Vegetarianism: A Positive Lifestyle.

Rebuttal for argument #1: Firstly, vegetarianism only encompasses the eating of meat, seafood, insects, and flesh of any other animal. Dairy, and eggs are only blocked out through what is known as a vegan diet, where any animal product is essentially avoided. As for the case of discrimination, the majority of restaurants out there now offer vegetarian options, and if you have friends out there who chose to discriminate against you for the choices you make in your diet, then they simply aren't your real friends. Moreover, we should not teach people to give up on their convictions because they are afraid of being made fun of and/or discriminated against . Any great person in history had someone over their shoulder telling them that they couldn't achieve what they wanted; Shakespeare, Jesus, Nelson Mandela, etc. We should be teaching people to push through with what they believe, and therefore the idea of not pursuing a vegetarian diet out of fear of discrimination is harmful to the way society is structured. In summary, if a person is being discriminated against, then we as a society have failed to implement proper moral values into the individuals discriminating. Besides, people can get discriminated against for anything; however, the idea of being made fun of for having different moral beliefs and/or health concerns is slightly ridiculous, and the individual that is causing said discrimination, is nothing more than a bully that should be stopped. In summary, discrimination should never be an issue when defining ones own lifestyle, and if it is, then the person being discriminated against should be supported, not told to abandon their beliefs. Rebuttal for argument #2: Malnutrition is technically caused by not eating enough food. Starvation is a form of malnutrition. In the United states alone, %67 of soy and %40 of corn produced goes towards raising animals for meat. In a ratio, that essentially means that 13 pounds of grains go into one pound EDIBLE meat. The reason that "edible" was capitalized is because not all meat produced in first world countries is edible. Think of it this way, millions of animals die before they reach slaughterhouses, and even if they are killed for their meat, there are constantly meat recalls occurring all over North America. So in those cases, grain is essentially being thrown away. And even when meat is produced, 12 pounds of grain is being lost, as again, the ratio is 13:1. PETA actually calculated last year that if the grain is diverted, we could end world hunger, and so, malnutrition wouldn't be an issue, if the meat trade was closed down. Furthermore, there are many studies that show that vegetarianism is very healthy. Not only are vegetarians less likely to contract certain kinds of cancer, but also have a decreased risk of being obese, becoming diabetic, and dying of heart diseases. Moreover, when it comes to children, teenagers, and the elderly, yes it is more difficult; however, it can still be done. Take Jim Morris as an example. Jim is a 78 year old vegan body-builder. Personally, I'm 16 years old, and have been vegetarian for nearly a year now. I'm very athletic, as shown by my black-belt, competitive swimming history, and finished multi-kilometer races. So although being a vegetarian and a teenager, elderly person, or child is more difficult, it certainly is not impossible. Rebuttal for argument #3: People who eat fish are not vegetarian, they are known as pescetarians. Also, the majority of vegetarians do not eat insects. Although it is a questionable debate among vegetarians, people who eat insects are a whole other category, and do not come under the banner of, "vegetarian." Furthermore, whether eggs can be considered meat is another debate; however, the eggs that are sold as a source of food are unfertilized. An unfertilized egg is essentially a chicken's period or menstruation, meaning that it isn't alive, part of anything that is alive, or have the potential to grow into life, nor does it have any flesh, and therefore, it cannot be considered meat. Thus, vegetarians are not hypocrites, as fish and insects are prohibited in the diet, and eggs are not biologically considered meat to begin with. Rebuttal for argument #4: Yes, food companies that raise and sell meat will crash; however, what people tend not to realize is that vegetarians need to consume more food than non-vegetarians. Where does said food come from? Well the fruit, vegetable and grain industry essentially. That means that although the meat industry will fall, the industries listed above will rise dramatically. This has the potential to open up huge amounts of jobs. Furthermore, people who work directly with animals are often exposed to a large amount of feces, bacteria, and methane, three things that can be extremely hazardous to a person's health. Thus, not only would there be other jobs opening if the meat industry closed, but these jobs would also be a lot safer for the workers. Thus, vegetarianism is an extremely positive lifestyle that can improve the world in many ways.