Many people have e-mailed me with questions ranging from general to specific. Below, I’ve included some of those questions. Each question contains a brief answer as well as an indication as to which chapter in the book you can go to in order to find more detailed information. My goal in writing this book was to offer you a genuine and feasible reason to switch to vegetarianism and give you the keys on how to make the transition as easy as possible. I hope you have enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. But more importantly, I hope I have given you many reasons to become a vegetarian. Q....

Congratulations! If you’ve followed all the steps and taken the advice presented to you in this book, you’re a vegetarian! Now you have one more decision to make: whether or not you want to use your knowledge to reach out to other vegetarians and educate nonvegetarians about the vegetarian lifestyle. You don’t have to do this, of course. You can live your vegetarian life quietly and on your own, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But now that you know what you do about vegetarianism’s value to individuals and the world, you may find you want to become a bit more active. You don’t have to...

By now you’ve learned pretty much everything you need to know about becoming a vegetarian, from ethics to nutrition to meal planning. Just don’t forget one of the biggest reasons that living a vegetarian lifestyle is a wonderful choice: what you eat affects the rest of the world. Consider the effect of a nonvegetarian society on the planet: Water and soil damage. Two hundred and sixty million acres of U.S. forests have disappeared, to make room for cropland to farm meat. Producing one pound of beef requires at least 2,500 gallons of water. The manufacture of a single hamburger patty takes enough...

You now have a lot of valuable tools at your disposal—you know how to plan meals, you know what nutrients you need to keep your body healthy, and you know how to feed your vegetarian child. You even know how to answer questions from others and make sure you have plenty of healthful food to eat at home, at school, and at work. Making your new lifestyle work at home and in the office requires a lot of flexibility, good humor, and planning. By this point though, you should feel up to the task. You’ve made excellent choices for your health and your future, and how you integrate them into the rest of...

People are now less inclined to look down their noses at vegetarians than in the past, but there are still social challenges to living a vegetarian life. Some people will believe that you’re making an in-your-face political choice and will have a negative reaction for no good reason. A lot of people will wonder if you’ve gone all hippy-dippy, patchouli-scented goofball on them, and treat you with condescension and scorn. Even the most supportive of friends will misunderstand what vegetarian means and offer you fish or eggs without ever asking you for the particulars of your diet. And you’re going...

We all start out life as lacto-vegetarians. Out first food is our mothers’ milk, full of all the nutrients we need. Infant formula, the alternative to breast milk, is made as close as possible to that of mother’s milk, and it’s all we require or should eat for the first four to six months of life. The good news is, if you’re a vegetarian, your breast milk is superior to that of nonvegetarian mothers because you’re not passing on any of the antibiotics, pesticides, or other contaminants that you would if you were eating meat. (And if you’re a vegan and you breast-feed, your child is still a...

If you have an ongoing health concern like diabetes, if you’re pregnant (or trying to conceive), or if you’re an athlete in training for a sport, you naturally have concerns about whether a vegetarian diet is your best option. The answer is yes—if you’re eating enough of the right foods. Vegetarianism is great for keeping blood sugar under control and getting the body in peak shape, whether you hope to run a marathon or have a baby. Doing Vegetarianism as a Diabetic For diabetics, diet is the first line of defense, literally the difference between life and death. Left untreated, diabetes can...

We’ve already discussed many of the problems associated with consuming dairy, from the horrible practices of factory farming to the difficulty the body has digesting cow’s milk. Well … we’re going to do it again! Because while you may choose to be an ovo-lacto-vegetarian—and that’s a great step toward eating a healthy, socially responsible diet—there are still some very good reasons to limit the amount of dairy products you eat. The Truth about Osteoporosis You probably believe that osteoporosis, the crippling disease that results in weak, brittle bones, is caused by a deficiency of...

Solving the Mysteries of Seeds, Soy, and Stevia We’ve talked a little bit about meat substitutes, including grains like quinoa … but what are they? What do you use them for? And where the heck do you get them? Luckily, as more and more people become vegetarian (and nonvegetarians cut back on animal foods), more co-ops and whole foods stores keep cropping up, even in smaller towns. Mainstream grocery stores keep expanding their natural foods sections because customers are demanding whole-grain products. It’s just a matter of knowing what you’re buying and what are all the delicious ways you...

There are tons of great recipe books for vegetarians, including veggie123.com cookbook[1] . It’s not difficult to find recipes, and you can always adapt your favorites to your new lifestyle. You can almost always find a viable substitute for any meat product in a recipe. This is where experimentation comes into play. You can have fun by trying out different substitutes to see which ones works and tastes the best. For example, instead of using eggs when making a cake, you can use applesauce, rice milk, or fruit juice instead. Whenever you come across a recipe that calls for meat products, play around...