The Vegetarian Society is celebrating National Vegetarian Week from May 18-24 May.

The society was formed in 1847 to prove that people giving up flesh, fish and fowl could be as healthy as meat eaters.

Having proved that point they went on to prove that vegetarians could also compete successfully in sports.

This lifestyle avoids all the horrors of intensive farming and slaughterhouses and today, when we are increasingly concerned about the environment, we note that cattle need up to 10 times the area of land that is needed to produce wheat, rice or beans.

Amazon rainforests are being destroyed at an alarming rate to produce soy which is mostly fed to cattle, instead of directly to people as would be more economical.

I heard that one third of that soya bean production there goes to China.

Surely the Chinese, who first discovered the value of soya, should be growing their own?

The world seems increasingly to be going mad.

Going vegetarian is one step towards more sanity.

Harry Mather, Dean Park Road, Bournemouth