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There's lots of different reasons why people choose to become a vegetarian. The Moral Reasons There's the obvious ones about caring for animals and the environment. Increasing populations mean increased demand for food at a low price and consequently farmers have no option but to employ intensive farming methods to meet the demand. It's easy to choose not to relate the playful lambs you see in spring with the lump of muscle and veins you have with your mint sauce on a Sunday, but it is one and the same! We are all becoming more aware of what intensive food production means now of course - male chicks minced at birth, battery hens, production line throat slitting of chickens, veal calves kept in darkness, the whole transport to slaughtering issues, etc. The Worrying About What You Are Eating Reasons Chemical foodstuffs, growth hormones, chickens eating chicken bits, BSE scare, pesticides being ingested by the animals, etc. There's a whole host of worrying additions to meat that can cause concern, whether rightly or not, amongst meat eaters. then there's the worry about diseases and bacteria within the meat itself, either naturally ocurring or through bad practice in the process. And then there's the long term health issues with links to cancer and heart disease etc. The Healthy Eating Reason Although vegetarianism is by no means an automatic healthier way of life, it does generally lean you towards more healthier eating with increased fruit and veg intake. The very fact that you are becoming aware of what you are eating by turning vegetarian does perhaps help in cutting back on some really unhealthy eating. |