Vegetarianism on the rise

Around 7% of the UK are vegetarians, or around 5 million people, and according to the Vegetarian Society this is increasing at about 5000 people a week. These include a number of celebrities including Chris Martin, singer in Coldplay, actress Sadie Frost, writer Ruth Rendell and comedienne Victoria Woods. Perhaps the most outspoken of vegetarians is singer and former Beatle Paul McCartney, who launched a Meat-free Monday website in 2009 alongside his daughters Stella and Mary.

For some, vegetarianism is a badge of honour, and pressure groups like PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) actively seek to spread this growing trend. Indeed, many turn vegetarian due the unfair treatment of animals before reaching the supermarket floor. Diet.co.uk states that 2.5 million farm animals are killed each day for the meat eater. Furthermore, they state, these animals are often pumped full of hormones in order to maximise meat density.

This is not to say of course that people become vegetarian for many different reasons. Vegetarianism can often be the easier path for many who have particular dietary requirements, and there are even some cases -although rare- of meat allergies. Economically also vegetarian options can often be a more viable for those with a somewhat more restricted financial situation.

Naturally, there are options for those that are ethically opposed to the treatment that animals are often subjected to but don't want to stop eating meat. Many companies now have started using the fact that they only sell ethically sourced produce as a marketing tool. Many Supermarkets such as Sainsbury's and Tesco's have now started selling produce that has only been obtained from these sources. Other local sellers also make a point to sell only meat from local farmers that do not seek to produce meat for the larger market.

Doubtless people turn vegetarian for many different reasons, but the important factor in this is that the demand for more responsibly sourced food is on the rise. The reasoning behind turning vegetarian is often something other than just the latest scare over fast food or the need to look cool, although these clearly exist. Rather, often these are options for those wishing to live in a kinder more earth friendly way. Whilst this does not necessarily demand that you turn vegetarian, clearly the number of people picking this path is on the increase.