All about being … VEGETARIAN

Many non-vegetarians wonder what drives vegetarians to give
up meat and adopt an entirely different lifestyle.
There is no single answer to this question. Non-vegetarians
become vegetarians for a number of different reasons – some
even for multiple reasons.Most vegetarians claim that they became a vegetarian for
one of three reasons.

The first reason, which most vegetarians claim, is that
they have ethical problems with eating meat. Most disagree
with how chickens are debeaked, forced to live in small
cages, and are then slaughtered when they do not produce
eggs fast enough.

Most vegetarians also disagree with the crowded and
stressful environments animals are forced into; and
the hormone-laden feed used to make them grow faster
and produce more.

People who become vegetarians for this purpose often
draw ethical boundaries in different spots, depending on
their personal beliefs. For instance, some staunch vegans
wont consume yeast, wear wool, or even eat certain
vegetables, such as carrots, that require killing the
plant to harvest.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, some vegetarians–
sometimes referred to as pseudo-vegetarians–will actually
eat fish and chicken on a regular basis.

The second biggest 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.

The third and smallest group of vegetarians cite
environmental reasons for not consuming meat. They complain
that consumption of meat causes farmers to continually
deforest land to create grazing land for cattle.

In addition to these three major groups, there are a number
of other smaller groups of vegetarians who stopped eating
meat for entirely different reasons.

Most vegetarians who stop eating meat for ethical
reasons also take measures to avoid contributing to the
suffering and death of animals (and even insects) in other
capacities. For instance, a number of vegetarians refuse to
wear leather and silk because they see it as an ethical
violation of their respect for all living things.Vegetarians who refuse to wear silk argue that the process
involves unnecessary cruelty to moth larvae. Rather than
allowing the moth to grow and leave the cocoon, silk
manufacturers boil the larvae alive, causing them to suffer
and writhe, in order to obtain longer strands of silk.

Leather, by contrast, does not directly contribute to the
suffering of animals in most cases. In most cases, leather
is made from the byproducts of animals that would be
slaughtered for meat, rennet, and other animal
products.

This is precisely why many vegetarians who have an ethical
dilemma with meat have no problem wearing leather: because
they do not see it as the primary reason for killing the
animals, but instead a byproduct of the slaughter.

However, certain groups of vegans oppose wearing leather
on the grounds that it indirectly contributes to the
suffering of animals.

These vegans argue that contributing money to the companies
that own the slaughterhouses (and sell the byproducts for
leather, etc.) is just as bad as actually purchasing and
eating meat yourself because you are still contributing
money to the continuation of institutionalized animal
suffering.

This is certainly something to consider if you are
currently a vegan or a vegetarian for ethical reasons.
It may have been tough to give up meat in the first place,
but if you are truly committed to the cause and you
believe the arguments are strong-enough, you may want
to avoid clothing purchases that will aid institutions
that cause animal suffering.