What are the benefits of being vegetarian?

I dont' eat red meat, mostly just chicken, fish and turkey, but what is really beneficial of being totally vegetarian?

Veganism is better for your heart. Proven to reduce heart disease, and even reverse coronary heart disease.

Automatically lower s your cholesterol levels. The only foods that contain cholesterol are animal products, like meat and dairy. And since a three-decade-long study found that not a single subject with a cholesterol level below 150 has ever developed heart disease, that's hard to ignore!

Vegans have lower rates of obesity, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, large bowel disorders, cancers and gallstones.

Reduces stroke risks and coronary artery disease.

Reduces symptoms of fibromyalgia.

Reduces food poisoning. 95% of food poisoning is linked to animal products.

Your bowels will work much better, therefore, keeping your whole system healthier.

Live longer healthier lives. One 21-year-long study that compared meat-eaters and vegetarians showed that the greater the meat consumption, the greater the death rate from all causes combined.

Increased vegetable and fruit intake reduces your need for taking a multi vitamin plus increases your antioxidant intake.

The big thing I've been thinking about lately is biomagnification. The idea is that if the bottom of the food chain is contaminated with something, then as you go up the food chain, the amount in each organism goes up. Say you have algae contaminated with mercury. The algae is eaten by plankton, then the plankton is eaten by a small fish, which is eaten by a larger fish, then we eat the fish, and by that time, the amount of mercury has gone up quite a bit, about 10x per level. That's biomagnification. If you just eat the algae, or in systems on the land, you eat the plant, then you are cutting out several layers of biomagnification. Anywho, between that and the fact that less energy/water is used to produce plant matter than meat, it seems like a good reason to go vegetarian. I am not a vegetarian although I buy organic, free-range chicken......

a tendency to eat lots of fruits and vegetables which are usually lacking in a standard diet. But vegetarians can eat unhealthy too. like Junk food, sugar, etc.

You get to be sickly.

Here is a website I found that has all the arguments:

http://www.taxmeat.com/index.asp

well, when we eat crap it puts pollutants in our bodies....pollutants are the main cause of aging....so other that a much more healthy lifestyle (if you eat vegetarian the correct way) you will age more slowly...

not being involved in the pain, cruelty, torture and death of animals is a good start

the health benefits and great tasting food are a bonus

All you have to do is look at the line-up at McDonalds to realise how unhealthy meat is, or look at the meaty questions and answers in this forum to realise how be-fuddled some meaty brains get with all those artificial hormones they ingest.

EDit: The chicken is called Joel, he has a character and name you know ? He's not a food product.

none what so ever....

Strict vegetarian diets would be an excellent idea if we didn't actually have enzymes in our digestive systems that were DESIGNED to break down proteins.

We NATURALLY evolved to eat animals. The way to optimal health is a combination of produce AND good meat (like salmon).

The philosophical concerns are a whole other story entirely- the "moral high ground" probably goes to the vegetarians.

MORE MEAT FOR ME!!!

That chicken looks delicious in Michael's picture

mmmmm

OH....u feel different in a good way but u just must get adjusted looking for veg.dishes in a restaurant, etc,etc....umm..probably the religious ones can enlighten u with its benefits!!

I THINK YOU WOULD BE HARMING YOUR "individualized MATE SYSTEM life plan"(within the larger plan framework) if you are involved with RAPE AND MURDER of other creatures in the way you describe... I myself was once involved with DISRUPTION as you describe...

Ill talk about the cons of being a vegetarian...more frequent wedgies and swirlies, and you dont get any hotties.