Why become a vegetarian?

By Riya Bhagat

It is rightly said “You are what you eat” which means your well- being directly depends upon what you consume. Let us look upon the reasons some people choose to be a non-vegetarian.

The main reason is protein intake as non-veg foods tend to contain more protein than veg. But people are unaware that non-veg food contains high levels of cholesterol too which results in cardiovascular diseases. Protein intake also depends upon one’s lifestyle. So, if you are an athlete, your protein intake must be high but if you live a sedentary lifestyle, it must be adequate. There are some examples of sports personalities who are doing great in their respective fields while being a vegetarian like Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Lewis Hamilton, Sunil Chettri, Virat Kohli etc. Hence, one should be clear protein needs can be fulfilled with a vegetarian diet too.

Let us see what nature has for human beings to consume. If you analyse, you will see that carnivorous animals have sharp teeth, sharp claws and night vision. With that, they have a small intestine to digest food.  On the other hand, humans have flat teeth, flat nails, no night vision and a big intestine which takes long hours to digest the same amount of food when compared to animals.

And this food is not only about nutrition but also about energy which goes inside us through what we eat. It affects us at the physical level as well as mentally and emotionally.

Above all, just like humans, animals have the right to live on this planet freely. Therefore, it is our duty to be the voice of these voiceless animals as they have the same emotions like us.

Saving one animal won’t change the world. But it will surely change that one animal’s world.