Click here to read all of my blog posts about Health & Vegetarianism.

Whether you're vegetarian or not, what you eat (and where it comes from) is the most important decision you make about your body and the planet every day. I've been a VERY strict vegetarian (not vegan) for almost 6 years, and I don't miss meat one bit. My decision to become veg was based on three common vegetarian concerns: health, environment, and animal rights. Health more than anything else - if you're still eating meat, I suggest you visit a chicken farm someday and then tell me you want to eat what's coming out of there. It's disgusting. The amount of hormones and pesticides alone in the meat you're eating should make you think more than twice, not to mention the ways the animals are treated. And remember Foot & Mouth disease? Still a problem. Same goes for dairy. Heart disease, numerous types of cancer, especially breast cancer, diabetes, and many other diseases and maladies can be linked DIRECTLY to meat and dairy consumption. Poultry farming is perhaps the worst and the cruelest meat industry of them all, perhaps because birds aren't mammals and people don't feel so bad about their treatment, unlike soft fuzzy cows - read the atrocities here: http://www.factoryfarming.com/poultry.htm.

Vegetarianism isn't just about health and animal rights. It's also a very important environmental issue. Factory farming is one of the primary sources of ground water pollution and air pollution, as well as the cause of millions of acres of forests being destroyed every year to make room for cattle grazing. If you really want to contribute to environmental efforts and help to clean up our world, vegetarianism is an excellent way to do so. Think about how much is involved with the food you eat: growing (acres of forest are lost every year for cattle grazing; most of the corn and grain grown in the world goes toward feeding cattle, not for direct consumption; tons of topsoil is lost every year from over-farming and pesticide use), shipping (is it local? or shipped from Florida? think of all the trucking/oil/gas/energy needed to ship food), packaging (how big is that box? how much plastic? think about the garbage you produce at home. solid waste comes mostly from food items.)

In general, I try to stick to only organic/free range cheese and dairy/eggs, being a Vegan is REALLY hard. i've been getting better at it though, but i don't think i'll ever be 100% vegan. I mean, even SOY CHEESE, which is usually promoted as "100% dairy free", is usually not because it contains "casein", a milk protein. You pretty much have to go "whole food" these days to be a vegan, which is not a bad thing, but extremely difficult for most people to maintain.

Visit 49 Good Reasons for Being Vegetarian for some facts and figures on that. For some "FAQ" and definitions of Vegetarian terms, check out the International Vegetarian Union. Also check out Vegan FAQ for more information about being vegan ( no meat no eggs no dairy no leather no animals!) or this personal webpage that answers common questions about vegetarianism.