People turn to vegetarianism for many different and often compelling reasons. For some it’s about health; for others, it’s about ending animal cruelty. And increasingly, vegetarianism appeals to an activist population concerned about environmental issues.

Health Reasons

With their increased worries about the growing incidence of chronic diseases, many Americans cite health as the reason for changing lifestyle and diet. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the leading causes of death in the United States are cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, all of which account for about 1.7 million deaths annually. But the sad truth, say the experts at the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, and others, is that many of these deaths would have been preventable if the patient had altered his or her diet to reduce consumption of saturated fats (animal fats) and had exercised regularly. Vegetarians, particularly veg-ans, can drastically reduce their fat intake.

Furthermore, research shows that vegetarians are less likely to become obese; to develop coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, or diabetes; or to suffer from certain cancers. Vegetarians may develop less osteoporosis, suffer less often from constipation, and develop fewer gallstones. It’s easy to see why many people become vegetarians simply to feel better, stay slimmer, and to possibly live longer.

Ethical Reasons

According to the USDA, the per-capita meat consumption—including red meat, poultry, and seafood—in 2005 totaled about 200 pounds, an amount 22 pounds higher than in 1970. But statistics show that red meat consumption itself has dropped significantly, perhaps reflecting the consumer’s growing awareness of animal rights.

Numerous reports of the cruel living conditions of animals on factory farms may account for this drop. But whether you are an animal activist or simply a pet owner, you may abstain from eating meat out of respect for an animal’s life. Yet it’s important to remember that people in some cultures, such as the Inuit, have traditionally subsisted on a basic diet of fish and meat; other cultures live on a diet consisting of proteins from animals such as snakes and insects.

Religious Beliefs

Numerous religions—including some Buddhist sects, Jains, Hindus, and Seventh Day Adventists—support a plant-based diet, or at least recommend their believers embrace a vegetarian lifestyle. Other religions, such as Judaism and Islam, prohibit eating certain kinds of meat, specifically pork; Jews who keep kosher follow stricter meat-eating laws, for they are forbidden to consume specific animal or animal products or to eat certain fish and shellfish. And many Baha’is prefer following a vegetarian diet because they believe a plant-based diet is how future generations should eat.

Environmentalism

Global warming, the greenhouse effect, and pollution all play a role in how concerned citizens view their shrinking and endangered natural resources. Many consumers now see a link between their health and the planet’s health, and are beginning to believe, for example, that supporting livestock on limited agricultural lands just for meat consumption is speeding up the destruction of land and water resources. That is particularly worrisome as populations grow and the demand for meat keeps pace with that growth.

Although these concerns are not new—Frances Moore Lappé wrote about them in 1972 in her seminal book Diet for a Small Planet—present-day activist groups such as Greenpeace note that raising animals for food uses up and/or destroys valuable natural resources, including land, water, and the grains used for feeding animals. As they point out, not only do cattle produce quantities of waste requiring treatment, but also farmed animals consume about 70 percent of the grains and cereals American farmers grow each year, an amount that could presumably feed nearly 9 billion people. In those terms, changing to a plant-based diet could make a positive environmental impact—and feed more people.