More Facts About Vegetarianism

Many people choose to make the lifestyle choice of switching to a vegetarian diet in order to benefit their health and the state of the environment, but most mainstream people don't know about all of what vegetarianism has to offer as a way of life. In this article, we'll offer you some fast facts that can help you to learn more about vegetarianism that you may not be familiar with.

There are four recognized different types of vegetarianism; they are lacto-vegetarianism, ovo-vegetarianism, lacto-ovo-vegetarianism, and veganism. Lacto-vegetarians allow themselves to have milk and other dairy products, but avoid eating eggs and meat. Ovo-vegetarians allow themselves to eat eggs, but deny themselves the consumption of meat or dairy products. Lacto-ovo-vegetarians allow themselves to eat both eggs and dairy products, only avoiding eating meat, and vegans feel that they should avoid eating any types of products that come from animals whatsoever, including eggs, dairy products, and other food products such as gelatin that involve animal products. Lacto-ovo-vegetarians are the most common types of vegetarians in the United States, and vegans are the second most common.

Of the three hundred million plus people living in the United States, approximately four million, eight hundred thousand are a vegetarian of one type or another.

Some religions rely on diets that are based in vegetarianism. For example, Buddhists believe that a vegetarian diet is a necessary step when it comes to helping to speed up your spiritual energies.

One reason that many people choose to become vegetarians is that they feel that they should not support the suffering of animals. It's the truth that the meat processing industry often employs very inhumane ways of raising and slaughtering their livestock, a fact which many vegetarians feel is cause enough to give up meat in order to prevent some of the suffering. Cramped conditions for the animals to live in and the inhumane slaughtering processes that are involved in raising livestock are the two main factors that keep vegetarians from consuming meat products for ethical reasons.

In addition to the ethical treatment of animals, some vegetarians live the way that they do in order to decrease the negative impact that they have on the environment. Growing plants is a lot more environment-friendly then growing livestock. Estimates show that on one acre of land, you can grow roughly one hundred times as much vegetation than you can meat, pound-for-pound. This is a definite factor to consider when deciding on your diet. Also, livestock produce more carbon dioxide gas which can contribute to global warming. Being a vegetarian is helpful to your health, the health of animals, and the health of the environment! What more could you ask for?

Hopefully these facts have opened up some new information to you. The vegetarian decision is not an easy one to arrive on, but if you have the self-control and perseverance to become a vegetarian, you will be doing wonderful things for yourself and the rest of the world. Make the right decision, and stay strong!