Being Vegetarian

By Rebecca Hammons

Introduction

Questions and choices

Who, What and Why

Who?
What does ‘vegetarian’ mean anyway?
Why be vegetarian?
Five basic benefits

Vegetarianism: A Healthy Way of Life

Lowering the risk of chronic diseases
Basic body design: built to be herbivores
What about dairy products?
How do we get our protein?

Let’s Get Practical

FAQs about being vegetarian
Vegan and vegetarian athletes
Hidden in plain sight: animal ingredients in surprising foods

The Web of Family and Society

Gathering around the table
A different view

Environmental Impacts

What’s important?
Is “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” enough?
Quenching our thirst for water
Raising livestock = razing rainforests
A stinky business
The fishing industry
An alternative: vegetarian, organic, and unprocessed

Ethical Issues

What are ethics and why bother with them?
Life and death in a factory farm and slaughterhouse

Living as a Vegetarian

Three times a day plus snacks!
Navigating social situations
An elevator pitch
Getting medical advice
Business meals
Raising vegetarian children
Will my child be healthy without meat?
Children – their friends and their food

A Spiritual Perspective

Endnotes

Contact and General Information

Published by:
D. K. Sikri, Secretary
Radha Soami Satsang Beas
Dera Baba Jaimal Singh
Punjab 143 204, India

Second edition 2020
ISBN 978-93-89810-11-0