No veggies were harmed in the creation of this post...

Post is inspired by this thread on FARK. Granted, a lot of what goes on in FARK posts is bits of trolling and back-and-forth arguments without a lot of backing up, but this one hit a bit close to home.

I've been vegetarian for seven years now; my wife has been vegetarian for a little over ten years now - We're both college-educated folks, and I'd like to think that we know enough to make an educated decision as well as recognizing if said decision was harmful.

Some people go "veggie" for health reasons; others for ethical/moral reasons. Some have their own reasons. I've even run into a couple who went vegetarian because it was "trendy." Before you make the decision to eschew animal products, make sure it's an informed decision. Don't do it because your partner is doing it or because of some new-found activism. This is a lifestyle that requires dedication, and a lot of the time it's not very easy. Let's start with the basics. When you go vegetarian, you'll be giving up a lot of foods you used to enjoy. No more Jell-O; no more marshmallows - these are made with gelatin, an animal product. No more foods with "carmine" or "lard" listed in the ingredients - these too are animal products. You'll be doing a lot more reading, and you'll need to learn what is and what isn't animal based. Most of what you find may surprise and disgust you. Also, be prepared to read a lot of labels when you're grocery shopping.

I went vegetarian for health and moral/ethical reasons, and I really never liked meat all that much. To this day the smell of liver and onions makes me retch. I never really felt healthy eating meat; rather, I felt sick afterwards - as if my body were rejecting something. Since I've gone vegetarian, I've been able to better maintain my weight and many of my allergies have disappeared. As for the moral/ethical reason, I've never been comfortable with the idea that another living thing needed to be killed so that I could have nourishment. Now, before I start getting all the angry "but plants are living things too" comments and emails, I realize and accept that plants are living. A lot of what I eat can be harvested from the plant without killing the plant (tomatoes; cucumbers; bell peppers; etc.). Many of the plants also die naturally at the end of the season, leaving whatever edible parts are left to rot. Additionally, the seeds from these plants can be harvested to grow new plants - something you can't do with animals without a lot of fancy technology and/or other animals. Finally, far less plants are killed by vegetarians than animals are killed by meat-eaters - when you eat meat you're not only eating the animal, you're also eating all the plants that animal has consumed over the course of it's life.

Along that same thought - the grain that's fed to one 1,000lb. steer (which feeds ~100 people) is enough to feed thousands of people. The water used on that steer over its lifespan (several hundreds of thousands of gallons) is enough to float a battleship, which is enough to ensure that thousands of people have water to drink with enough left over to water their crops. And what happens? The waste from these animals runs into the river/stream/groundwater, polluting it and making it nearly unusable. Granted, farming plants leaches nutrients out of the soil, but these can be replaced by rotating crops, composting, etc. Animal urine and feces not only need to be removed, but the soil needs to be decontaminated before anything else can safely be grown. There's a greater environmental impact that comes from eating meat than from being a vegetarian. I also rather like knowing where my food comes from. Organic veggies and veggies purchased from the local Farmer's Market. Tofu and vegetarian products that come from organic companies. Meat? Who the hell knows, and who knows what's in it? Hormones? Antibiotics? Rat droppings? Sawdust?

Finally, there's the myth that vegetarians/vegans need to take lots and lots of vitamin supplements to replace what's lost from not eating meat. From personal experience, I can honestly say this isn't true. So long as you're eating a reasonably balanced diet - not just chips and iceberg lettuce - you should be fine. Leafy greens, legumes. Fresh fruit and nuts. Real vegetables, not just the ones found in Doritos.

In short, vegetarianism isn't just for hippies anymore. Granted, it's not for everyone - but those of us who've decided to not eat animals shouldn't be criticized any more than those who eat meat.

Don't tell me I'm wrong for not eating meat, and I won't launch into a diatribe of how you're wrong for eating meat. We can be friends, really.

Now if you'll excuse me, there's a portabella mushroom stack with smoked gouda and balsamic vinagrette that's calling...