Go Veggie!

So I have been thinking more about myself being a vegetarian the last few days (maybe it is because I just went to the doctor to make sure I am still getting the right amount of everything I need since cutting out meat from my diet, or maybe it is because of the church wide fast that CrossRoads is doing for the first 21 days of lent (check it out - Daniel's fast)). People ask me why I don't eat meat, and really instead, I should be asking people why they DO eat meat. I am not trying to make ANYONE feel guilty, but the statistics are outrageous. The world's cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people—more than the entire human population on Earth.19 About 20 percent of the world's population, or 1.4 billion people, could be fed with the grain and soybeans fed to U.S. cattle alone. With all of the starving people in the world, how could I eat meat? In my heart I cannot justify eating meat that is extremely wasteful when there are thousands of people in the world that have nothing to eat. You can save more water by not eating a pound of beef than not showering for an entire year. Now I am not advocating the reduction of showers, but I am advocating doing everything that we can to help those around us. There are wonderful resources out there if you are thinking about it, or even just want to read up on some of the facts about vegetarian vs. non vegetarian. (http://www.goveg.com/) Again, I hope I am not making anyone feel like I am criticising their lifestyle, I am simply stating why I live my life the way I do. I was asked once what difference I, one person, would make, and I the way I think of it (remember, I graduated with an economic degree) is that if I am not eating meat, then I am not buying meat, and if I am not buying meat then there is a lower demand for meat, and instead of over producing the producers will see a small demand and therefore supply less. Yeah, okay, maybe little ol' me can't make that big of an impact, but ANY impact is better than nothing, RIGHT?! Well, now you have a little more insight into why I don't eat meat. People talk about how much of a sacrifice it is and that they wouldn't be able to do it, but if you think of it in terms of others not being able to eat because of what you are eating it is much easier to say NO THANKS to the meaty things. I comend my other vegetarians and would recommend it to anyone!