The facts are staggering: according to the American Dietetic Association, people who consume animal products suffer from significantly increased rates of obesity, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and other life-threatening illnesses.

Environmentally, raising animals for meat generates more greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of transportation combined. On top of that, billions of farm animals in the U.S. suffer and die each year under unhealthy, inhumane factory farm conditions considered so cruel they are banned in other countries.

I’ve been a vegetarian now for eight years primarily for spiritual and humanitarian reasons, but initially went vegetarian for my health. Like many people of color, my family has a history of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. It’s not surprising why: we ate meat two to three meals a day.

By age thirty, I was 40 pounds overweight, had a sluggish digestive system and battled frequent colds. My journey toward optimal health began with a two-week cleanse, which reduced my cravings for beef and chicken. This evolved into a pescetarian diet where fish became my meat of choice until one day, a tuna sandwich made me queasy. It was then I decided to listen to my body and stopped eating meat all together.

Despite compelling health, environmental and moral arguments for adopting a vegetarian diet, my transition from carnivore wasn’t easy. Giving up meat arose deep-seated, survival-based fears of deprivation: I was scared of being hungry and never feeling full. I also bought the myth that I needed meat for strength until I met a nutritionist who taught me how beans, nuts and green leafy veggies were great sources of protein and iron.

But my biggest fear was missing what I enjoyed most about eating meat: the emotional satisfaction of sinking my ...