Reasons not in the "101 Reasons"
By Pamela Rice

This document was provided by:
The VivaVine
a publication of the VivaVegie Society, Inc.
Prince Street Station
P.O. Box 294
New York, NY 10012-0005
Publisher: Pamela Rice
www.vivavegie.org

The VivaVine (Fall 2001, Vol. 10, No. 4)

Note: The information on this website is not a substitute
 for diagnosis and treatment by a qualified professional.

In my time, I've expounded on a lot of good reasons to be a vegetarian, but my emphasis has always been on the social, economic, and ethical aspects of this food choice. Still, it occurs to me that there are some very important practical and personal--even intimate--reasons why being a vegetarian is a good idea. Many have never been touched on in this magazine, let alone in my pamphlet "101 Reasons Why I'm a Vegetarian," although perhaps they should have been.

So I've taken it upon myself to come up with ten of these "hits home" reasons, but I'm sure there are many more.

1. Goodbye, Drano. Kitchen drains rarely get clogged in a vegetarian household. It helps that most vegetable oils are not solid at room temperature.

2. Stayin' alive. Choking on a bone is an unlikely event for a vegetarian.

3. Vegetarians make better lovers. It helps that we taste better, smell better, and last longer, thanks to the cleaner fuel we eat. Healthy blood flow is critical for good sex--not likely in an artery-clogged meat eater.

4. Vegetarianism is the only real cure for constipation. For some, this may be the best reason to be a plant eater.

5. Save money--no need to buy that Prozac. No, I never took the drug, but since becoming a vegan I rarely get the blues to begin with. When I was a meat eater I was frequently depressed, often picking a fight with the nearest warm body just after eating a hamburger; I attribute this to the chemical and drug residues in the meat! Thank God, that era in my life is ancient history now.

6. No PMS (premenstrual syndrome) and no menstrual cramps either, or at worst rarely. There's one downside to this: My period can come on unexpectedly.

7. Practically no more colds. This is a biggie. What meat eater--or more specifically, what milk drinker--does not count colds as a regular part of the anguish of being alive? As a meat eater I used to have chronic sinusitis; one time it had me in bed completely stuffed up for a week.

8. No more warts. This one's a bit dubious, but a friend swears he's forever wartless since going veg.

9. Be kosher with only one set of dishes. To be an observant Jew, one may not eat improperly slaughtered meat, and one must never mix milk and meat--not in the refrigerator, nor at a meal. Lucky for me, I never eat either.

10. Remain undetected when passing gas in public. Benjamin Franklin even commented on this one, after experimenting with a vegetarian diet for a time, according to vegetarian historian Rynn Berry. Gas still happens but, for some vegetarians, often with no accompanying smell.

So there you have it. If you don't care about the animals, the planet, world hunger, or your long-term health--those less-immediate reasons to become a vegetarian--maybe one of these little goodies will make things click for you. In any case, after a while you're sure to have a ton of personal reasons of your own that you can spout off at a moment's notice. In fact, come to our Rap 'n' Wrap session, November 12 (see column on the left), and do just that.

Click here for the VivaVegie Website