For years I felt uneasy about the fact I was eating meat, but I kept doing it anyway just because it just seemed easier....surely becoming a vegetarian would be a lot of hassle?

Well, at the start of this year I decided to act on that little voice of conscience and I stopped eating meat products.

Numerous things brought me to that decision: principally the horrendous suffering that is inflicted upon animals just so we can eat something we don't even need to eat, the fact that vegetarian diets are healthier and significantly reduce the likelihood of developing cancer and also the significant benefits to the environment. Also, it was in part motivated by spiritual leanings, and I was advised that spiritual advancement is aided by a light vegetarian diet. One of the final kicks I needed was seeing the comment that people who claim to love animals and yet eat them and thus participate in their enslavement, suffering and slaughter are hypocrites of the worst kind.

That hit home...big time. And like Leonardo da Vinci, the ultimate renaissance man said, feeding on animal flesh is feeding on death and making your body into little more than a tomb.

I can't do that any more.

Becoming vegetarian was surprisingly easy and I didn't miss meat products AT ALL. In fact, there is an abundance of meat-free products such as Quorn that are not only better for you (and the environment) but which are absolutely delicious. I can eat with a clean conscience. The very thought to consuming animal flesh is now quite repellent to me. I also feel healthier and lighter overall...I can definitely attest to the benefits of a meat free diet.

Although I am a fierce advocate of vegetarianism and will do what I can to promote the cause, I respect other people's rights to make their own moral and ethical choices. I just wish people would actually think a little bit more about what they are putting into their bodies however and the COST of doing so...many people are quite unconscious about what they eat and the suffering that animals have to endure just so they can habitually eat what they've always eaten without having to think about the consquences. I would invite people to spend the day at a slaughterhouse and see then if they are still happy knowing that animals have suffered horrifically (yes, even in our supposedly highly-regulated industries) just so they could stuff their bellies with their corpses when there is a abundance of healthier and blood-free alternatives to choose from.

I don't mean to offend anyone, merely inform. I also don't want to go into debate. I don't do debating. I just state my cause and let it be and I let it go. Once expressed, there is no point in trying to win arguments. This is just, um, food for thought...

If there are any other vegetarians here I would love to hear your stories and chat about foods, recipes and meat free alternatives