Why Should I Become a Vegetarian?

Usually the first question that springs to mind for non-vegetarians is “What drives vegetarians to give up meat and adopt a completely different way of life?” There is no single answer to this question. People decide to become vegetarians for a number of different reasons, and sometimes even for multiple reasons. That is the power of free will.
Three Reasons Why People Become Vegetarians or Vegans

1) The number one reason most vegetarians claim to have been the catalyst for their lifestyle change is that they have a serious ethical problem with consuming meat. Many are appalled at how battery chickens have their beaks clipped, are forced to live in small cages with little or no access to natural light, and are then slaughtered when they do not produce eggs fast enough. Or the chickens produced for meat, which grow so fast that their leg bones are not strong enough to take their weight and spend their short lives suffering.

Most vegetarians also disagree with the crowded and stressful environments larger animals are forced into, and how they are fed hormone-laden feed used to make them grow faster and produce more meat or milk. Those who become vegetarians for this reason often draw ethical boundaries in different spots, depending on their personal beliefs. For instance, some staunch vegans refuse to consume yeast, wear wool, or at the most extreme, will not eat certain vegetables, such as carrots, that require killing the plant in order to harvest them.

Some people who refer to themselves as vegetarians will actually eat fish and chicken on a regular basis. This class of vegetarian is sometimes referred to as “pseudo-vegetarian.”

2) The second biggest reason vegetarians claim for not eating meat is that it conflicts with their dietary preferences. Some of these vegetarians simply do not like the texture and taste of meat, whereas others do not eat it because it contains high levels of cholesterol and often contains high concentrations of preservatives and hormones too.

3) The third (and smallest) group of vegetarians cite environmental reasons for not consuming meat. They complain that consumption of meat causes farmers to continually deforest land in order to create grazing land for sheep and cattle.

There are, of course, a number of other smaller groups of vegetarians who have cut out meat from their diet for entirely different reasons (for example, religious beliefs). Like any other choice in life, the decision whether to eat meat or not is entirely up to you as an individual, and for the reasons you feel are right.