Plenty of individuals and families out there don’t eat all meat options, choose to eat vegetarian or vegan, or otherwise alter their diet in some way. It’s common to have a very different food and eating experience from others, especially if you have any religious or cultural significance or ties to your foods. But why exactly do so many people fully not eat food groups like meats, or grains, or dairy products?
We see this often in vegan or vegetarian diets as well as gluten free eating and more. To answer the full question would take a lot of deep diving into culture, religion, health, weight, and more; so today let’s just focus on one food group. Here are some answers why some people don’t eat meat in their lives.
Health
The biggest and most all-encompassed reason why thousands if not millions of folk out there do not eat meat is health. Health can also mean a lot of things too. From weight, to heart health, to allergies or food intolerances, to general wellbeing, so much more; eating for our health is a huge factor in what we do with dietary plans. Not eating meat can be a choice for hope of weight loss, less heart disease risk, becoming more mindful of your eating, and so much more.
Availability and Cost
If you live somewhere where fruit and veggies are always more readily available than meats, why would you go out of your way to include this added nutrient? This is one reason that can make some groups and culture eat less meat or none at all in their lives, or only certain types of meat. Cost impacts how much or what types of foods individuals and families can afford to purchase for daily consumption, so some people choose to remove things like meat for cost too.
Religion
Some belief systems choose to focus on not harming others, including animals, or to increase focus and appreciation for the earth and what it provides us. Religious reasons are often a driving factor in dozens of life choices for people all around the world, and it doesn’t stop at eating either. If a religion’s focus aligns with not eating meat or changing your food intake, many folk out there will do so for the sake of feeling closer to their faith.
It’s Their Life
Probably the most important thing to consider when wondering why some people don’t eat meat is that it is in fact their life. Some people are raised not eating meat, some choose to go into it, and some sit somewhere in between. Eating or not eating a certain food group or type doesn’t make anyone any more or less than others around them, and understanding why this choice occurs is only a way to understand someone not a way to place blame or judgment on them.
It’s not always an easy or quick answer like some of us out there may want to believe when looking from the outside of someone’s life or choices into their diet. It can seem extreme or unwise to cut out so much from your eating habits, or to make a huge change so suddenly if someone is quickly moving into a no meat lifestyle. But it really is in the eye of the beholder for why this choice is made. There are loads of reasons out there for why someone may pursue a big switch like this or just live a vegan or vegetarian life on their own or with their family members.
And these reasons can give you some empathy and insight so we’re not always just looking from the outside to judge someone we learn about or see that chooses not to eat meat. No matter the reason, these were some interesting thoughts for the topic of why some people don’t eat meat.