Being a vegetarian means you can't eat any kind of animal flesh, including human. Vegetarianism allows you to eat milk products and eggs, but a vegan will tell you that doing so isn't the best thing for your health. (And they have a point, too, especially when you consider that the milk you drink turns a calf into an enormous cow in a few months.)

If you're already sold on vegetarianism and want to start practicing, it may be best not to eliminate all meat entirely straight off. There are many reasons, but mainly I believe that because you've been overloading on iron and protein and cholesterol for so long, your body has become used to it. Don't try to surprise your digestive system by eating salads for a week. You won't feel well, and pick meat right back up thinking that it is better for you. I myself gave up all meat at first, except what you could asphyxiate by pulling from the sea. Then I sort of weaned myself off fish and other seafood and am now completely cruelty-free. But do whatever you like. If you simply want to start by making a few dinners a week vegetarian, go right ahead. Eat stuff you like that's already vegetarian. Don't think you have to rush out and buy tofu and bean sprouts and whole grains. Make yourself some vegetarian chili. (It's the same as regular chili, but with out the dead animal in it.) If you miss hot dogs and hamburgers, buy the veggie ones. Then go try something new. Buy some hummus. Grill yourself a big portabella mushroom and slap that on a bun. If you're one of the unlucky few who's never had Indian food, go eat some! It's ever so good, and much of it is easy to make at home.

Meanwhile, people are going to think you're bonkers. Many here in America have been taught that meat makes you strong and healthy, and that people who don't eat it are weak and sickly. But just ignore those people. Arm yourself with the facts. Have you ever seen one of those enormous Belgian or Percheron or Clydesdale horses? The kind that used to haul around knights in battle? Yeah, those big things that can pull your house down if hitched up to it. Well, those hulking creatures are, in fact, vegans. Now, I know that we humans aren't horses. I'm not suggesting you find a pasture and graze and tell meat-eaters you're as strong as a horse. If you look at nutrition tables, you'll find that you can get all the iron and protein and calcium and whatever else you need from fruits, vegetables and grains. And without much effort, in fact. I have found vegetarianism to be surprisingly easy.

There are many books you can read to help you on your way to being vegetarian. I myself have read Diet for a New America and The Idiot's Guide to Being Vegetarian. Both have good nutrition guides and the first book is a very convincing argument for vegetarianism. There are many many others out there, and many of them have great recipes to get you started.

In any case, I wish you luck in becoming a vegetarian. The veggie life is guilt-free, you can still eat dessert (except Jell-O, of course) and you'll be saving an acre of trees every year, not to mention some of our animal friends' lives.