I've just started consciously eating less meat - trying to limit myself to weekends only. This is a good guide for someone like me - and great advice too! ('don't be a jerk about it')

I have been a vegetarian for a little over a year. The benefits far outweigh the bad. My cholesterol has never been lower, I feel better over all, and my sex life has definatley seen the benefits! You vegetarians know what I'm talking about. I could go on and on about the benefits but its no different than trying to convince a smoker to quit.

I could go on and on about the benefits but its no different than trying to convince a smoker to quit.

Smoking - unnecessary addiction, causes cancer both to oneself and others

Eating - necessary for survival, omnivorous diet can be perfectly healthy and increase sex drive, cultural norms are omnivorous which makes all social occasions and restaurants available to be patronized

If the people you go out to eat with are patronizing if what you order from the menu has no meat in it then perhaps it's time to find new people to eat with. Events are difficult sometimes, and business trips as well, but those times just eat what you can and don't be an arse about it! I've also just accepted if there isn't anything to eat just be polite and eat some of what you're given. No the world is not going to fall apart if you eat a little fish - and I say yes you are still a vegetarian!! (It's the holier than thou 'I-haven't-eaten-a-speck-of-meat-in-10-years' vegetarians that make people want to patronize anyway)

I'd have to agree with Joshua about the sex drive :)

I went vegan as an experiment because my doc tried to put me on the pill to balance my hormones (which was HORRIBLE! migraines, serious I'm-gonna-get-fired attention deficit disorder) and I'm fully convinced it's all the crap they put in our meat and milk that made me 'off' in the first place! I have no problem now, I feel great! Sometimes it is quite difficult and on some occasions I will eat fish and milk if I have no other choice (friend's weddings, business trips), but I still consider myself (even if just 95%) vegan, but I don't point it out. People don't even notice it's tofu instead of chicken in your dish. And asian and Indian food is easy.

I think it's important to point out (since we're on the discussion of sustainability, and smart use of resources) that just like buying locally grown fruits and veggies, one can support a local farmer who occassionally has meat to sell (usually done through pre-orders, and is limited) The energy it takes to bring in organic fruits from outside of the country isn't anything to brag about either...much like the mass meat market. Personally, MASS anything kind of scares me...it's the old lesson of simply knowing where your food and belongings come from. If you don't know where the meat comes from at your favorite restaurant, ask! (Just like we only buy certain fish at the store) If you don't like what you hear, tell them the alternatives that exist, and that knowing what you do now, you may not eat there anymore...
I'm not a huge meat-eater myself, but clearly people do eat it, we have been for as long as we've been around. Bottom line, before jumping into any big life changes you're unsure of, get the facts, think about it, and make a well educated decision that fits your needs.

Ever notice how quickly the meat* eaters jump to defensiveness? Saying things like:
It can be healthy.
We've been eating meat since the beginning of time.
I'm NOT LIMITED in my restaurant selections.
An omnivorous diet is the cultural norm.

What may I ask do any of these lame excuses have to do with the topic at heart, the best diet for a sustainable world? Not one of them addresses the environmental impacts of their decisions. Not to mention the fact that human society has evolved greatly over the passage of time as well as our knowledge base and understanding of the world we live in. USE that knowledge people!

*Some would say that the word "meat" is a cultural euphemism that allows for the continued mental detachment from the actual act of eating dead animals. Beef is okay but horse or dog "meat" is often viewed as horrifyingly cruel. The silly little lines we draw in the sand of our brains to justify our actions.

I'd like to be educated on this a bit more. If it is so costly and inefficient to produce a micky d's quarter pounder, why and how are they so cheap to buy? I'm obviously missing some key piece(s) of information in this economic equation. Thank you to whomever can help educate me on this.

Heather, please "don't be a jerk about it."

Kim, it's called subsidies.

Heather. I will sum it up for you. Mcdonalds can make it so cheap, because they go to other countries. I know for a fact that they are tearing up the amazon rainforest so that they can grow soy beans to feed their chickens. It is much cheaper to buy land and labor down there, so being the big business they are they want their product to be as cheap as possible. They also use deforested land to feed their cattle Very bad deal going on down there. As if the rainforest wasnt at risk enough.

As far as you kim. you should stop being a jerk about it. She had a legitimate question and was not being rude.

I just read through the list of comments and found something that I find rather funny (it's just my sense of humour) - it seems that there were a couple of misunderstandings in your responses, that maybe I can help to clarify, if you will allow me.

First: In the first "Anonymous" posting, the word "patronized," which was used in the passage "which makes all social occasions and restaurants available to be patronized" appears to have been incorrectly understood by the person who posted the subsequent "Anonymous" comment. This use of "patronized" refers to the patronage of a location - also known as giving someone your business, or frequenting a location or event. It does not refer to a negative response from ones peers. Therefore, this sentence can be read as "which makes all social occasions and restaurants available to be frequented". Although I'm not saying that I necessarily agree with this comment.

Second: the name of the person who wrote the comment appears BELOW the comment, not above. For example, in response to Robert.rodriguez' comment: it was Kim who "had a legitimate question and was not being rude", not Heather, as you seem to have misuderstood.

I am a vegetarian and this guide helped me to become one!

I am a 62 year old male and very interested in becoming a vegetarian to improve my health and restore lost energy. Just found this site and will use it and the comments from others to achieve my goal. Keep the comments coming!

Hi, I'm 17 years old and just recently became a vegatarian, My reasons was because everytime I ate meat I'd feel guilty when I saw the same animals in a field. I have an intense dislike for animal cruelty and cry when I watch the films, I don't think it was until recently that realised I was helping battery farming by eating meat product's. I cut out meat out my diet but I still drink milk, I didn't relise I wasn't ment to eat fish but I've now cut that out aswell, I drink milk everyday and quorn instead of chicken. I feel better now I'm a vegatarian because I don't feel guilt everytime I eat. And also because I don't annoy my mum by asking what animal I'm eating at every meal.

I've been a vegetarian for quite some time and honestly I've never had a problem with it. I think you're wary about quitting cold turkey you should think about just becoming a vegetarian one day a week.

Like recently Paul McCartney asked people to cut meat from their diets on Mondays and I think that's a great idea for lots of people to do.

So I started a campaign to get 150 people to do it in unison: https://www.thepoint.com/campaigns/meatless-mc-cartney-mondays/

If you're unsure about going completely vegetarian/vegan, try it one day a week and see the benefits.