Why Many Followers of Hinduism Don't Eat Meat?

THE CHAKRA

Vegetarianism is the key to good health and happiness. The Hindu view is multi-dimensional, including the ecological, medical and spiritual, as is evident in the following excerpts from Hinduism Today. Besides being an expression of compassion for animals, vegetarianism is followed for ecological and health rationales. In the past fifty years, millions of meat-eaters — Hindus and non-Hindus — have made the personal decision to stop eating the flesh of other creatures. Those actually trained in Vedic knowledge, however, never adopted a meat-oriented diet, and the pious Hindu still observes vegetarian principles as a matter of religious duty. “That vegetarianism has always been widespread in India is clear from the earliest Vedic texts. Scripture: He who desires to augment his own flesh by eating the flesh of other creatures lives in misery in whatever species he may take his birth. Mahabharata 115.47 [link]
There are five major motivations for such a decision:

1. The Dharmic Law Reason - Ahimsa, the law of non-injury
2. The Karmic Consequences Reason - All of our choice of food, have consequences
3. The Spiritual Reason - Living in peace excludes eating meat, fish, shellfish, fowl or eggs
4. The Health Reason - Strengthen immune system
5. The Ecological Reason - Planet Earth is suffering