ABSTRACT
It is important to distinguish between two motives for vegetarianism. The first motive is an ethical one: meat should be abstained from because it is immoral. Usually the reason for this is that meat consumption directly and indirectly harms animals. However, there may be other ethical reasons for abstaining from meat such as a concern for the impact animal farming has on the natural environment. Alternatively, meat consumption might be regarded as morally polluting regardless of the harm done to the animal and the environment. A second motive for abstaining from meat is non-ethical or prudential. One might abstain from meat out of concern for one's health. In societies where meat abstinence is mandatory, it might be regarded as imprudent to consume flesh because it could lead to social sanction or even exclusion. In Western societies, the opposite is usually the case, it is the vegetarian or vegan that is considered the outsider.
