Why do vegetarians stop eating meat and live a completely different style of life? This is a question many non-vegetarians think about. There is no one response to this query. There are many varied reasons that non-vegetarians become vegetarians – some have many reasons themselves. The majority of vegetarians state their reason as one main [...]

Why do vegetarians stop eating meat and live a completely different style of life? This is a question many non-vegetarians think about. There is no one response to this query. There are many varied reasons that non-vegetarians become vegetarians – some have many reasons themselves. The majority of vegetarians state their reason as one main objection to eating meat.

Many vegetarians cite the poor treatment of animals as one of the main reasons they have ethical problems with eating meat. Chickens, for example are debeaked, put into small cages, and then slaughtered. Think about how much you would enjoy having your nose cut off, being put into an eight foot by eight foot egg laying room, and then having someone kill you because you didn’t produce enough. As if that weren’t bad enough, animals that are raised for food are also given food that is laced with powerful growth hormones, and then thrust into stressful living arrangements.

Vegetarians come in a variety of types who practice their beliefs in varying degrees. Some object to destroying plants for the purpose of harvesting vegetables for consumption like carrots for one. The strictest variety do not even eat yeast products and object to wearing wool made from animal fibers. Far less strict are the pseudo-vegetarians who do not consume meat but are open to eating fish and chicken.

Another 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; others do not eat it because it is high in cholesterol and often contains high concentrations of hormones and preservatives.

A group of vegetarians offer a another purpose in not eating meat: environmental factors. They argue that, in order to meet the appetites of meat-eaters, farmers must progressively clear more and more land to allow cattle to graze. These reasons aside, there are still more vegetarians who give up meat consumption for completely different concepts.