What are some benefits of being a vegetarian or a vegan?

None. None at all. In fact it is impossible to be a vegan - you can TRY to avoid all products that are partly composed of animal sourced material, but you won't be able to do it. You can't live exclusively on plant material, either - you won't have any dietary sources of cholesterol or Vitamin B12, and without both, you'll die.

There are many* who would argue that human beings are designed to eat a mostly vegetarian diet consisting of vegetables, grains, pulses etc. That our bodies are not designed to eat meat, particularly, though we are omnivores; we can eat meat, we just shouldn't be eating quite as much as we do nowadays.

So, you could argue on the grounds of health.

However, some people like meat and whatever argument you give (sound or otherwise) will fall on deaf ears. You only have to look at all the people who still smoke despite all of the damning evidence that it really isn't too healthy for you!

Good luck, anyway.

(*) Patrick Holford thinks that a diet designed for optimial nutrition is one that is almost vegan. Eat vegetables, raw or cooked little if possible, and supplement with grains, pulses, seeds and variety of vitamins and minerals (esp. vitamin c). Keep away from alcohol, sugar, salt. (As you can see, some might call this rabbit food!)

As Patrick says, 'food is better medicine than drugs', but he's talking about the right food; i.e. vegetarian/vegan

Moral superiority is nice. Read 'Living Without Cruelty' by Mark Gold. Also re. the horrific cattle industry, 'Fast food Nation' by Eric Schlosser. Drugged-up slaughter-house workers with big knives being forced to work ever-faster...

Personally, I have come to the conclusion that some humans are meant to eat meat. But an awful lot do better without it. In Southern India construction workers live on lentils & chappattis.

Carnivore's guts are much shorter - a lion's is only four feet - but ours is much longer, allowing for the processing of vegetable material.

Many more people are fed directly from an acre of ground, than would be by that acre being used to raise cattle ( ten times as many? I can't remember the figures) so there would be less hunger if more of us in the West were vegetarian.

I am a vegetarian. It is great. Since becoming a vegetarian my entire diet has become more healthy. Since you do not eat meat, it forces you to fill up your plate with more vegetables and more things that are good for you. Because of this, at least in my case, I eat less junk. Once you stop eating junk your body stops craving it and you begin to crave just good foods. I have never felt better since becoming a vegetarian. Also, you are making the world a better place by not harming innocent animals. Some believe that you absorb the negative energy from the dead animal because it was "killed" for your consumption. Also, many meats have hormones and antibiotics in them that result into an imbalance of hormones in your own body and the antibiotics may affect your resistance. I highly encourage everyone to even become a semi-vegetarian. Start out slowly. I began the process 16 years ago. First I gave up red meat, then I stopped eating meat at home (only when I ate out) and then I gave it all up for good.!

Hello,

I've been a Vegan (for about a year) then became a normal vegetarian and now still vegetarian but on a gluten free wheat free diet. I've been a vegetarian for over 20years now but was brought up with meat until I left the parental home.

One of the most obvious benefits of being a vegetarian is that you dont have that dreadful heavy feeling in the pit of your stomach as your body has to work extremely hard digesting all that meat. I felt ALOT better after I stopped eating meat, & I find my body & digestive system has been better for it ever since.

**I have always felt alot healthier since I stopped eating meat and on a moral/ethical and spiritual level I feel ALOT Better too. As my conscience isnt bothered by the issues of how the meat was created i.e. meat does sadly mean murder IMO and theres really no getting away from that fact!!.

**I love most vegetarian food and feel very healthy as a consiquence of eating this way.

IR

I would say remind them that by being vegeterian/vegan you save on average 100 animals a year. go into the horrible lives of animals on factory farms and the deaths. tell how many animals suffer horrible deaths after living horrible lives a year (I'm actually not sure where to find it I know it is like 700 a second though), tell them that it is good for your health, and protects against heart disease, that you can lose weight by being vegeterian the RIGHT way (don't just eat a bunch of junk and forget about tofu and beans and stuff), that it's gross all the hormones and pesticides in meat.. yeah thats basically all i can think of! peta.com has some good stuff.. or goveg.com.

I'm am not a vegetarian or vegan and I think it's fine that you are a vegetarian but I don't think you should make a blog to stop people. A lot (but certainly not all) of people become vegetarians because of shock tactics on telly or the Internet. I'm my year there are 4 vegetarians, 3 of which became vegetarians because of........... what else? An episode of Coronation Street! (a British soap opera)

It's your choice for whatever reason, but for you not anyone else!

I think we're supposed to eat meat. All that stuff about carbs and that isn't really a valid point because the human race is not a race that live in the city or sits around doing nothing. The human race is a race that runs around all day hitting a giggling pig with a sharpened stone. That's what people are meant to do.

That's just my opinion. It's not going to be should down your neck, so return the favour.

I have been a vegetarian since 1996 and have never tried to convince anyone else to be a vegetarian. I think it is rude to force my beliefs upon others. If someone asks why I am a vegetarian I tell them but I don't try to convince them.

My reasons for being vegetarian:

1- I am not prepared to eat something I am not prepared to kill.

2 - I disagree with how animals are executed in Western nations. I find the sterile bolt through the skull to be a horrific and unnatural way to die. This sort of painless and soulless death is far worse than killing an animal like a lion, a wolf or a cave man kills and animal - by chasing after it and causing a fatal would. Personally I would rather die naturally as a prey beast rather than in a slaughter house (like the Nazis used on Jews and we use on animals).

I think we all should stop arguing over whether or not humans are designed to eat meat.

Andy B says this- "If you have no ethical qualms, it's quite pointless". Alright. But aren't the vast majority of us veggies doing it because we DO have ethical qualms?

I don't really feel the need to consider whether or not I am designed to eat meat. None of that means anything to me because living in Western society I don't NEED to kill an animal to eat, it's just an option- and I refuse to support the factory farming industry so it's an option I say no to. That's plenty enough reason for me.

No one turns veggie because someone has convinced them that their nails aren't long enough to kill an animal. Meat eaters like to go with the argument that we're natual carnivores to defend their choices, but I don't even bother arguing back on that subject because as far as I'm concerned, it's just not the point.

Suggest that they read Eat To Live by Joel Fuhrman MD, the China Study or view the video Eating which introduces The Rave Diet.

My family was convinced after viewing the video.

Good luck.

i have not eaten meat for 25 years my grown up childred and wives also grandchildren are all vegetarians.

If anyone can feed sausage burgers to there children after we have clearly been shown on T.V. and newspapers what is going into them well you will never convince them to give up eating meat.

lets face it with chickens being given drugs to boost the size of there breasts for xmas sales, yet alone we dont know what part of the world they are coming from and the drugs used in other countrys I ask you.

I could go on but I guess its like religion they either see the sense or they care not too. If not thereselves you would think they would think of the children and stop feeding them meat which comes from all parts of the world , remember when they say there is say, beef in a product what they mean is any part of the animal that has hairs on, tail, tounge and well I will leave the rest to your imagination, but be assured there is no waste part of any animal that isnt used for something!!!