature and our fellow living beings. Consumption of flesh foods has been scientifically linked with violent and aggressive behavior. 5) Care for the environment: by improperly using animals for food, we are eating ourselves off the planet. The raising of animals specifically to kill them and eat them has resulted in incredible waste and devastation of our precious resources. Just one example of the consequences is the fact that due to plundering our farmlands to fatten animals for slaughter, over 4 million acres of cropland are being lost to erosion in this country every year. 6) Help end world hunger: every day forty thousand children on this planet needlessly starve to death. According to the Department of Agriculture statistics, one acre of land can grow 20,000 pounds of potatoes. That same acre of land, when used to grow cattlefeed, can produce less than 165 pounds of edible cow flesh. 7)Your health: prevent disease. Meat-eating has been linked with cancer, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, kidney stones, and many other devastating diseases. By eliminating meat from your diet you can take a crucial step towards a long life of health and happiness. 8) Increased energy and endurance: A vegetarian diet improves your stamina, concentration, and sense of well-being. In one study, athletes who switched to a vegetarian diet improved their endurance to almost 3 times as much as those who remained carnivorous. 9)Humans are by design vegetarian: our flat teeth are perfect for grinding grains and vegetables, not for tearing apart animal flesh. Similarly, our hands are designed for gathering, not for flesh-ripping. Our saliva contains the enzyme alpha-amylase, the sole purpose of which is to digest the complex carbohydrates in plant foods. (This enzyme is not found in the saliva of carnivores.) Basically we have all the right apparatus to consume vegetarian products, and none of the right apparatus for flesh foods. 10) Animals are God's property and have a right to life: the living beings temporarily encaged in animal bodies are not here for us to harm and exploit. We are meant to act as caretakers and protectors of animals and the planet, not exploiters and killers. Many world religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Seventh Day Adventists, Mormons, and Jainists all teach that eating animal flesh is wrong.
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