Rather than argue the details in G A Wright's letter (Mailbox, March 24), the main reasons in favour of a vegetarian diet are as follows:

Giving up meat is a healthier way of eating. The BMA has stated that: "Vegetarians have lower rates of obesity, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, large bowel disorders, cancers and gallstones."

A meat-eater's diet uses up more of the world's resources than that of a vegetarian. It is recognised that the current use of land, water and energy is not sustainable.

The Government has stated that our diet will have to change.

While 37 per cent of the world's harvested grain is fed to animals raised for slaughter, tens of millions of people die annually from starvation and nearly a billion suffer from malnutrition.

In many countries where there is lack of food, crops are grown to feed our animals.

The main reason given by vegetarians for adopting their diet is compassion for animals, which is obviously not high on a meat-eater's agenda. The Rev Professor Andrew Linzey said: "Animals are God's creatures, not human property, nor utilities, nor resources, nor commodities, but precious beings in God's sight."

I have yet to read any reports which contradict the points I have made, but perhaps G A Wright could tell me about the benefits of eating meat, rather than criticising and ridiculing a vegetarian diet.

Elizabeth Allison, Aylestone.