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Did you know that World Vegetarian Day is right around the corner? If you are new to the vegetarian lifestyle, you may not even be aware that such a day exists. In fact, many people who have been practicing vegetarianism for sometime now are unaware of this special day. Yet, World Vegetarian Day was created by the North American Vegetarian Society in 1977 and was later endorsed by the International Vegetarian Union in 1978.

So, what is World Vegetarian Day, you might ask? Quite simply, this special day is set aside as a day to raise awareness about vegetarianism and to encourage people to give the vegetarian lifestyle a try - even if it is just for a day. Although World Vegetarian Day is on October 1st, it has since extended to a celebration throughout the month of October.

The celebrations that take place in honor of World Vegetarian Day and Vegetarian Awareness Month are quite varied. While some people choose to have private potluck celebrations, others put together special events that are open to the public as well.

The good news is that there are several simple steps you can take in order to show your support for World Vegetarian Day. Some of these include:

·    Wearing clothing endorsing vegetarianism
·    Putting up posters promoting World Vegetarian Day and Vegetarian Awareness month at supermarkets, libraries and anywhere else you are permitted
·    Encourage local restaurants to participate in the celebration by offering special vegetarian meals
·    Ask bookstores to display vegetarian cookbooks and other books related to vegetarianism

For a complete list of ideas, visit WorldVegetarianDay.org. While there, you can also purchase outreach materials or even register your special event so others may join you in your celebration.

It is always fun to read quotes from vegetarians or about vegetarianism, so here is a look at a few vegetarian-related quotes from famous people that you might enjoy.  Some provide us with a good chance to laugh at ourselves, while others provide some food for thought (pun intended!).

Gerald Lieberman –“Vegetarian: A person who eats only side dishes”

David Brenner –“A vegetarian is a person who won’t eat anything that can have children”

Mahatma Gandhi — “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

Mahatma Gandhi — “To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being.”

Albert Einstein — “Our task must be to free ourselves . . . by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.”

Albert Einstein — “Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.”

(Author unknown) –“If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?”

William S. Gilbert –“Deer hunting would be fine sport, if only the deer had guns”

Jay Leno –“McDonalds announced it’s considering a more humane way of slaughtering its animals. You know they fatten them up and then kill them. You know the same thing they do to their customers, isn’t it?”

George H.W. Bush — “I do not like broccoli. And I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I’m President of the United States and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli”

Romain Rolland — “To a man whose mind is free there is something even more intolerable in the sufferings of animals than in the sufferings of man. For with the latter it is at least admitted that suffering is evil and that the man who causes it is a criminal. But thousands of animals are uselessly butchered every day without a shadow of remorse. If any man were to refer to it, he would be thought ridiculous. And that is the unpardonable crime.”

George Bernard Shaw –“Animals are my friends…and I don’t eat my friends”

George Bernard Shaw — If a group of beings from another planet were to land on Earth — beings who considered themselves as superior to you as you feel yourself to be to other animals — would you concede them the rights over you that you assume over other animals?”

Alex Poulos –“I will not eat anything that walks, runs, skips, hops or crawls. God knows that I’ve crawled on occasion, and I’m glad that no one ate me.”

A. Whitney Brown –“I am not a vegetarian because I love animals; I am a vegetarian because I hate plants”

(Author unknown) –“Ham and eggs- A day’s work for a chicken; a lifetime commitment for a pig”

Leonardo da Vinci — “The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men.”

One of the biggest problems that vegetarians face is trying to get their friends and family to understand their decision to go meatless. So, unless you are lucky enough to live in one of the rare communities where vegetarianism is common, you may sometimes feel a bit ostracized and otherwise uncomfortable around certain groups of people. This is particularly true if you are eating at a restaurant with some friends or colleagues, as finding a vegetarian choice on the menu can sometimes be a challenge. For these reasons and more, it is always interesting to see how our fellow vegetarians handle feeling as if they are outcasts.

According to BusinessWeek, one vegetarian found a unique way to share his frustrations while also reaching out to other vegetarians through his business. Daniel Berman, who is a real estate broker in the San Francisco Bay area, recently launched a new blog on his website at VeggieReeltor.com on which he wrote an “Open Letter to My Fellow Vegetarians.” It said, in part:

“Why would it matter that you, as a vegetarian, have a real estate agent who is also a vegetarian? Simply stated, it’s a matter of shared values, an approach to life and a way of relating to others. If you’ve been a vegetarian (or vegan) for any length of time, you know what I mean.”

He went on to say, “I believe there is a need for people with my perspective, values and sensibilities, for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to offer an alternative…”

Berman isn’t the only one who is publicly sharing his views. The San Francisco Chronicle also recently reported that 5-year-old Beatrice McCartney, who is the daughter of Paul McCartney and vegetarian Heather Mills, was shunned while vacationing in the south of France because of her views.

Apparently, the little girl was lecturing other guests about the foods they were choosing to eat. Said Mills, “Beatrice questions everybody who eats animals. When we were in the south of France, there was a buffet for kids, and by the end of the week no one would sit near us because she would go over and say, ‘Why are you eating that cow’s bottom?’ or ‘Oh, look at that little shrimp with little eyes.”

It’s good to see young vegetarians feeling so passionate about eating healthy and observing the rights of animals.

Are you a baseball fan who is looking for a great baseball park where you can enjoy a vegetarian meal?  If so, you will be happy to know that there are plenty of parks out there that offer yummy vegetarian options.  In fact, PETA has recently compiled a list of the top 10 parks for vegetarians.  These include:

· Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies)
· AT&T Park (San Francisco Giants)
· Coors Field (Colorado Rockies)
· Turner Field (Atlanta Braves)
· Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros)
· PETCO Park (San Diego Padres)
· Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers)
· U.S. Cellular Field (Chicago White Sox)
· Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles)
· Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers)
· Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs)

Honorable mention was also given to the following parks:

· Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles Dodgers)
· Tropicana Field (Tampa Bay Rays)
· Busch Stadium (St. Louis Cardinals)
· PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates)
· Dolphin Stadium (Florida Marlins)
· Nationals Park (Washington Nationals)
· Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (Oakland Athletics)

Do you need more reasons to become a vegetarian?  Vegetarian’s have long known that passing up the meat in favor of veggies is an important step to take toward conserving the planet’s resources, but it has only been within the past couple years that major studies have come out to support this fact.  Here’s a look at just a few of the shocking findings that have been uncovered by a variety of reputable organizations:

· The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) published a study called “Livestock’s Long Shadow” in 2006 in which it revealed that the livestock industry is the cause of 18% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions
· The country of Brazil reported that it lost 12,000 square kilometers of Amazon rainforest in a one year period, mainly due to cattle ranchers and soy producers who are supplying animal feed to European markets
· Raising a livestock uses far more water than growing vegetables, with 1 kilogram of meat taking about 200 times more water to produce than the same amount o wheat
· In the United States, farm animals consume 5 calories of food for every 1 calorie of food they produce, while farm animals in India consume less than 1.5 calories for every calorie consumed.  In Kenya, on the other hand, livestock provides more calories than it consumes.

So, even if you aren’t quite ready to cut the meat out of your diet entirely, you should seriously consider going “meat free” at least one day per week.  This way, you can help reduce the negative environmental impact that meat-eating creates.  And, who knows, you may just decide you like passing on the meat once you discover how great your body feels!