Why do people become veggies?

There are a number of reasons people choose to give up eating meat:

• Animals: because they believe it's wrong to breed and slaughter animals for food
• Ecology: they are worried about the effect of meat farming and fishing on the environment
• Health: research suggests there are healthy benefits (experts recommend eating five portions of fruit and veg a day)
• Religion: some religions - like Buddhism - encourage a vegetarian diet
• Food: some people just don't like the taste of meat
• Trends: their fave pop star or actor is veggie so they do the same

Recent health scares - such as salmonella and the human form of mad cow disease (CJD) - have also changed people's eating habits.