Why Am I (mostly) Vegetarian?

If I had a quick and simple answer to that question I would tattoo it on my forehead so that people would stop asking me.  I think that part of the problem is that I don't fit within most people's construction of vegetarianism.  I am a young American male with an affinity for football, bowling and beer; not exactly your typical vegetarian.

I should point out that I'm technically not a vegetarian, I am actually a pescatarian which means that I eat seafood.  Essentially, I drew the line at sushi.  Technically, I'm not even a strict pescatarian as i've been known to sneak little bites of turkey on Thanksgiving.  Generally speaking though, I am mostly vegetarian and our house is exclusively vegetarian.  But why?

Again, I don't find this a terribly easy question to answer.  I know that for some people it is, but I was motivated by a variety of factors.  I actually decided to go vegetarian on a whim; I didn't think long and hard, I didn't consider the complications, I didn't feel compelled, I just decided to try it.  It was always supposed to be an experiment, I knew people that had stopped eating meat and I was curious about what that was like.  Besides, I was already not eating a great deal of meat anyway, you know that whole starving student thing.  So why did I (mostly) stick with it?

1) I spend less money on food.  I can afford to spend a little more money now than then, but i've already allocated it on better beer and (some) organic produce.  Besides, who wants to spend more money?

2) I feel better.  I noticed this immediately, I'll spare you the details but by my next mornings cup of coffee (or like 5 cups) my dietary change was already evident.  I will admit that at first some of my meals weren't terribly satisfying but eventually I leaned how to cook a little bit and that hasn't really been a problem of late.

3) No dead animals.  I don't have anything in particular against eating meat, but i'm not particularly thrilled with some of the ways that we raise farm animals (though to be fair, i'm not terribly excited by way we grow plants either).  I know that for some people this is a huge motivation, good for them... but it's not really my primary concern.

4) It's better for the planet.  The science is clear, methane is a terrible greenhouse gas, and eating meat in this country actually causes more emissions than all the cars combined.  This actually is a pretty good motivator for me, but I don't talk about it that much because I don't live every aspect of my life in an environmentally conscious way and I don't need to hear about my own hypocrisy.

5) Path dependence.  Well, I don't eat meat.  As it turns out, if you go a long time without eating meat, then eating meat will make you sick.

6) I date a vegetarian.  Before you ask, I was a vegetarian when we met thank you very much.  It doesn't really make sense for me to decide to eat meat again if I live in a meatless house.

7) I'm actually healthier.  You can eat a healthy carnivorous diet or an unhealthy vegetarian one but i've found that my own personal diet has improved.  I've found a taste for vegetables I never liked before, and I eat a lot more leafy greens.  It might not work for everyone, but it helped for me.

So why am I mostly vegetarian, little bits of all these things (and probably more that i've forgotten).  I should point out a caveat, if i'm traveling outside the country (maybe that'll happen again someday) then i'll eat whatever is put in front of me.  You might only get one chance to taste different and authentic cuisine and i'm not gonna miss out.  I don't want to be one of those...