I'm a vegetarian, and not a "Hare Krishna." Don't lump all vegetarians into some fruity cult.

There are many good reasons not to eat meat.

1. Eating meat means that you are cruel to animals. I wouldn't kick my dog, and for the very same reason, would not eat an animal (unless I had absolutely no alternative). But many people who like to think of themselves as kind are perfectly willing to have animals kept in crowded and inhumane conditions, then slaughtered, so that they can eat them.

2. Eating meat means that you are harming the planet and its people. It takes more than a 100 gallos of water to produce a pound of animal protein, and about 1/5 that to produce a pound of vegetable protein. It also takes more fuel, more pesticide, more fertilizer, more land. When the majority of the world's population is starving, it makes no sense to devote most of arable land to the production of grain that will be fed to animals that will -- very, very inefficiently -- go to feed a tiny fraction of the world's wealthiest and most privileged people. It's disgusting and morally wrong.

3. Eating meat is irrational. People who eat meat say "they're just animals," or "they can't speak," or "they can't think." So? The issue is, "Can they suffer?" When it comes to inflicting pain on another living being, the only considerations should be, 1. Can this being feel pain -- i.e., does it have a central nervous system? and 2. Can this pain possibly be avoided?

Many many people are vegetarians because they want to live a life that is as free of violence and cruelty as is possible. And yes, I understand that it is NOT possible to live COMPLETELY free from inflicting violence and cruelty on other living beings. And yes, I understand that there are OTHER ways of reducing the amount of violence and cruelty in the world, and that vegetarianism is not the only way. Please don't oversimplify what I am saying here. All I am saying is that vegetarianism is a rational, pragmatic (and not perfect) way to try to live in a humane and responsible way.