I recently moved here from Colorado. During my time there, I became a “citizen” of the western region.

In the West people move more slowly, life is more casual and people are extremely earthy, outdoorsy and food-conscious. There, it’s almost strange if you come across an individual who isn’t vegetarian, vegan or eats strictly organic.

So, as you can imagine, it came as quite a surprise when so many people in Michigan were confused as to why I would ever choose to lose the meat.

This week, I did some research and found the top 10 most popular reasons why people chose to go veg. Many of these are reasons why I converted in the first place but some are great reasons for leading a healthy, earth-friendly lifestyle:

10. Being vegetarian is more energy-efficient than being a meat eater. Meat production accounts for 17 percent of fossil fuel used in the United States. The carbon dioxide emitted from burning these fuels amounts to three-quarters of a ton per person!

9. Going veg can help promote weight-loss. Diets are hard to maintain and some are very unhealthy in that they deprive the dieter from essential vitamins. Many think when you’re vegetarian you miss out on amino acids and proteins so much the lifestyle is unhealthy. However, by eating plenty of complete proteins like quinoa, rice and beans, egg whites and spirulina, being vegetarian can be just as healthy as a carnivorous diet.

8. Besides promoting weight-loss, being vegetarian can help prevent heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, adult onset diabetes and high cholesterol.

7. The lifespan of a “food animal” is a fraction of what it would be if the animal were living in a non-industrial setting.

6. A little-known fact is 80 percent of corn grown in this country is used to feed livestock instead of people.

5. Every year around 10 billion animals die for the food industry. There are approximately six billion people in the world, so that’s more than one-and-a-half animals per person, per year. Yet, millions of people around the world are still starving.

4. Vegetarian diets tend to be cheaper than other diets because produce is cheaper than meat. If living on the college diet of ramen and frozen pizza, you may argue the non-veg lifestyle is more economical, but really, who wants to eat ramen and pizza everyday?

3. Vegetarian food is delicious and becoming widely accessible. Companies like Boca and Morning Star are coming out with new tasty alternatives all the time and restaurants nationwide are starting to cater to individuals who are veg.

2. Cattle farming is the number one cause of deforestation in the Amazon, the world’s biggest rainforest with the largest variety of species. The amount of land cleared for cattle in Latin America is now the size of Ireland.

1. Vegetarians are being nice to animals, so naturally they’re happy people!

For some, it still may be as simple as liking meat and not wanting to give it up. That’s a perfectly legitimate answer—I myself thought that way for 21 years. However, I’m asking those carnivores out there to be open minded to the idea of ditching the meat. Because whether you’re a carnivore, a vegan or a vegetarian, everyone has their reasons for eating the way they do.