What are the upsides and downsides of becoming a vegetarian?

What are the upsides and downsides of becoming a vegetarian?

Or at least not eating red meats I.e pork, beef etc.

Thanks!

I could never be a vegetarian... its just too hard
if you can do it I think it would be amazing
so an upside is that you accomplished something VERY difficult

I dont see an upside.

it isnt healthy to stop eating meat. and meat is just delicious.

I agree!! not healthy...it's really not worth it I mean hello it is the food chain...

What if I eat chicken and fish, but stop eating beef and pork?

well I'm 13 and I stopped eating meat when I was 8 I never really ate it anyway before like pepperoni pizza, and bacon never liked either, but I dont call myself a veggie because I don't eat veggies, and certain meants are good and some are bad just get the good kind, or stop eating it, I'm not a health nut, so I guess its good to have veggies and mean and I have neither, but about 2 or 3 months ago, I ent to NYC and all the hot dog stands made me crave a hot dog when I got back... I dont think it has to be set in stone like you can switch when you are craving meat or only eat your favorties like bacon-and it can help you health to not eat meat-they both have benefits, hope I helped.. :]

I'm a vegetarian and I'm on my eleventh week so I'm new to this. The hard part is finding food to eat. Keep eating fish like I do, it's safer protein wise. The upside is that you don't have to feel bad about all those dying animals. I haven't lost any weight so I'm not sure how it will affect anyone else. GO VEGE! Make sure you take supplements like Centrum or multipurpose vitamins to keep you iron and protein levels survivable.

If you attempt, good luck!

you live longer.
you save lives
... the average vegetarian saves 100 animal lives per year.
you reduce your risk of getting cancer, heart disease, and tons of other diseases.
you will feel better (I cant explain it... its just a lighter feeling inside of you... its just something else...) perhaps because your not feeding your body dead flesh anymore.
...either way you look at it... meat is dead flesh.

ohh not to mention, if everybody in the world we're to follow a vegetarian diet, there would be NO WORLD HUNGER.
Yes, thats right. NO WORLD HUNGER.
it takes 16 pounds of grain and 5214 gallons of water to produce ONE POUND OF MEAT. (if the animal weighs 50+pounds,...you do the math.)
...if people stopped raising animals for food... we would have enough food to feed everybody in the world.

...(some people think eating meat helps keep their populations under control)
wrong again.
...WE ARTIFICALLY FERTILIZE ANIMALS FOR FOOD. millions and millions of animals are born each year to die for our dinner plates.
... thats also billions of tons of methane gas (excrements) being put into the atmosphere!
(if you didnt know... factory farming-what I mentioned above- is a very big factor in destroying the ozone layer.. yeah, global warming.)

and there are no downs of becoming a vegetarian.
nutritionally... you will be fine if you make sure you get a good ammount of protien and b12 vitamins (which is super easy, because the veggie food nowadays is AWESOME, and fortified with b12.) so thats no worry.

there really are no downs.

...its a challenge...
but if in your heart you believe what your doing is making a difference (it really is), it will be easier.

...the first 2 months we're slightly challenging for me...occasional cravings for meat.
but once your brain learns that meat is no longer a food, you will stop craving it... I promise.
its a process though. you need to teach yourself that meat is no longer a food item for you. its no longer a food item at all.
your body will learn this in time, and your cravings will go away.

...go to the peta website ( http://www.peta.org )
... they have some really good videos about why you should become a vegetarian...

I personally cant stomach the thought of eating animal flesh... of you eat meat... you need to take respondsibility for killing a living breathing animal.
thats just something I cannot do. some people can, im just not one of them.

...I believe in what im doing...
I know deep down its something I was meant to do... something I was meant to become... and something I was meant to inspire others to do.

so far, 3 people close to me have turned vegetarian. (4 total, including myself)
thats 400 animals per year that dont have to die.

...we dont need meat to live.
we should do as little harm to the world as you can while your here. vegetarianism is a wonderful way to make a difference...
if not on a grand-scale... in the life of one innocent animal.

Best wishes.

I myself dont see the point besides that you are helping animals. You still have to take supplements bc you can become ill bc your not getting enough iron which is in red meat. I also recently read that studies proved that vegetarians have weak bones. But in the end it is your choice, you could visit your doctor and see what he/she recommends.

Upsides - you live longer, you don't feel guilty about eating animals, you aren't eating dead animals, your helping animals, some of the food is actually nicer than normal food!

I love being vegetarin
I am 13 and have been for a while
I find that it helps stress and makes you live longer while, also making you feel lighter and happy plus if you are a competitive runner or swimmer than no meat will make you lighter.being a vegeatrin also will hepl a lot of weight loss because you dont realise how much fat, calories and diffent things people smother meat in to make it nice.
food is only one part of life and the reason for obeasity is because people dont chose to not eat something and they dont acre how mcug work or dying has gone into what tehya re eating
good luck and think of the animals you are saving

eileencatherine and anag;

I am astounded by your ignorance.
Being vegetarian is very healthy, especially considering the state that the meat market is in today. Almost every cut of meat you eat, unless it is free-range, organic, biological is packed with fertilizers (either from plants consumed by the animals or other sources) and hormones.
Also, eating meat today is NOT part of the food chain as it originally was in its natural state. Unless you are going out yourself and slaying an animal, to then strip it of its meat with your own bare hands, it is not fair and natural.
The way factory farms work today is that animals are breeded and raised simply to be killed.
They are treated so disgustingly. Typically, when pigs are waiting to be killed, they don't even have enough room to turn around because the farmers are so cheap and don't want to make enough space.
A lot of the time aswell at slaughterhouses, methods are used to try and kill the animal quickly but fail. This means that many half-dead animals will be in a packed heap together waiting to be cut up into different pieces simply for your consumption.
Worse, some slaughterhouses don't even try to kill the animals quickly. They just let them suffer.

Anyways, if you want to know more about the suffering, you can visit peta.com .

Other upsides to being vegetarian (other than not supporting what I just wrote about) is that you won't gain as much weight, your cholesterol is typically lower and you aren't filling yourself with another living thing.

Downsides do exist.
One of them is that vegetarianism can be more expensive than a normal diet. It CAN be more expensive depending on how you cook. There are a lot of vegetarian/vegan-special premade products that often supplement other cut-out food groups. These tend to be expensive and sparse.
Personally, I've just learned to prepare well-rounded meals using things like vegetables, lots of grains, nuts, etc. This way, I don't spend MORE money by being vegetarian, but instead less because I buy what I normally would have before, but don't have to buy expensive cuts of meat.
Also, being vegetarian can be hard for some meat lovers. Personally, I eat a mostly vegetarian diet before becoming totally vegetarian, so it wasn't a big problem for me. However, if you have a big thing for meat, I could see the challenge.

For me, the best part about being vegetarian is that I can save lives by choosing a slightly altered way of life.

I have been vegetarian since 5 years old , and I must tell you I absolutely have no problem , am healthy , strong, fast , the stupid myth of veggies being skinny ? just look at my pics im sure ull disagree, and its delightful, to know that im all nature.