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Vegetarian Eating
For the Animals, the Earth, and Our Health

Why are more and more thoughtful people choosing to be vegetarian?

For the Animals

Like dogs and cats, the animals we eat are intelligent individuals who can feel pain, experience joy, and suffer from sadness. And like dogs and cats, they value their lives. Yet they are treated so abusively that similar treatment of dogs or cats would be grounds for animal cruelty charges in all 50 states.

While pregnant, most female pigs are kept in metal crates so small they can’t even turn around.

Egg-laying hens are intensively confined in row upon row of tiny cages. They never see sunlight, touch earth, or even flap their wings.

For us to consume their meat, milk, and eggs, animals raised for food are denied nearly every basic need. Most never feel the grass beneath their feet or even go outdoors. These farmed animals are confined so intensively in cages, crates, pens, and sheds, many cannot walk freely. Some can’t even turn around or stretch a limb, let alone exercise or roam. Even more, they suffer from horrible physical abuses and mutilations, such as branding, castration, and beak, toe, and tail amputations—all without painkiller.

For Good Health

As rates for obesity, heart disease, cancer, and other life-threatening conditions climb, many medical experts are coming to the same conclusion: A strictly vegetarian diet can help protect our health and even reverse some diseases, including the biggest killer of Americans, heart disease.

For the Earth

Manure lagoons, like this one at a dairy farm, can burst or leak, contaminating the water.

Raising animals for food is a leading cause of pollution in this country, contaminating the soil, the air we breathe, and the water we drink. A U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry report states that five tons of farmed animal manure is produced annually for every woman, man, and child in the United States.

Animal agriculture is also responsible for tremendous amounts of wasted resources. According to the Audubon Society, roughly 70 percent of grain and 50 percent of water consumed in the United States are used by the meat industry.

Make a Difference. Start Today.

Our everyday food choices have far-reaching impacts which can’t be ignored. By choosing vegetarian fare, we choose compassion over cruelty, sustainability over environmental destruction, and protection for our health.

By becoming vegetarian, we can help make the world a better place, with every bite we take.

It’s as Easy as 1–2–3!

Becoming vegetarian is easier than ever! Nearly every major grocery store chain features such meatless delights as tasty vegetarian burgers and hot dogs, creamy soy and rice milks, tangy marinara sauces, zesty bean dips, and so much more. Take a stroll through the aisles, pick up some vegetarian food, and get creative in the kitchen!

1. Be vegetarian three days a week for the first two weeks.

Becoming vegetarian doesn’t have to be an “all-or-nothing” endeavor. For many, it’s a gradual, multi-step process. An easy way to start is to opt for cruelty-free alternatives. Love a good hamburger? Sink your teeth into one of the dozens of vegetarian burgers on the market. Many taste just like meat, but without the saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal cruelty. For nearly every animal product, there’s a delicious vegetarian version. Being vegetarian doesn’t mean giving up the tastes you love…it just means eating the cruelty-free versions of those tastes!

2. Now try five days a week for another two weeks.

Add two more days of compassionate eating so you’re a five-times-a-week vegetarian for two weeks. Get some new-to-you vegetarian products and experiment. Substitute a few ingredients in your favorites and voila! A great, animal-friendly meal. Making simple substitutions in your favorite recipes is an easy way to get used to eating vegetarian food.

3. So, you’ve been a near-vegetarian for a whole month!

Round out your week with two more vegetarian days and you’ve made it! Give yourself a pat on the back! You’re making positive changes not only for yourself and the environment, but for the animals, too. Congratulations!

Request a free Vegetarian Starter Guide!

Visit TryVeg.com or call toll-free 1-866-MEAT-FREE

The free Guide includes:

• practical tips on making the transition to vegetarian eating
• dozens of delicious recipes
• vegetarian nutrition information
• frequently asked questions
• the best in vegetarian cookbooks
• and much more!

Need a jump-start in the kitchen?

Easy & delicious vegetarian recipes!

Request COK’s free recipe booklet. Easy Vegan Recipes is filled with great vegetarian appetizers through desserts for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even snacks! Visit Easy Vegan Recipes online at VegRecipes.org or email info@cok.net for your free copy.

Thousands of free vegetarian recipes are just a few keystrokes away! Our two favorites? VeganCooking.com and VeggieChef.com. Bon appétit!