Vegetarianism and the Vegetarian Society

Vegetarianism is one of the popular expressions in our modern life. It is the tradition of denying to eat the flesh of an animal to avoid the torture of animals and to lead a healthy lifestyle.

The history of vegetarianism goes back to ancient times. The first reliable records of the philosophy and practice of it dates back to the 6th century; it was this time when the Greek philosopher and religious leader Pythagoras abstained from meat. Pythagoras was an independent thinker and was the first to accept women in his intellectual team. His ideas of vegetarianism were affected by earlier civilizations of Babylon and Egypt. The vegetarian philosophy in the ancient Egypt (3rd century BC) was to abstain from animal flesh and to deny wearing clothes of animal derivation. The reason behind it was the karmic beliefs and the notion of reincarnation.

 Nowadays there is a well-established organization called the Vegetarian Society. The organization is popular and well-respected in the world. As the oldest vegetarian organization, it was established in the middle of the 19th century, in the UK. The trigger for the movement to start was the health reform and the Industrial Revolution in the UK. Most people at the time found a solution to overcome the economic crisis by following simple vegetarian menu, which included then all vegetables, fruits, grains, etc. Throughout the history, most of the intellectual society was inclined to the idea of abstinence from flesh, as well as those who were concerned with social and religious issues.

The ear of modern vegetarianism is in its blossom. More and more adults are ordering food with less meat, instead ordering fresh salads, fruits, juice and greenie dishes. In 1985, it was estimated that nearly 9 million Americans had declared themselves to be vegetarians. The reasons why a huge number of people start to follow the ‘vegetarian diet.’ Accordingly, the causes can be following: religious beliefs, the animal liberation movement, the environmental damage by producing a high percentage of livestock, the possible world hunger, and one of the important ones – health reasons.

Vegetarianism is not something extraordinary or difficult to practice for the individuals, who are determined to follow their purpose and ideology of leading a meat-free lifestyle. It is believed that by the abstinence from the animal flesh will help you to avoid the negative energy that is transferred to you through the meat of an animal that suffered the pain and the horror of being killed.