Should you become a vegetarian

Before anyone makes the decision to become a vegetarian, they often question whether it will make any difference. A person in this situation may also be questioning if this dramatic change to their life will help the planet at all. With sufficient people changing their eating habits, it will make a huge difference for huge numbers of animals that would have otherwise died. The primary reason for the change is the reduction of deaths caused by heart disease that is brought about by the huge consumption of meat.

Meat, dairy produce and eggs are the main sources of cholesterol which are the contributing factors in coronary heart disease and other circulation problems. The organization Earth Save has calculated that a vegetarian has only a quarter of the chance of a heart attack as someone who has meat in their diet. Pure vegans have an even lower likelihood of a heart attack with only a 10 percent chance against a meat eater. A healthy heart is not the only ‘health benefit' to becoming a vegetarian as there are other reasons too.

Cancer is another area where reductions are seen as meat contains a number of preservatives which have been linked to this disease. As a vegetarian you won't be exposed to various hormones (that are packed into animal feed), which often disrupt normal hormonal processes in the body. The consumption of lactose will also be reduced which is claimed to cause some digestive problems. Ok so there are obvious health benefits to becoming a vegetarian but it will also mean that many animals will not be harmed either.

The appalling death toll statistic suggested by Vegan Out-Reach is that over 2,700 animals will be eaten by an average American during their life. Just in a couple of decades, many hundreds of animals would not need to loose their lives if you were to make this commitment. If you were also to give up dairy products and eggs, many battery hens and cows would not need to be used to feed you.

So if you haven't worked it out by now, yes we can all make a difference both individually and collectively which should show why becoming a vegetarian is so important. The reduction in animal life lost and the improvement in your health should be convincing enough.

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