This page is ideal for people who are thinking about being vegetarian or who are vegetarian (with some info for vegans).

Health   Boring Food?
Animal Testing Hidden Products Things People Say


Health

According to the Vegetarian & Vegan Foundation, vegetarian/vegan diets are the healthiest option for children and they know what they are talking about! You can get every nutrient that you need from a veggie/vegan diet (you can get some great guides with all the information you'll need from Viva, click here for the leaflets page. Here is an Animal-Free Food Pyramid for you to check out, taken from Veggie Health For Kids (a Viva guide) which is packed with information on all the nutrients you could ever need!) Veggie/vegan diets cut down the risks cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other diseases. So I would say it is A LOT healthier than a meat eaters diet! Professor Jane Plant said "Undoubtedly, the best anti-cancer diet would be completely vegan."

Boring Food? NO!

Something that might put you off becoming veggie is that you might think you'll get bored of just vegetables, well for a start vegetarians don't only eat vegetables! There are all sorts of alternatives; soya, Quorn (not all Quorn products use free range eggs - look out for The Vegetarian Society approved picture) tofu and more! You might still think well that's boring - it's not! You can spice everything up to your own taste. Not everyone loves all vegetables obviously but there's a lot you can do with them to make them tasty! My mum and brother especially like roasted vegetables! :o) Also beans/pulses are very good for you and a lot of them are scrummy too! For example Baked Beans! We have tried home-made baked beans a couple times and they are very nice! Foods like Chick Peas, Lentils, nuts and seeds are also good and edible!! :oP Then there's the more obvious stuff like rice, pasta and cous cous. Remember meat eaters eat these foods too.

Animal Testing

In my opinion, and many other animal lovers opinions, animal testing is wrong. Most importantly because it is extremely cruel but it can also cause delays in discovering new drugs/methods and it can be dangerous to humans. Animal testing causes pain and distress to many animals just because they are like us, it's a cheap way of experimenting and it would, apparently, be more cruel to test new drugs on people ? it is just as unfair and horrible to do so on animals and they can't ask people to stop. Humans need to realise that we do not rule the world. Animals deserve the equal rights that we get. If you want to read in detail about Animal Testing, the dangers to humans/cruelty to animals etc., click here and read something I actually wrote for an English GCSE Assignment!
You must remember, though, just because something isn't tested on animals doesn't mean it doesn't have animal in it. For example, The Body Shop is against animal testing but not all their products are vegan (i.e. they contain 'ingredients' from animals). In Shrewsbury there are 2 good shops in town that have vegan soaps, candles, shampoos, conditioners, moisturisers and bath goodies! There is Wild Thyme by the Shrewsbury Library and there is another small shop (the name escapes me!) up the road from the Post Office in town. A good company for vegan products that aren't tested on animals and don't have genetically modified products and chemicals in them check out FAITH IN NATURE. Here's their website http://www.faithinnature.com. They have some lovely shampoos/conditioners and soaps :o) JASON products! I adore the shampoos and conditioners - lovely!

Hidden Animal Products

Watch out for hidden animal by-products like Gelatine, it's in most chewing gum and other chewy sweets. Basically it's left overs from animals such as cow's hooves, it is just a way to stop waste - they make things like Wine Gums chewy. It's disgusting in my opinion! *Shudders*!
Glycerine can be animal based. It is in some foods but may also be in your toothpaste! So just check to see whether it's from a plant or an animal.

Things People Say

Sometimes people have very odd views of vegetarians and some people just don't approve! Just remember it is your choice and it is healthy and natural!
Here's a classic: "Humans were meant to eat meat!" No, no they weren't! Humans have evolved from monkeys and apes and what do they eat?! PLANTS! Monkeys/apes only eat meat for the pleasure of hunting, as with humans - eating meat is a habit NOT a necessity!
Or a classic variation! "What do you think these teeth are for? Humans were meant to eat meat!" Uh uh! They are sooo wrong! Your reply to this could be: "ACTUALLY! humans weren't meant to eat meat! Take a look at a born killer, let's say a lion - THOSE teeth were meant for killing and eating animals!" Of course you don't have to be so arsey but I like to win! :oP :oD Aw come on! Who doesn't?!!

Some good books/leaflets are;
Back To The Top
MEAT IS MURDER