When asked "why be a vegetarian?" many take this question as an attack on vegetarianism and try to defend their position, whereas many people ask this question merely out of curiosity to know the motivations behind becoming a vegetarian.

Meat is Cheap and Tasty! Why be a Vegetarian When it's So Expensive?

It requires a lot of effort and thought, is one of the arguments made against vegetarianism. It is a common misconception that vegetarians put more effort on their diet than meat eaters, but vegetarians are only more careful with their diet and stick to it diligently so as to maintain balanced nutrition.

The idea that it is more expensive to eat foods to replace meat in their diet is a common misconception about vegetarianism. Although meat substitutes can be costly, inexpensive vegetarian foods can be purchased in bulk. Some examples of the most inexpensive vegetarian staples are rice, oats, beans, and pasta

The cost is a little higher when you factor in fresh fruits and vegetables, however it is commonly accepted that we could all benefit from more fruits and vegetables in our diets. Vegetarians typically do not consume much more in the way of fruits and vegetables than the recommended amounts 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?

While many meat eaters make the argument that humans weren't made to live without meat in their diets, there is actually plenty of biological evidence to the contrary. Our bodies more closely resemble the physiology of herbivores than carnivores: our digestive system shows that our optimal food is plant matter, not meat.

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 Be a Vegetarian? Why Wouldn't You Be One?

Even, though there are many reasons to be vegetarian, your personal beliefs are the most important. Becoming a vegetarian removes your endorsement from an industry that produces more waste than all other American industries put together. You will be doing your part to achieve a healthy lifestyle, as well as a healthier planet. You will also be doing your part in supporting animal rights. There are no known detrimental effects of being a vegetarian, in fact being one has many benefits for one's physical, emotional, and financial well-being.