I figured I would introduce myself in this forum as well, as I've been a vegetarian for about six or seven years now (lost count some time ago). The tipping point for me was when my parents butchered the ram that I bottle-fed (3-4 times a day for a couple of weeks), and then tried to sneak him into my food. It was not right then that I quit, but that's when I really started thinking hard about it. I stopped eating meat sometime in high school, and haven't gone back since. My sister has been a vegetarian since middle school, so it's another thing for us to bond on.
I have tried to go vegan in the past, but I have trouble keeping weight on as it is, and I completely lost my appetite and lost about 10-20lbs (that I didn't need to lose!) in the span of a week.
I think a lot of vegetarianism for me is spiritual (although I don't affiliate myself with any religion). Eating the flesh of another animal seems sacred and not something we should be doing. I also disagree with a lot of the ways animals are treated (obviously), but I can't afford all the free-range eggs, cheese, milk, etc, that I need to keep my health in check, and that's more of a secondary concern for me. I think I'd be much more likely to eat an animal that had lived in the wild and that I brought down or that died naturally. I don't know that I'd be willing to bring down an animal, though, so that kind of puts that option off the table, heh.
I also feel like we, as humans, have the capacity, thought processes, and technology to not eat meat, so why should we when we don't have to? Then again, I wouldn't want to think of what would happen to all the billions of cows, chickens, pigs, etc. who wouldn't be of any "use" to their owners who couldn't sell them as food anymore. Those animals certainly couldn't live on their own in the wild.
Rambled off a bit there! Anyway, what are your reasons for becoming a vegetarian?
I have tried to go vegan in the past, but I have trouble keeping weight on as it is, and I completely lost my appetite and lost about 10-20lbs (that I didn't need to lose!) in the span of a week.
I think a lot of vegetarianism for me is spiritual (although I don't affiliate myself with any religion). Eating the flesh of another animal seems sacred and not something we should be doing. I also disagree with a lot of the ways animals are treated (obviously), but I can't afford all the free-range eggs, cheese, milk, etc, that I need to keep my health in check, and that's more of a secondary concern for me. I think I'd be much more likely to eat an animal that had lived in the wild and that I brought down or that died naturally. I don't know that I'd be willing to bring down an animal, though, so that kind of puts that option off the table, heh.
I also feel like we, as humans, have the capacity, thought processes, and technology to not eat meat, so why should we when we don't have to? Then again, I wouldn't want to think of what would happen to all the billions of cows, chickens, pigs, etc. who wouldn't be of any "use" to their owners who couldn't sell them as food anymore. Those animals certainly couldn't live on their own in the wild.
Rambled off a bit there! Anyway, what are your reasons for becoming a vegetarian?