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Why Be a Vegetarian When Eating Meat is Simpler?

By: Paula Benson

"Why be a vegetarian?": this is one question that new vegetarians are asked over and over again. In as much as people are not familiar with the wealth of delicious food available to vegetarians, they are simply at a loss about the reason for taking meat out of your diet.

A lot of vegetarians feel that they have to defend their position when asked "why be a vegetarian?" This question can sometimes feel almost like an attack on vegetarianism, but most people who ask are genuinely curious as to the motivations behind being a vegetarian.

Meat is Very Inexpensive and Tasty, So Why be a Vegetarian When it is So Expensive?

It requires a lot of effort and thinking, is one of the arguments made against vegetarianism. It often appears that vegetarians put a lot more work into their diet than meat eaters do, but really, they just tend to be more selective about what they eat and do more to make sure they are getting balanced nutrition.

It is a common misconception that vegetarian food is more expensive than meats. Bulk amount of vegetarian food can be bought quite inexpensively, whereas the pre-made packaged meat substitutes are typically quite costly. The common vegetarian staples such as rice, oats, beans, and pasta are very affordable.

The cost does go up a bit when you take fresh fruits and vegetables into account, but it is generally accepted as fact that we all need to eat more fruits and vegetables. Vegetarians don't eat much more fruits and vegetables than the servings that are recommended for the general meat-eating public.

If the amount of resources needed to produce crops and meat are taken into account, it will be seen that it is less expensive to produce plant foods. The artificially low priced meat available in the supermarket and in restaurants are the products of the subsidies provided by the government to the farmers in the form of payments to encourage meat production.

Why Be a Vegetarian When Humans Were Meant to Eat Meat?

Many meat eaters argue that humans were not made to live without meat in their diets, however biological evidence doe not support this claim. Our physiology resembles more closely that of herbivores than carnivores: our digestive system reveals that plant matter, not meat, is our optimal food.

Eating meat in the long-term may cause many health related problems, even though the human body has the capability to digest meat. Some of the side effects of eating meat are high cholesterol, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis. Although occasionally consuming meat not seem to significantly increase our risk for these serious illnesses; the typical American diet, however, contains so much meat that are bodies are basically poisoned by it. Were we designed to be meat eaters? The evidence seems to support that humans were not evolved to eat meat.

Why Become a Vegetarian? Why Can't You Become One?

Even though there are many reasons to be a vegetarian, the most important reason is your personal convictions. Vegetarians do not support the meat producing industry, an industry that accounts for more waste production than all other industries in the United States combined. As a vegetarian, you benefit from a more healthy lifestyle, as well as promoting a healthier planet. Animal Rights, of course, also benefits from vegetarians. There are no harmful side effects associated with being a vegetarian - instead, there are physical, mental, and financial benefits.

Article Source: http://directoryjam.com

Learn more about vegetarian diet check out Paula Benson's website on vegetarian lifestyle

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