The main reason I'm a vegetarian is that if I wasn't, I'd be quite a bit of a hypocrite. This is why: I know that I could not kill an animal and prepare it for eating myself. (Or at least, I wouldn't choose to; if I had to when I was lost in the wild or something, that would be a different story, but the idea bothers me.) Also, if I eat meat, it means I can love a dog or a cat, but not give two craps if a pig dies. Dogs and cats are companions, but pigs are food? Pigs are smarter than dogs or cats and can have a hell of a lot more personality, in most cases. Maybe you would think this would encourage me to just not eat pork, but the story goes on.

Have you ever seen the lobsters that have their claws bound until they get boiled alive? I think that's awful. Lobsters are pretty gross-looking creatures, and they probably don't have much in the way of personality (not that I ever met one), but after seeing some crawl around in a tank at a seafood joint on my twentieth birthday, I decided that didn't really matter to me. I decided to become vegetarian that day, and I have been ever since. I don't feel that I could, in good conscience, eat anything that ever moved of its own accord or ran from pain. (That's why I won't buy it, prepare it, or eat it even if it's given to me; it's the same to me as not wanting to wear jewelry that someone else stole, because I don't feel it's something that's mine to take.) I'm not an animal lover but I can't see killing them for food if there are alternatives I'm willing to endure.

Most people aren't willing to endure those alternatives, and that's fine with me, but I've made my choice. I find vegetarian alternatives to be very tasty and satisfying, and I can completely accept it if someone else does not agree and isn't willing to give it up. I've taken a nutrition class and I have found that unless you're a vegan (you don't eat animals OR animal products), you really don't have to pay too much attention as long as you do get those proteins somehow. Vegans have to take more care to get all their nutrition, but it's very easy for a vegetarian.

To answer some questions I've been asked: Yes, I drink milk, eat cheese, and eat eggs. And no, I don't eat fish or chicken. Do you really think I could live without ice cream? I ask you. Heh. I buy free-range, vegetarian eggs (the chickens aren't fed meat), and I generally consume cheese and milk if it is in other things like pizza bought from the store or baked goods that use milk. (In cereal and for drinking, I use soy milk.)

I'll also have you know that I am not one of those "prissy" vegetarians who goes around telling other people that they need to stop eating meat too. I'm supportive of "animal rights" but not to the extent that I'm going to pester other people with my beliefs. The switch to vegetarianism, if it is to be made, has to be made of one's own accord, not through pressure from other people. Just like religion: If you're not willing to accept the sacrifices, you're not going to enjoy the benefits. And I know a lot of people find meat too tasty or too convenient to give up. (Being a person who has been pestered one too many times about religion, I understand that having someone force their beliefs or practices on you is no picnic.) So no, if you are one of my friends I'm not going to try to "convert" you, or be prissy about it, or make snide comments or get grossed out if you eat meat around me. I ate it for most of my life and I'm not going to look down on you for doing the same.

One last thing: I didn't switch to vegetarianism for the health benefits, as I said, but it sure is nice to have them. :) I've been feeling better since I switched to a no meat diet, though I don't know if it's a psychological phenomenon or if it's a physical thing. I used to get colds and minor sicknesses when they were going around, but now I think I have the immune system of the gods or something, because I have literally had two colds in ten years and have caught no other communicable diseases.

If you would like to check out some of my vegetarian recipes, go ahead. (Just be warned, they're nothing particularly special.)

Well, hope this answers your questions (if you had any) or at least provided some entertaining reading material for you. Any more questions or comments can be e-mailed to me.

My husband is vegetarian and I've had to learn to check the ingrediants of everything I pick up. I personally couldn't go the same way as he is so limited to what he can eat outside of our own home.

Nox: I commend you for not being a hypocrite! I get so angry that people are willing to eat a hamburger, yet get angry at the thought that I might go hunting and then eat what I kill. I see a huge difference between CAFOS (confinement operations) where the animals are crammed in and treated horribly, and killing an animal in the wild, where it has hopefully had a more fulfilling life than it otherwise would have. I'm taking up hunting to know if I can do it, because if I can't, it'll be back to being vegetarian for me as well! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks like this!
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Nox