Animals Are Not For Eating

Animals Are Not For Eating
by Julia Benton
The Campanile
Mon Jan. 26, 2009

http://voice.paly.net/view_story.php?id=7742

I don't enjoy grilling steaks. I would rather pet a cow than eat one. I am a vegetarian! And, I'm not the only one. There are an estimated 4.8 million vegetarian adults in the United States, and studies show that vegetarianism is even more common among people under 18, according to a recent Newsweek article.

I don't really have any deep philosophical reasons for why I became a vegetarian, and I never had a sudden revelation about meat. One day, I just stopped eating it. My decision wasn't a difficult choice; I knew that I could never eat a hamburger without feeling guilty about where it came from. For me, eating meat was unnecessary, and I soon learned that there are plenty of other delicious, more humane options. I now spend my mealtimes eating pasta, salads, pizza and sandwiches, and if there isn't a vegetarian dish on a restaurant menu, I simply ask for one without the meat. Being a vegetarian is a lot easier than most people think, and I have never regretted my decision.

That isn't to say that I am repulsed at the mere sight of a sausage, and I certainly do not silently judge my happy meat-eating friends while they are munching on a meaty snack. I understand that meat is oftentimes tasty and that some people have no desire to ever stop eating it.

Still, I don't think I will ever understand how people can treat their pets lavishly and dress their dogs in little sweaters, while remaining completely unfazed that an equally deserving animal died to become their burger. While I am certainly not out to convert anyone, there are obvious benefits of a meatless diet and I encourage you to give vegetarianism a chance.

Overall, people become vegetarian for a variety of reasons. Some want to lose weight and hope to live healthier lives. Others have always loved animals and are ethically opposed to eating their furry friends. Still others are drawn to vegetarianism because they want to do their part to reduce pollution and lower their carbon footprint. Whatever their reason, vegetarians are taking care of their bodies, animals and the earth through their diet. Why become vegetarian? Read on:

You might live longer. By becoming vegetarian, one of the lives you could save is your own. Vegetarianism is about more than simply not eating meat; it's also about smart eating. The American Dietetic Association reports that "appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful and nutritionally adequate." Of course, there are vegetarians who eat more unhealthy fats than meat eaters. You still need to use common sense and cannot simply replace your meat intake with ice cream.

You'll lower your carbon footprint. The meat industry has a devastating effect on the environment, and waste from farmland is one of the greatest threats to air quality today. Cutting down on beef intake would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions because there would be less farm-bred, methane-producing cows.

You'll be in good company. So should we all become vegetarians? Will we? For most people, meat still does taste good, and if we ever were all to become vegetarian, it would undoubtedly take a very long time. Maybe someday in the future, people will look back and say "Can you believe that in the 21st century, people were carnivores? That they were still eating animals?" If you do decide to skip out on the meat, you will certainly be following a long established and ever growing trend. The illustrious list of vegetarians has included: Leonardo DaVinci, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Mohandas Gandhi, Mark Twain, Pythagoras and even 8-year-old cartoon character Lisa Simpson.