The North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS) will celebrate October 1 as World Vegetarian Day. Vegetarians around the world have joined in a celebration of the healthy lifestyle annually since 1977. This day is also the kickoff for Vegetarian Awareness Month.
The Vegetarian society has adopted the month of October as a timeframe to offer information regarding environmental, ethical, humanitarian and personal health benefits of living a vegetarian lifestyle.
According to the NAVS, the lifestyle protects the lives of animals as well as the longevity of earthly resources and has the benefit of a healthier life while on the earth. There are certain diseases such as mad cow disease that are a direct result of eating meat.
The World Vegetarian day has extended an invitation of participation to non-vegetarians in hopes of that they would give meatless eating a try, if only for a day. During Vegetarian Awareness Month, members of NAVS are encouraging people to take a pledge of abstinence. They are asking participants to abstain from all meat, fish, and any type of fowl during the entire month. With the pledge, entries are awarded into a drawing for a cash prize of 1,000 dollars for top prize.
Scientific research has proven that vegetarians experience fewer illnesses than that of one who eats meat. In a study done with 50,000 vegetarians, findings revealed that heart disease, cancer, and heart failure are least likely to be found in a person that refrains from eating any meat, than one who has eaten meat for many years of their life.