5 Reasons Being a Vegetarian Rocks

1. You're Helping Animals
I realize this is probably the most obvious of the reasons I could come up with but hey, it's the most important. Leaving animals off of your plate means in upwards of 100 animals were spared a torturous slaughter at the expense of your dinner. Animals who live on factory farms suffer from the minute they're born until the very second they are killed for meat. I always hear things like, "Animals were put here for us to eat" or "They're just cows / chickens etc" but the fact is, none of this is true. Saying animals were put on this earth for us to eat is some kind of sick and twisted justification for something we have no other way to defend. Who put them here for us to eat? Also, imagine a chicken living on a farm when a fox sneaks in and has the intention of killing / eating that chicken, the chicken will likely try to escape fearing for its life. These animals feel fear just like we do and rest assured, their short lives spent in captivity are no different. They fear everything leading up to the moment they are manhandled and slaughtered. It's not o.k and there's really no justification or defense that holds any weight to the actuality of the situation.

Also, it is not natural to us. Although we have been bred to believe meat is crucial for us to get enough protein, nutrients, and nourishment, the fact is, true carnivores can eat their meat raw. Tigers, lions, coyotes etc., these animals will hunt and kill a living animal and eat it straight from that point whereas we have to manipulate this meat to make it safe for us to eat. Someone may argue they eat raw meat frequently but that's just not true, the fact is, we are not natural carnivores. Can you imagine taking a bite out of a rabbit while it's still struggling to get away from you? Horrifying isn't it? It has been ingrained in us that eating meat is what we as humans do but this couldn't be further from the truth.

2. You'll Likely Consume Far More Nutrients / Antioxidants
Vegetables and fruit contain so many unique antioxidants and vitamins that are crucial to our well being. Antioxidants are responsible for fighting free radicals in our systems that can contribute to a slew of issues including poor skin quality, weak immune systems, and more serious problems like heart disease, Alzheimers, and various cancers.

I'm not suggesting that meat eaters do NOT get these benefits, but the less meat you consume, the more veggies you would consume in its place so naturally, you will consume far more vitamins and nutrients which can only benefit you in the long term. 

3. You'll get Lots of Protein without all of the Fat, Cholesterol, and possible Carcinogens
We've all heard the argument before, "How do you get protein without meat?" or "You're probably not getting enough protein" but the truth is, that's just not true. Beans, legumes, and nuts all contain large amounts of protein as well as veggies like broccoli and peas. The best part of these delicious alternatives, you're skipping out on the extreme amounts of cholesterol and fat that meat often provides. Not to mention, various meats have been studied and linked to various forms of cancer, specifically processed meats. Lunch meats, hot dogs, bacon, sausages etc., these foods are all linked to cancer because of the chemicals involved in processing them.

4. You'll Eat Less Processed Garbage Food
Look, I grew up eating conveniently just like anyone else. My parents cooked as often as they could but there were plenty of days where we ate pizza pops, fast food, tv dinners, and frozen, prepackaged meals. What's terrible about these foods is that they often have 300 ingredients almost all of which are not good for you. Look, if you're eating a dinner with chicken, carrots, and mashed potatoes, those should be the only ingredients in the package but that's far from the case. The list of ingredients for these frozen meals is often astronomical and there are so many ingredients that sound like science experiments gone wrong, they just can't be good for you.

Cutting out meat will ultimately lead to less bad for you food and more good for you food that you make from scratch. 

5. You're Helping The Planet
Deny climate change or not, it's a proven fact that factory farms are pumping out more than their fair share of environmentally damaging greenhouse gases. In fact, animal agriculture is eating up our free land, polluting our waters with fecal matter, and destroying our ozone. By leaving meat off of your plate, you choose not to contribute to the downward spiral of our planet. If we all made this choice, perhaps we could stall what is already being described as the rapid change in our environment. Look at the amount of hurricanes and their intensity that we are seeing, this is due to our waters remaining warmer and staying warmer which fuels the strength of these storms. This will continue to get worse and worse over time as our global average temperature slowly creeps up. We could see potentially catastrophic consequences if we don't take serious action on a global scale so why not cut out meat and send a clear message that we want factory farming and all of its toxicity done with!