In terms of the common American manifestations of meatless diets, veganism in particular has taken on a "status" and as a "movement" but that is not a reason to do or not do something, especially as it pertains to health (Larsson, Ronnlund, Johansson & Dahlgren, 2003). There has been a heavy correlation between the personal identity and the diet of people who engage in meatless diets/lifestyles (Fox & Ward, 2008)
While concerns about health are certainly a factor, the reverence for cows and an aversion to meat in general (beef in particular, obviously) is probably the main catalyst for nearly a third of India eating a meatless diet. In terms of the common American manifestations of meatless diets, veganism in particular has taken on a "status" and as a "movement" but that is not a reason to do or not do something, especially as it pertains to health (Larsson, Ronnlund, Johansson & Dahlgren, 2003)
It is when they are consumed excessively that problems present themselves. To put it concisely, a vegetarian diet may lend itself more to being healthy but there are other ways to accomplish the same or similar ends (Wyness, 2015)
Although vegetarians represent a rather small part of the United States population, there are countries that have much higher rates of people eating vegetarian or vegan diets. For example, India has a vegan or vegetarian population of nearly a third, coming in at about thirty-one percent (Yadav, 2006)