A lot of people are vegetarians. I feel like that's fairly common now. In my sorority house alone, there's typically a line in the kitchen for the vegetarian option. More people than ever are choosing to abstain from meat, but why?

A large percentage of vegetarians don't consume meat for ethical reasons. Five minutes spent on PETA's website will have anyone rethinking their dietary choices. For me, however, my decision to go meat free didn't come from PETA's propaganda or from watching a video or reading an article about animal ethics. I'm not an ethical vegetarian. I do think it's really great that, for every year I'm a vegetarian, I'm 'saving' two hundred and two animals, but that's not why I do it. I chose to go vegetarian (pescetarian, actually; I eat fish) after my dad was diagnosed with a really serious form of Lymphoma and I began to really research chemicals, steroids, and additives, and their effects on our bodies.

I stopped eating foods with additives a few years ago. My dad was only 37 the first time he was diagnosed with stage four Lymphoma. He was told he likely wouldn't make it five years. The doctors strongly pushed chemotherapy; instead he chose a mostly raw, meat-free diet. He juiced every morning, he ate raw veggies, and occasionally grilled fish. Exactly one year after he was diagnosed, he was rescanned. His cancer had not progressed. It was gone.

My dad's experience definitely got the wheels turning in my head. I began researching chemicals, steroids, and hormones. I learned that eighty percent of antibiotics sold in the US are used on livestock, not people. I learned that the hormones used on animals can skyrocket estrogen levels in women, causing early puberty in girls and possibly triggering breast cancer. I learned that eating meat not only lowers one's defense against E. Coli, but a large percentage of animals are contaminated with E.Coli. Roxarsone, an antibiotic used on most commercial livestock farms, contains large amounts of a carcinogenic form of arsenic. This dangerous form of arsenic can dramatically increase risk of cancer, dementia, and neurological problems.

I don't regret giving up meat, ever. After my dad was declared cancer-free, he slowly returned to his meat intensive former diet. Two years ago, he had routine scans done. Again, he was diagnosed with stage four Lymphoma. While some people are at higher risk than others for developing chronic illnesses and sometimes things just happen, I think going meat-free definitely lowers risk.

A lot of people argue that you have to eat meat to get all your nutrients. This is not the case. Protein can be found in beans, nuts, tofu, soy, or potatoes. There's calcium in broccoli, collards, almonds, and kale. Beans and leafy greens are good sources of iron. Skipping the meat not only lowers risk of illness, vegetarians typically have very low cholesterol.

My closest friends are big meat eaters. I don't care. Not eating meat is my personal choice, but I never try to force it on people. Ultimately, life is short, regardless of what we eat. Sometimes things happen. Sometimes you eat a near perfect diet and still die young. Sometimes you drink three Dr. Peppers a day and are still kicking it at one hundred and four years old. I do what I can to live a long, healthy life, but at the end of the day, that's out of my control. Do what makes you happy (within reason).