Are You a Selfless Vegetarian or a Selfish One?

Vegetarians have been around since the start of time. Early settlers ate a mainly vegetarian diet full of grains and legumes out of necessity due to lack of meat sources. Others made their choice based on religious tenets that set the foundation for their dietary selections, such as in Buddhism. Some philosophers such as Plutarch firmly established the argument of why eating meat was both morally wrong and an intellectually inferior decision of the majority. A recent study done in England that claimed to prove vegetarians actually are smarter than their meat-eating counterparts gives yet another reason.

What comes to mind today when we think of a vegetarian? Ten or twenty years ago many people would think of an animal loving, radical hippie who chose not to eat anything that had to be killed. Many would spend a good portion of their time pressuring others to see the light by preaching and handing out literature. To further the passion of not harming animals some became what is known as vegan, a person who would not eat or partake in any product that involves an animal whatsoever. No milk, no butter, no leather handbags or Jell-o dessert.

Today there is a new breed of vegetarian, what I like to call the "selfish" kind although of course by no means do I use the word selfish in the way most of you think. By selfish I mean they choose to not eat meat not for the animal's sake but for their own. Countless studies have pr oven the benefits of soy, a common ingredient in meat alternate products. In fact, the American Dietetic Association has even commented on the benefits and adequacy of a meat-free lifestyle. So, what do other vegetarians have to say about these leather shoe wearing, who cares about the cruelty to animals, passive vegetarians?

Most I presume respond vehemently with anger, and others like myself say, "Who cares?" Why a person decides to become a vegetarian really doesn't matter as long they feel they are doing the right thing whether it is selfless sacrifice or a self-centered desire for longevity. What's wrong with either of the two? I, myself, became a vegetarian for selfish reasons, and have over the years forged into a mixture of the two types I've defined within my own philosophy.

When I originally stopped eating meat it was a slow process. I believe I first stopped eating beef because of the health risks that the fear inducing media was pushing on me. Then one day as Lent approached for my Catholic family, I realized I didn't need forty days out of a year to make a sacrifice. I decided I would provide my own spiritual relinquishment every day of my existence by not eating the flesh of those that once had life.

I am a vegetarian who eats dairy products, supports funding for research on animal cruelty, and wears fake leather shoes. The leading conviction in my choice to not eat meat is that I do not believe I need to take life in order to survive. I also catch bugs that have somehow found their way into my home and release them back into the vastness of the Earth that I call my backyard. But that's my choice, and I never push it on others unless they provoke me to do so. Am I more intelligent than my meat-eating husband? Well, that's another article in itself ...