There are many myths and prejudices that surround vegetarianism, but what exactly is the truth? What is a vegetarian, why do people give up flesh foods and what exactly is at stake?

What is a vegetarian? Someone who eats no meat, poultry, game or fish, and who also avoids slaughterhouse by-products such as gelatine, rennet (an enzyme from a calf's stomach sometimes found in cheese) and animal fats. Most vegetarians in the UK eat dairy produce and free-range eggs -- they are referred to as lacto-ovo vegetarians. The Vegetarian Society only approves free-range eggs which are produced to standards above and beyond EU criteria for free-range egg farming. The Society believes that hens are more likely to behave naturally and remain healthy under such conditions. Vegans avoid all animal products, including dairy produce, eggs and even honey. Who are vegetarians? Vegetarians are a diverse group of people of all ages, who come from all over the UK -- from every walk of life imaginable. That includes people like YOU. Far from being old-fashioned, faddy or eccentric, a vegetarian diet is the choice of many millions of people in search of healthy, delicious, cruelty-free food. It is fair to say that the vast majority of people in the UK, most of the time, eat foods which either are, or could easily be, vegetarian. If you consider a traditional Sunday roast for instance, most of the food on the plate consists of vegetables anyway. More people than ever are turning away from traditional meat and fish-based meals in search of something more satisfying.

Each week in the UK, thousands of people from every walk of life are continuing to drop meat and fish from their diets.

But why go vegetarian? Modern vegetarian food is far more accessible and diverse than it has ever been. Mouthwatering, satisfying veggie food is now available almost everywhere -- and this is just one of the reasons why it has never been easier to go vegetarian. It is also true to say that many people have become bored with the limitations offered by traditional flesh-based foods, craving something that is fresh, exciting and very often different. Vegetarian food offers this and so much more. Although vegetarian food tastes fantastic and offers a wide scope of choice and flavour, in many cases it is also cheaper than meat and fish-based meals. It is neither hard to find nor difficult to prepare, but the fact remains that most people in the UK adopting a vegetarian diet do so out of concern for animal welfare, the environment and their own health.

The vast majority of pigs in the UK are reared intensively which leads to such diseases as pneumonia, meningitis and swine vesicular fever, while 10 to 15 per cent suffer from lameness Livestock makes use of one third of the total landmass on earth. About 26 per cent of the UK's total global warming methane emissions come from livestock. "While we are the living graves of murdered beasts, slaughtered to satisfy our appetites, how can we expect ideal conditions on this earth." George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950) - Playwright and Critic

Better for animals In the UK alone, almost 800 million animals are slaughtered for food each year. That means about fifteen live animals, per person, per year. These animals are as intelligent and feeling as any household pet. Yet mostly they are intensively reared, forced to live tortured, short and miserable lives; denied access to their young and deprived of any real quality of life; fed unnatural diets, in some cases pumped full of chemicals to improve yield and lessen disease; kept in cramped conditions where they frequently develop physical and psychological abnormalities. Then they are transported from factory farm to livestock market and finally to the horrors of the slaughterhouse. Some animals even have to endure the long, stressful and hazardous haul to markets abroad, often in extremes of weather, without adequate provision of food, water, air and light, to places where conditions are often much worse. Then they are finally put out of their misery in the most barbaric manner. Without doubt, the greatest single cause of animal suffering in the UK is food production. Vegetarianism is the only humane and civilised answer.

