"I've found without question that the best way to lead others to a more plant-based diet is by example - to lead with your fork, not your mouth." -Bernie Wilke, quoted in Joanne Stepaniak, The Vegan Sourcebook

Why vegetarian?
Being vegetarian or vegan is a lifestyle choice. Being aware of and advocating for the care and rights of animals may affect a person's eating habits, shopping decisions, clothing, and much more. If you're having doubts about whether or not to become veg, please read some of the items below. The current state of affairs in the meat and dairy industries and animal testing/experimentation lends itself to ultimately being a form of slavery of animals. By becoming aware of the choices you make and how they affect animals, we can begin to abolish this slavery.

I'm not one for pictures of bloodied, carved baby animals or things of that ilk. Those graphic images and intense scare tactics may be needed to convince some people, but the following are some reasons to avoid meat and dairy intended to appeal to logic and compassion. This section will continue to grow as I research credible sources.

"Truely man is the king of beasts, for his brutality exceeds theirs. We live by the death of others: we are burial places! I have from an early age abjured the use of meat, and the time will come when men such as I will look on the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men." ~Leonardo da Vinci

One vegetarian can save approximately 95 animals lives in one year.

Animals don't deserve the violence and exploitation they endure for the sole purpose of "tasting good".

Animals may not be able to talk, but they have complex emotions, thoughts, social behaviors, and bonds with each other - even with other species, including humans. They feel pain, stress, and anxiety just as we humans do.

Animals deserve to live on this earth the way they were meant to - not detained in densely packed cages, being pumped with drugs, denied food and sunlight and the ability to see and care for their young.

Lactose intolerance, to all degrees, is common among humans because most mammals lose the ability to metabolize lactose and this intolerance facilitates weaning. Point: it's unnatural for people past toddlerhood to consume dairy products.

In the dairy industry, male chicks are killed (neglectfully and cheaply) shortly after hatching because they are of no use to the industry as they don't produce eggs.

You can pass on your appreciation for animals to your kids better by practicing veg habits.

If you would like more information, feel free to email me at katherinecota@spindlebell.com.

Note: I will be adding to this list, but in the mean time, I encourage everyone to get out and talk to vegetarians/vegans, read books, magazines, online sources. Check the credibility of your sources. Scholarly journals are the best bet for info on environmental and health impacts of meat and dairy industries as well animal science.