Why are you a vegetarian or vegan?

Question

I am curious why others are vegans and vegetarians. i am vegan due to animal cruelty and my love for them. I'd like to hear more about why others choose this diet.

NO NO rude answers please

Answer 1

I see animals as companions and I dont like the idea of eating them. From there Ive become pro-animal rights.

That and the health benefits, that was a plus however.

Answer 2

part of it is my love and support for animals, some of which are cruelly treated

also, i just don't enjoy the prospect of eating flesh

but no one takes me seriously because i'm 14 :[

Answer 3

Some people find vegan diets appropriate because who would want to eat their cat or dog?  i totally agree with tim...  I'm not a veggie myself but thats because my parents are so against it that they'd probably kick me out of the house if i became veggie.  I think if i did go veggie i would not really be veggie just no red meat.  Cows are so cute and i LOOOOVE horses and cows remind me too much of horses.  Pigs are just plain filthy even though bacon tastes really good (srry to all of you vegans out there)  Now that the  mapleLeaf products have like killed ppl and whatnot  why should we be eating prosessd meat?  Like Cheese and Eggs and yogurt and all the other animals by-products are fine with me becuase its just coming FROM the animal its not the actual animal itself.  I hate chicken and fish they just gross me out so i have no problem putting away with their filthy little bodies so i can eat them with a clear concious but not the poor little cows they deserve better!

:D

Answer 4

well I was 12 and I saw on the yahoo front page how Pamela Anderson was trying to stop KFC from torturing chickens for no reason then after I read the article I saw a link for PETA.com and a link for goveg.com I went vegetarian that week I always loved animals and that made me cry and made me stop and think about what I was eating now I'm 14 and a hard core vegan I don't even eat vegan items from KFC because there are very bad people.

if you are what you eat and you eat pork does that make you a PIG?  

Answer 5

Ethical reasons mainly, the health benefits are also a plus.  

I personally feel that if you are an "animal lover" you should not eat them.  I grew up on a farm so I had the opportunity to discover the great amount of personality farm animals have.  Cows are just like big dogs, the similarities are mind boggling.  If I wouldn't eat my cat or dog, why would I eat any other animal?  It just doesn't make sense to me.

Also, in modern day culture the consumption of meat/dairy is completely unnecessary.  The negative impact on the environment is 100% avoidable, but people turn a blind eye (or perhaps just don't care) for the sake of their taste buds.  We can survive just fine on a vegan diet and we as humans thrive on grains, fruits, and vegetables.

People debate that "humans are made to eat meat", when we are actually healthier without it.  We as a species are evolving and we don't need this unnecessary slaughter and cruelty.

All in all, guilt-free living is the way to be =)

Answer 6

cause animal products are UNHEALTHY..im not really vegan for animal rights although i do feel its wrong to kill the animals but im more for health reasons. i am a strict vegan and wont touch anything comming from an animal! (except honey!)

Answer 7

When I was 11, I became a lacto-ovo vegetarian. I became one then, because I can not stand animal cruelty, and my dad and brother are the biggest meat eaters on the planet.  They always thought it was funny to talk about how they were killed right before we'd eat,  so one day I just got disgusted and had enough, so I became lacto-ovo.  What they did, made me think of eating my dog(not eating it necessarily, but like, I'm eating a cow, how is that different from my dog who I love and adore sitting over there? If that makes sense. Its hard to explain it)

Then, about a year ago, when I was older and understood more about what they do to the animals, I became a strict vegetarian.

And about 6 months ago, I became a vegan.  Now, I understand a lot better about what they do to the animals, now that I'm older.  And my brother always feels the need to go into detail about how they're slaughtered every time he gets the chance, so I just can't stomach any of it anymore.

Answer 8

Pretty much everyone on here is all about the animal cruelty as motivation. I became a vegetarian after learning about the parasites that can live in meat. Further study showed me the nastier side of how animals were treated. Throughout this period, I was aware of the health benefits of a vegetarian diet, or at least the health benefits of NOT overconsuming meat. Most recently, I became aware of the environmental benefits of avoiding meat.

For these reasons, for awhile before I became I would eat meat on occasion, provided it came from an all-organic farm that was 100% pasture (no feedlots). I only had a problem with the actual death aspect of the meat industry for a very short period of time. I later realized that to me, quality of life was more important to simply the absence of death. I was (and still am) totally grossed out at the idea of growing Franken-animals en masse simply so you can kill them. I've always been bothered by the fact that antibiotics are used. I guess I thought that the best way to prevent illness was through a healthy, clean environment and healthy, clean food and water.

I'm not a vegan because I don't believe that all forms of animal husbandry include cruelty. I rarely consume eggs (I don't like them), and the eggs and dairy that I do consume are for the most part from organic, local farms. Additionally, most of the vegan alternatives are less environmentally-friendly in my eyes (the packaging is harder to recycle, many of the foods need to travel farther to get to me, etc). In short, it isn't worth the switch for me. Then there is that little cheese addiction of mine. Mmm. Veggie-cheese. http://cheese.joyousliving.com/CheeseLis...

Answer 9

i am a vegetarian because i feel that it is unfair to exploit animals which have no say in the matter, and as humans we have completely taken advantage of the food chain by mass producing animals for slaughter, and it is wrong, and making that personal choice has made me morally sound.

Answer 10

im vegetarian because its the healthy choice to make and meat never tickled my fancy anyway. i wish i could call myself vegan but i do partake in minimal cheese comsumption.

Answer 11

Vegan for animal ethics reasons.  I'm not even an animal lover though.  I just think it's unfair, unkind, and unnecessary to exploit those who have no say.  

Answer 12

Not only is the animal cruelty really awful in these so called animal factories but the meat is not healthy to eat. Meat unless homegrown, is full of hormones, vaccines ect. The meat in factories are so phrone to "mad cow disease" ect. that they have to be regularly vaccinated and they get pumped up with hormones and then some to get them to grow muscle faster. That makes for a unhealthy piece of meat...for what? Protein? Vitamin B?  You can buy a good brand of vitamin b complex pills and come out way more far ahead than getting vitaminB from meat! You can eat a handful of peanuts ect. and get plenty of protein! In fact most americans get way to much protein as it is.

Eating a vegitarian diet is not only super yummy with a endless variety of things to eat. It clears the mind and the conscious. One more note....when animals get butchered the way they do, it makes them terrified and angry, that chemical get into the meat and you eat it.....no wonder more and more people are getting mad!