Better for the environment A vegetarian diet is much better for the environment and meat and fish production is without doubt contributing to damaging our planet irreparably. Methane-emitting livestock contribute to global warming and the 'Greenhouse Effect' -- roughly about one-quarter of all methane emissions come from this source. Ammonia from animal waste and agricultural fertilisers contributes to acid rain, which kills aquatic and plant life. Intensive grazing causes soil erosion and nutrient depletion, which harms plant life and in some cases renders the soil infertile, creating vast, barren deserts where previously there was fertile land. Livestock cultivation makes inefficient use of limited resources. It takes up to ten kilos of vegetable protein to produce just one kilo of meat. While it takes only 900 litres of water to produce 1 kilo of wheat an incredible 100,000 litres are needed to produce a single kilo of meat. Clean and safe water is not an inexhaustible resource and it is becoming ever more scarce. Yet in certain cases, people in the developing world go hungry and thirsty while grain and water is squandered on rearing animals for food, often destined for markets in the developed world. In the UK meat production takes care of 150 billion litres of water each year. In terms of land usage, the UK alone is capable of feeding 250 million people with a healthy, nutritious and affordable vegetarian diet all year round. Millions of hectares of life-sustaining rain forest have been destroyed to create grazing pasture, with the meat produced destined in part for the developed world. This recklessness goes on and is responsible for killing and endangering rapidly disappearing animal and bird species. Such operations also threaten indigenous human populations, whose long-established ways of living vanish or become damaged forever. The extent to which the world's oceans are fished has decimated fish populations to the point of near extinction of many species. The world's seas are being fished to the point of collapse and in the North Sea alone, cod and herring numbers are now at dangerously low levels. This is despite the fact that some of the world's seas close to industrialised areas contain potentially lethal cocktails of toxic waste and effluent some of the results of which can be seen in the open sores, cancerous tumours and deformities found on some captured fish. The fragile eco-systems of the world's oceans continue to be ruined and coral reefs and other habitats are being destroyed. Pollution and fishing are two of the major causes. Dolphins, whales, sharks and turtles are also indiscriminately killed by drift netting and in some parts of the world, such species are still deliberately slaughtered for food. Massive amounts of dead and dying fish are thrown back into the sea, ironically deemed too small, they are needlessly deprived of life, as factory fishing vessels lay waste vast areas of the sea in minutes. Such needless destruction means that not enough numbers are reaching suitable maturity to replenish the species properly. Not content with destroying marine life in the natural environment, intensive farming techniques have been introduced to 'cultivate' fish. This practice is called aquaculture and is responsible for 10 per cent of current a global fish sources, with this figure set to rise as natural stocks become dangerously depleted. Instinctively migratory species, such as salmon and trout are caged up in very close confines and forced to live unnatural, short lives, with high premature mortality and even cannibalism all too evident. Such fish are fed large doses of chemicals, as disease and infection can be rife. They are then slaughtered after about 14 months of life. The list goes on and the crimes against the environment are many. Far more people are now becoming aware that a vegetarian diet makes far better use of the world's resources and is a positive way of contributing to the future well being of the planet. Vegetarian food will not cost you the Earth.

An acre of land can produce 10,000 pounds of green beans, 30,000 pounds of carrots, 50,000 pounds of tomatoes, but only 250 pounds of beef. The wider adoption of vegetarianism would lead to better use of resources and better protection of the environment. It is estimated that over half a million dolphins and porpoises die each year because of drift netting. DID YOU KNOW? About 80 per cent of all agricultural land in the UK is used to rear livestock and almost 50 per cent of all cereal crops grown in Britain are used as animal feed.

Studies have shown that mortality from heart disease is an amazing 30 per cent less among vegetarians. Vegetarians also tend to have lower blood pressure than meat-eaters.

Better for health Research has shown that a well-balanced, low-fat, high-fibre vegetarian diet is a very healthy option and vegetarians certainly need not go short of any nutrients, vitamins or minerals. In recent years people have been forced to think much more about the health implications of the food on their plates. This is in light of recent health scares such as E-coli and, of course, BSE ('Mad Cow Disease') and nvCJD (the deadly human form), which resulted in the widespread banning of British beef, with billions of pounds of public money wasted and millions of innocent animals slaughtered. Research has also shown that a vegetarian diet could help reduce risks from certain cancers by up to 40 per cent; decrease the possibility of dying from heart disease by 30 per cent; restrict the chance of suffering from kidney and gall stones, diet-related diabetes and even high blood pressure. lt could also lower cholesterol levels and reduce health problems related to obesity. Over 90 per cent of all food poisoning cases each year in the UK are related to the consumption of animal products.

What about GMOs? There is currently a widespread unease concerning the possible future implications and effects of the proliferation and wider application of gene technology, particularly with regard to food. Amongst many other organisations and individuals, The Vegetarian Society believes that insufficient research has been carried out into the potential environmental and health implications of genetic manipulation, and the Society is concerned that the introduction of Genetically Modified (GM) foods could cause risk to the environment, animal welfare and human health. In addition, the extensive animal experimentation undertaken during the development of these synthetically altered natural forms of plant life is contrary to the Society's principles. In all of these areas, The Vegetarian Society is campaigning hard, promoting the very many benefits of vegetarianism, to push for change and create a better world through the food on our plates.

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www.vegsoc.org/21cv : 21st Century Vegetarian