There are several ways to become a vegetarian. Most likely, it is about the welfare of animals. Over 950 Million land animals are slaughtered per year in the UK, and livestock farming is no matter for “sensitive” natures.
So, the BBC wondered whether vegetarians could eat meat out of test tubes, i.e. artificial meat without any animal getting harmed. The wonderful article comes to an “as-well-as-both-and” answer: some may, others won’t. The necessity of a number of nutrients in our food, especially high quality protein, iron, zinc, selenium, vitamin D and some B vitamins is a good reason to eat meat from time to time, as it is the best source for those.
The author, Chi Chi Izundu mentions that vegetarianism is no religion, so there can’t be a single answer valid for everyone. But the moral issues of our meat consumption can not be neglected.