This is taken from my english essay it's pretty long, but do take the time to read it:

My first exposure to the idea of vegetarianism was when my cousin came over for dinner one night. I was really too young to understand the aspects of being a vegetarian at the time, but my mom had made a meal with no meat. My cousin gave her recipes and explained about being a vegetarian, but much of that conversation I do not recall. A few years after that dinner with my cousin I told my parents I wanted to be a vegetarian. They wouldn’t let me because they said I needed my protein and that I would have to be responsible enough to make sure I got the proper nutrition for what my diet needed. I didn’t really make any fuss but now that I am older I can see their perspective.

About a year ago I started to eat only chicken, simply for the fact that I lost the taste for red meat, also I was in the preparation of wanting to be a vegetarian. I ate chicken for a while before becoming full vegetarian. When I did, it was more of a taste issue than a moral issue, but now I find myself doing it more for the moral issue because I know how many tasty chicken dishes there are. Although now, the smell, the appearance and even the thought of meat makes me want to be sick.

Most of the time it is very difficult to find vegetarian food, you would be surprised as to what items do have animal products in them. Gelatin is used as a gelling agent, thickener, film former, protective colloid, adhesive agent, stabilizer, emulsifier, foaming/whipping agent, and a beverage fining agent, and can be found in such products as Jell-O, marshmallows, and yogurt. It is made from beef skin, bones and connective tissue; there is also gelatin made from pigs, and fish. There is a substitute to gelatin that a number of vegetarians and vegans use which is called agar agar. Agar agar is seaweed that has the same characteristics as gelatin. I do not see why more foods cannot be made from agar agar, as it is more humane. Then again the argument could be made that for those who do eat meat, it is more economical to use up the whole carcass instead of just taking the meat and throwing the bones and skin away. So it all depends on what side you are looking at it from.

There are different types of vegetarians, and they are generally described according to the foods that they include in their diets. When people become vegetarians for health reasons, they may be flexible in their use of animal products. When the choice is made because of ethics or religion, they will usually go full vegetarian, avoiding animal goods of any kind. Lacto-Ovo vegetarians avoid all animal flesh, but continue to use eggs (ovo) and diary products (lacto). Vegans (total vegetarian) avoid all foods of animal origin, including eggs, dairy foods, gelatin and honey. Vegans usually go beyond diet, avoiding as much as possible products derived from animals. Pesco-Vegetarians include those people who have chosen to eliminate red meat and fowl, but continue to use fish and seafood. Semi or Partial Vegetarians use some poultry and fish, but eat primarily vegetarian fare; they generally avoid red meat.

I am not against people who do eat meat as I have come up with a theory of my own, that may never happen but I would like to think that it would. I do believe that everything has a purpose in life, and that we eat other forms of life to keep their populations down. For example lions eat buck, wolves eat deer, and humans eat common as well as exotic animals. My theory is that there should be meat eaters to keep animal populations at a natural rate, but few enough so that we would not have to ‘mass produce’ animals. Cattle and pigs on factory farms are treated like machines, actually worse. Within days of birth, pigs have their tails chopped off and cows have their horns removed. Male cows and pigs are castrated and all this is done without anesthesia. They spend their lives in tiny stalls so small that they can’t even turn around and are so close together they literally urinate and defecate on each other. Many of these animals never get a breath of fresh air until they are crowded into trucks, headed for slaughter. Finally at the slaughterhouse, cows and pigs are hung upside down by one leg and bled to death, often while fully conscious. If we were to have a balance vegetarians and meat eaters, fewer animals would suffer in such inhumane ways, and their populations would still be kept to a natural rate.

Some facts about raising animals for food is that it requires more than half the water used in the United States each year and one third of all raw materials, including fossil fuels. The meat industry is the greatest polluter of our waters and is directly responsible for 85 percent of soil erosion. Society’s meat addiction is steadily poisoning and depleting our land, water, and air. Also, eating products of animal suffering is harmful to human health. Meat eaters are 10 times more susceptible to heart disease, 40 percent more susceptible to cancer, and at increased risk for many other illnesses, such as obesity, appendicitis, osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes, and food poisoning. Meat also contains accumulations of pesticides and other chemicals, up to 14 times more concentrated than those found in plant foods. These facts are researched from pamphlets provided by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

So although my choice to be a vegetarian was at the time primarily a health and taste issue, it soon become more strong as I realized the effects on the animals producing the meat we eat. I have now been a vegetarian for about a year, and although I have nothing against people who do eat meat, it makes me happy to know that one less cow or pig was slaughtered for my enjoyment. And as stated in my theory I mentioned earlier, I think the world would be a better place if we had more vegetarians so that our meat consumption would not have to be mass-produced. Ideally a smaller population would be better for everything, but as we cannot have that, cutting down on meat consumption is the next best thing. By doing so we would keep the population of cattle and other animals we eat at a natural steady rate. Remember, meat’s no treat for those you eat!