On Being a Vegetarian

          

        

The words ‘Vegan’ and ‘Vegetarian’ are often misunderstood. There is a lot involved in being a vegan or vegetarian. Before you take the plunge, it is important that you understand the differences between these two types of diets and why you might want to consider becoming either one of them.

          A vegan is someone who will not eat food that has been produced using any sort of animal product. Vegans will often avoid using any material that has come from an animal, although these individuals are much rarer as leathers are often prized and used in fashion and furniture. Vegetarians will not eat meat or fish, but they may include milk or other dairy products to their diet. If you are new to the concept of becoming a vegetarian or vegan, I strongly recommend starting with being a regular vegetarian. This diet is easier to accommodate and can let you adjust your habits before you go all the way to being a vegan.

          There are many reasons why someone decides to become a vegan or vegetarian. However, before we go into that, it is important to know about the two different types of vegetarians. There are medical and choice vegetarians.

Medical vegetarians are a category of individuals who have to eat non-meat and non-dairy products because they are allergic to the class of proteins found in these foods or have health conditions that are aggravated by the consumption of meat. These are non-ethically based vegetarians.

Choice vegetarians are very common and sometimes referred to as ethics-based vegetarians. These are individuals who have taken a very close look at the world around them and their health and made the decision to change their lives for the better. In some cases, medical and choice vegetarians overlap, but this is not always the case.

          Those with medical problems — particularly an allergy to meat protein – often have it easier than those who are choice vegetarians. These individuals suffer consequences if they go off of the diet that is set for them.

While making the choice to be a vegetarian is hard, there are a lot of advantages to doing so. These benefits not only help you improve your health, but they also ensure that you do everything that you can to help ensure the quality of life for all of the creatures of earth.

By focusing your diet on fruits, vegetables and nuts, it is possible to balance your diet in such a way that promotes healthy weight and general good health. By choosing not to eat meat, you support the well-being of animals. This is often a great concern to vegetarians. In many first world countries, animals have been relegated to a food source and are treated with a lack of care or regard to their comfort. The shorter the animal’s lifespan, the worse their conditions often are. Chickens are a prime example of the cruelty associated with the mass production of animals for food.

By nature, chickens are social yet territorial birds. Roosters (also called Cocks) — or male chickens — are extremely territorial over their hens. The more hens that a rooster has, the better his standing is among other roosters. Cock fights are a natural occurrence. Unfortunately, when chickens are mass produced, these fights cause problems for the manufacturers. Due to this, chickens are often exposed to caging or modification to prevent them from fighting among one another.

          While free-range and grain-fed chickens do not often encounter such blatant cruelty, the natural instincts of the bird are inherent repressed to prevent problems. Often, these birds are kept in close quarters that prevent them from having as much space as they require. As chickens are old enough to be consumed by eight weeks of age, manufacturers are not concerned with the long term care of these birds.

          When you choose to become a vegetarian, you make a stand against this form of cruelty against animals. The most common retort by non-vegetarians is that one person cannot make a difference. However, this is not true. One person can make a difference — especially for those few chickens that would not be bred for the purpose of mass-marketed consumption.

Being a vegetarian is not easy. However, it can be done and it is not so hard if you take it one step at a time. It is possible to become a vegetarian! It simply takes a little planning and effort on your part — and a well-thought out shopping list when you go to the store. Just don’t allow yourself to be discouraged. For whatever reason you choose to be a vegetarian, you are helping your body be as healthy as possible. That alone is a good reason to make the change.