I'm vegetarian and proud to be so, and have been that way for 6 years. Quite frankly, Lindsey, although I respect your opinion in matters, I find many of your comments towards vegetarians quite hurtful. A lot of vegetarians are so simply because they do not like the taste of meat, there is nothing hypocritical in that. And as in this thread, those that do not agree with animal slaughter.

Quote Originally Posted by CagneyDog
No, with all do respect, I don't think you, or the collective of vedgies are making a difference. Frankly, the cows you didn't eat, were on the plate of your neighbour.
Perhaps we're not. But, we feel we're doing our bit. We would feel far worse for eating the meat and thinking 'ah well, it would have died anyway' than not eating the meat in the first place. Just because animals are killed and a small amount of vegetarians offer no resistance to it, does not mean we must support it.

It is true, the matter of glue, leather, dairy products etc all ties in with this matter and it is raised every time. At the end of the day, we are not all entirely self-sufficient and if anyone has attempted this, it is extremely difficult to go even a week without using any animal by-product whatsoever. For example, should I give up my hobby of horse-riding, which I have been doing for nearly over 10 years, because the saddle I sit on is leather? In a perfect world, it wouldn't be made of leather, but it is. It is the lesser of two evils. One day I would love to attempt at being a vegan, but I do not think that a vegan is a 'purer' form of vegetarian as I have heard mentioned in the past.

Just IMHO.