I'm an animal rights vegan, myself.

I believe that in a perfect world, like back in the garden of Eden & like the world to come, every one will be vegetarians. I became a vegetarian when I was 12, and I still cant believe we eat animals. I wish I had of realized what eating a animal actually was sooner. I think if people actually had to hunt and kill and skin, etc. there own meat there would be a lot more vegetarians in the world. And I think if you can say that you couldn't do that, then you shouldn't be allowed to eat meat. Yes, I LOVE animals! I think that it is absolutely sickening what we do to animals! I also want to be healthy but I do eat food that is not good for you like chips, etc. so I'm not a health nut.

That person who put you into the health nut box is rare, because I have been a vegetarian for 30 years and I have Never had anyone act that way towards me. Just saying.

Much love to you all!!!!

Mostly number 2, but the other two are contenders as well.

The Spiritual Human: Hindu Vegetarians know that it is spiritually damaging to consume the dead bodies of other species

+1! I started becoming more spiritual and noticed how much happier and full of life i felt when i cut out meat! I used to be filled with anxiety and fear all the time! I realized now i was consuming all the negative emotions/energy of the chickens that were killed!

Perhaps I need to revise.

There are two types of vegetarian health nuts. I'm totally okay with those of you out there who went vegetarian for your health. But there are some health nuts who take it to an extreme - eating a strict raw diet, drinking green smoothies, going so far as to eat tofu straight from the container. Sure, it's their perogative...but it's these types of health nuts that scream to high heavens that their way is the "right way" and then I have to deal with people thinking that vegetarianism is a joyless eating experience. That's what bothers me -- not the healthy eating part, but how forcefully they make others believe vegetarianism is this boring, strict way of eating.

I think there is some confusion on this multifaceted realm of vegetarianism:glasses: . We have raw vegans, raw vegetarians, raw foodists and natural hygienists, macrobiotic vegetarians and vegans, political activism type vegetarian and vegans, nutritionally homeopathic :drinker: vegetarians and vegans, new age vegetarians and vegans, feminist :noway: vegans and vegetarians (ie; The politics of meat) , confrontational vegans and vegetarians, :flowerforyou: change the world and recruit vegetarians and vegans, the secret vegetarians :indifferent: and vegans, eating disorder recovery vegetarian and vegans, drinker/chain smoker and sometimes :smokin: drug head vegans and vegetarians, "a celebrity is vegan/vegetarian so am i" vegan/vegetarian, hippie may still support a commune -vegan/vegetarian, Clean eating vegan/vegetarian, soyfree vegan/vegetarian, I need to lose weight vegan/vegetarian, health issue vegan/vegetarian, "only diet a:huh: stuck to" vegan/vegetarian.

We have a TON of subcategories of Veg people and other vegetarians have to accept that. When food choices became public, different shades of peoples' beliefs became public too. There needs to be more unity amongst vegetarians. Must there be an opinion about everything:noway: ?
How many non-vegetarians think vegetarians are extreme*:flowerforyou: Im sure a lot of them. But is that necessarily true, no. It is up to the individual who shares* that they are a vegan/vegetarian to be prepared for all that "crap" :grumble: of stereotypes, misconceptions and sometimes different areas of vegetarian lifestyle to be addressed. :sad: Instead of criticizing or labeling (many vegetarians flow through many different areas of the categories above after various years), just:happy: clarify what is true for You. If you wanna avoid the conversation with your checkout person, :noway: don't share that your vegetarian, keep it personal.

If you do more research (study is endless) and talk to more veg people and read the history of it, then it won't be so overwhelming to know how many different sides of veg there really are:ohwell:

I'm an animal lover! However the health benefits that come along with being a vegetarian are very nice.

I'm not 100% vegetarian, but I mostly avoid meat because I'm a flavor LOVER not a hater! I just think vegetarian food is a lot more interesting and exciting. I also prefer a vegetarian diet because it's a lot cheaper and easier (if you're eating mostly home-cooked food).

You're missing a type, I did it for the environmental aspect (world hunger, water pollution and the co2 emissions from factory grown meats were the biggest selling points to me) and later the health nut obsession grew on me.

I'm a mixture of the animal lover and taste one.
I have been vegetarian since I was 5. I was made to eat everything on my plate until I was 5 and then I chose not to eat any meat because I did not like the taste and texture of it. As a kid I was a huge animal lover. We had alot of animals growing up but because we had so many I don't like having any animals. Not that I don't like them they are just not for me. I do believe though that we shouldn't have to kill animals for food, it just doesn't seem right to me.

I started by nothing noble. Serious carnivore with a vegetarian brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and niece. Used to joke that I needed a 'meat fix' before and after visiting them. I had a shift to vegetarianism when losing weight the last time, as the WW diet suggests low fat high fiber, which can only be obtained from plants. At the same time, I was searching for my 'spiritual self', I know, sounds weird. Buddhism, back to my Judaic roots, and surprised to find that in Genesis 1:29, G-d prescribes a vegan diet for all sentient beings. Since then, I have regained some weight - I'm here on MFP, but have an unbelievable connection to all life, and I am working to make amends to all of those I have personally slaughtered to satisfy my lust for flesh.

I agree with your basic three, the list could be expanded. Be raised, as was mentioned, is another good one.