Before anyone makes the decision to become a vegetarian, they often question whether it will make any difference. Although in the scheme of things you may wonder just what effect one person can make. It may not make a massive difference when one person decides to do this but each person that makes this choice will have an overall effect. A classic example of this is illustrated by the amount of heart disease in the USA that meat-eaters suffer from.

It is the cholesterol in meat, eggs, milk, cheese and other dairy items that contribute to the problem of heart and circulatory conditions. The organization Earth Save has calculated that a vegetarian has only a quarter of the chance of a heart attack as someone who has meat in their diet. Those individuals that have gone one step further an become vegans have around a ten percent chance of a heart attack as opposed to people on regular diets. The health of a persons heart is only one of many areas where being a vegetarian will benefit their overall health.

Normal, everyday food contains a whole host of preservatives (especially common in meat) that has shown links with many types of cancer. In addition to this, a vegetarian consumes fewer hormones which are found in the feeds that animals are given. And you won't consume as much lactose, which most people cannot digest properly and which some dietitians have suggested is a cause of digestive problems. In addition to health benefits you will receive as an individual by becoming a vegetarian, you will also reduce your share of the suffering human beings inflict on animals.

According to veganoutreach.org, the average American consumes 2,714 land animals in their lifetime. By giving up meat, it is possible to protect the lives of possibly hundreds of animals in the space of a few years and many more if continued for a few decades. To help even further and stop the number of battery hens and dairy cows from having to suffer degrading conditions you could stop drinking milk and eating eggs. The arguments are very convincing and difficult to dismiss; it is definitely better to become a vegetarian. It matters to the thousands of animals you could potentially save and it matters to you as an individual because you can greatly reduce your chances of getting cancer and heart disease.