Are you considering becoming a vegetarian or a vegan? Or have you already made the transition to being vegetarian and are finding it hard sticking to a diet with no meat or fish? If so, read on to find out why being a vegetarian is so much more beneficial to yourself and to the environment than being a meat eater.

(1) A Vegetarian Diet is generally a healthier diet ? there is no vitamin or mineral that you cannot get from eating a vegetarian diet. Some people believe that meat and fish are a necessary part of a balanced diet, but this is simply not true. Vegetarian food is also lower in fat and cholesterol than meat, which helps to protect the heart and prevent many diseases.

(2) Less exposure to chemicals ? a lot of animals are given hormones, antibiotics and other chemicals. If you eat meat you have no idea what the animals you are eating were exposed to during their life.

(3) Kinder to the Environment ? eating a vegetarian diet puts a lot less strain on the environment. Production of meat requires huge amounts of water, grain and fuel to produce. This could be used much more efficiently to feed starving people in Africa. In addition to this a massive amount of the land on the earth is used for livestock, reducing the amount of land used for forests.

(4) Eating a vegetarian diet is generally cheaper ? meat and fish are generally a lot more expensive than vegetarian alternatives, so being vegetarian can help your budget as well as your health!

(5) Eating vegetarian helps you to stay slim ? vegetarians generally find it much easier to stay within their normal weight range as a vegetarian diet is typically lower in fat and calories than a meat eater's diet.

(6) Making a stance against factory farming and slaughter houses ? hundreds of thousands of animals are killed in slaughterhouses every day. Many of these animals are kept in dreadful conditions, often in pain and have no quality of life. By eating only a vegetarian diet.

(7) No nasty surprises in your food ? meat products can include all sorts of nasty things, for example the animals? tail, feet, rectum and organs. Yuck!

(8) Less likely to get food poisoning ? food poisoning is much more likely to come from eating bad meat or fish, compared to eating vegetarian foodstuffs.

(9) Humans are not designed to eat meat ? biologically, the human digestive tract is that of a herbivore. Biologists have compared the human digestive tract to that of carnivorous and herbivorous animals and found that the human digestive tract is more similar to herbivorous animals.

(10) A clearer conscience ? knowing that you are vegetarian or vegan and taking into account all the above reasons, you can feel better about yourself in the knowledge that you are healthier, helping the environment and not contributing to the pain and suffering of animals.

So if you are a new vegetarian and are feeling weak at the sight of meat, or if you are just wondering why you should consider being vegetarian, hopefully all these reasons will help you decide the best way forward for you.