During my pre-vegetarian years, I never did eat much meat, because I lived with family in India, and overall meat consumption is low among most Hindu families.
I am lacto-vegetarian. Ghee (clarified butter) is one of the most amazing, health promoting foods. I also consume honey. I turned vegetarian about the same time I stopped consumption of alcohol, primarily because through my meditation practices, my body was getting connected with its inner intelligence, and recognized the fact that meat was harming not only the body, but also subtle aspects of the mind. Consciousness gets clouded by indulging in meat or alcohol, as the yogis say.
I wear leather shoes, and use leather belts, but don't buy jackets. I minimize my "need" for leather and have only two pairs of dress shoes. In any case, I believe the Karmic consequences of eating meat to be far greater than using leather. I am not fanatical about my choices, and rarely even discuss it unless someone asks me why I turned vegetarian. Most everyone in my friend circle is also vegetarian.
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