what are the benefits of being a vegetarian? Saving a few brainless animals because you feel bad for them? They would rather be weak & unhealthy as opposed to eating something that had parents
I think your attitude is fairly common, as opposed to "trolling".
I disagree on two counts:
1. why is being "brainless" (by which I assume you mean the level of intelligence) important to you?
To take an example, if it were all about intelligence, why do humans find it abhorrent to think about eating human babies? or adult humans who are profoundly intellectually disabled?
No-one is suggesting we kill the profoundly mentally disabled, even though they have no chance of having an 'intelligent' life.
So instead I think it is rather a sense that humans are the dominant species and have some kind of god-given right to kill other species if it suits us.
The way we treat animals we eat for food (especially factory farmed ones, which most of them are) creates suffering and harm.
This is something I disagree with and this is the main reason why I'm vegetarian. (though this is not the reason others do it necessarily)
2. I have never been "weak and unhealthy". I've never been healthier actually, and this isn't just my opinion, but is shared by the naturopath and doctor I've reviewed my overall health with.
I'm sad to hear that you have a friend who went veg and was clearly unhealthy. There are good and bad ways to eat a veg diet, just like it is with an omnivore's diet.
An omnivore diet containing small amounts of lean meat with lots of wholegrains and fresh fruit/veg is going to be healthier than a vegetarian eating fries all day.
Health has everything to do with the variety of wholefood ingredients in your diet, and not much to do with the exact source of your proteins, in my opinion and in my experience.
As for the health aspect, I find that now that I don't rely on animal products for my protein, I'm eating a much healthier range of protein sources. Nuts, seeds, grains, legumes, beans... lots of good, healthy stuff that also packs fiber. Being vegan hasn't turned me into a skeleton, either. I'm the same 118 I've been since high school, just leaner and more toned.
I feel exactly the same, lollerskater.
My thoughts are that if you honestly believe that humans have a right to treat animals in ways you would never treat humans (that is, "speciesism"), and you haven't realised or don't care about the environmental damage involved in meat production - continue to eat it by all means, and just make sure you have a balanced diet to remain healthy. Usually that means eating less meat and more wholegrains and fresh veg.
But, if there is something about the meat industry that bothers your conscience, like it does mine, investigate veg*nism - and go ahead and try it for a month. You can always evaluate how it feels after you've tried it. At least you know that you aren't contributing to something that goes against your conscience.