It’s World Vegetarian Day

October is Vegetarian awareness Month, kicking off with World Vegetarian Day on Wednesday 1st October (today!) and ending with World Vegan Day on Saturday 1st November. It is a day for us to celebrate vegetarianism and those who choose to go meat free for whatever reason they choose, because they really don’t get enough praise. If you don’t think vegetarianism is really anything special then read on to understand how it is healthier for you and amazing for our planet.

World Vegetarian Day was established by the North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS) in 1977 and later endorsed by the International Vegetarian Union in 1978. By celebrating vegetarianism and raising awareness on this day it hoped we can encourage more people to stop eating meat by showing them that you can still be healthy and eat delicious foods.
‘But why should I be a vegetarian?’ You may be asking. Well, first of all you are saving the lives of poor animals who are killed for our benefit, for us to eat something that we don’t even need to survive. While organic meat is preferable as the animals are free to roam and not kept in tiny pens, the truth remains that these animals are specifically bred to be killed, which is not natural, and if you love animals I’m sure you wouldn’t want young calves taken away from their mothers to be killed!
Adopting a vegetarian diet is also much better for the environment, not only will our ecosystems be preserved, but also greenhouse gasses will decrease. The processes involved in raising livestock emit harmful gases and pollute rivers, while rainforests are destroyed to clear ground to graze cattle for beef burgers and roughly 1,000 species a year become extinct because of this destruction.

You can also help to reduce famine by eating less meat. Currently a lot of grain produced is fed to livestock which is generally sold in rich, western countries, and I think we can all agree this grain would be put to much better use feeding the millions of people around the world in poverty. Around 70% of all grain produced in the US is fed to animals raised for slaughter, if it was fed to people it could feed up to 800 million.

Removing meat from your diet is also beneficial to you personally, reducing the risk of heart disease and cancer as you won’t be eating fatty meats. Obviously it also reduces the risk of food poisoning from meat, but in general you should feel more energised and with regular exercise you’ll be fitter than meat eaters – many of the world’s most successful athletes are vegetarian.
If you’re not ready to commit to removing meat from your diet completely, why not start simple with Meat Free Mondays, or eat one vegetarian meal a day. You’ll soon discover it is an easy transition and will introduce your taste buds to a world of new and exciting flavours and we have a wide range of vegetarian products to help you.
So are you going to make a change and go meet free in October? If you’re already vegetarian what’s your favourite dish to make?