Everybody at one point in their life meets with a strange person, not a drug dealer or shady man in a dark alley, but someone known as, a vegetarian. As a young child vegetables are objects filled with bad tastes and distrust. No kid enjoys eating these “health foods”. Yes, there are a few that don’t taste awful, yet parents can never feed these to the child. However, most children hate vegetables, but there are these people, raised from childhood on only fruits and vegetables. They are able to eat meat only they choose not to.

I myself have had a few run-ins with these people. As a matter of fact, one of them is my friend. He consumes everything, only sets aside the savory and salty meat. Also same as other vegetarians he is weaker than and not as fit as me; scientists believe this is due to the lack of Omega-3 fatty acids that is found in meat. Around 3.4 percent of the population in the United States is part of this special diet putting them all at a slight disadvantage. Most citizens join this way of life due to religion or cultural beliefs, such as cows are sacred and are a holy animal, therefore not to be consumed. However if cows are a holy animal then why not eat other sources of meat, like chicken or fish?

Well according to my vegetarian friend he doesn’t want to consume chicken or fish because he grew up on only vegetables causing his body to reject all forms of meat. However I could not live without meat. A day without meat is like a day without sunshine, bleak and depressing. The juicy meat, savory and delectable, is a main part of what people eat, or at least should. Beef, fish, and poultry are very valuable sources of protein. While we have infinite ways to receive energy, they have limited or no ways, therefore making them less active and not as healthy.

Also if you think about it cows are the number one producer of methane, a deadly greenhouse gas. So by eating cows we are saving this planet’s atmosphere. However, many say that by not eating cows we can stop breeding them. Yes, I understand that, but what about their byproducts, such as milk? Yet even with all of these disadvantages some vegetarians don’t even drink milk. This puts them even farther behind than the rest of us. Milk is full of calcium helping us get stronger bones. K.D. Lang, a musician, once said “I grew up in cattle country- - that’s why I became vegetarian. Meat stinks, for the animals, for the environment, and your health.” However I disagree, it is a great source of protein, as I have noted before, and it can help your bodies grow. I understand that it is high in saturated fat and that with some vitamins this diet of vegetables is just as healthy as carnivorous activities. But that is with the aid of vitamins, alone it just doesn’t compete with meat eating.

Meat is a little less than four percent of our daily requirements to live a healthy lifestyle. Vegetarians aren’t healthy, you disagree? Well when you add up the countless benefits of eating meat. Then add up the benefits of being vegetarian, the numbers show that there are more ways that meat eaters are healthier than vegetarians.