Vegetarianism is slowly but steadily becoming popular in the United States and is already very popular in places like China and India. But what exactly is it? It is simply the practice of not eating meat, i.e. things like beef, fish, or poultry. There are strong viewpoints, positive and negative, on vegetarianism, which are the following.
The primary reason that some abstain from meat is that they beleive killing and eating animals is cruel and wrong. However, lions kill zebras, cheetas eat antelope, why can we not eat meat? By eating meat, we are controlling the population of some species.
Another major reason for some to not eat meat is they think it is impure, not good for their bodies. There are some meats that are not good for the body. These are "red meats", such as beef and pork. "Brown meat", which is healthy, includes chicken and turkey, mostly poultry. Non-vegetarians claim meat is high in protein and that those who do not eat meat will suffer a lack of it. Meat is high in protein and it is an important mineral in the body. However, protein has also been found in some plants, although not as much as meat however. Still, it seems that meat isn’t as important to our diet as some would lead us to believe.
In certain religions, it is forbidden to eat meat or some types of it. Hindus and Muslims are forbidden to eat beef and pork respectively.
A benefit of meat is that it is more readily available than plant food. It takes much less time to slay and cook an animal rather than wait weeks or months for crops to grow. This is ideal in situations like drought and famine. People could survive on meat until the crops can grow again.
I feel that God made mankind to be able to eat both meat and plants. For example, our teeth include insicors, used to slice meat, and molar, used to grind plant matter. We are omnivores, able to eat plants and animals. To not eat meat seems silly to me. That is like for a monkey to never use his tail to manuver about and only use his hands and feet.
Some are also misled by non-vegetarianism. That simply means to eat meat. Some think that nonvegetarians mainly feast on meat. There are some who do that, but most do not. Many eat both types of food in equal amounts.
I personally do not support vegetarianism. Meat is not entirely bad. Many vegetarians lead us to beleive meat is pure evil. I support a diet equal in meat and vegetables. Both are equally important. Everything in life should be well balanced. Only meat and plants make for a well balanced diet.