October 1 has been celebrated as World Vegetarian Day for the past 30 years and now it has grown to a full month of celebration of vegetarian lifestyles.

People are turning towards vegetarian food and everyone has a reason for doing so.

But most importantly it is the nutrition aspect that comes into consideration when one opts a vegetarian lifestyle.

Nicky Owers, spokeswoman for the New Zealand Vegetarian Society, said, "People sometimes cut down on meat for their health's sake and then head towards vegetarianism as it becomes more widely known the huge environmental impact farming has as far as resource use, environmental contamination and greenhouse gasses go."

According to Jim Mann, professor in human nutrition and medicine at the University of Otago, a vegetarian diet leads to a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and also certain cancers.

In the 1970s a study was carried out in the UK that stated that lower cholesterol, lower blood fats, lower rates of heart disorders were found in vegetarians, apparently because of their lower intake of the saturated fat found in meat and dairy.