A walk down the Ave. is enough to illustrate the trend noted in a recent Associated Press article – vegetarian dining is growing in popularity.

From Veggie Veggie to Araya's Vegetarian Place, the University District has its fair share of strictly vegetarian or vegan restaurants.

Even more encouraging, however, is seeing that non-vegetarian establishments like Chipotle and the Thaiger Room offer an array of meatless fare.

"There are between 1,000 and 1,200 vegetarian restaurants in the U.S., almost double the number seven years ago, according to ... VegDining.com, an online guide to vegetarian restaurants," writes the AP.

The benefits of a vegetarian diet have been more publicized in recent years, too, with most major nutritionists acknowledging that, with a little bit of work, a vegetarian diet can help a person lose weight or stave of forms of cancer and heart disease. Besides, according to an AP article, Seattle has just been ranked second in the nation in compassion for animals by the Humane Society.

According to WebMD, a vegetarian diet tends to be lower in calories and higher in fiber, both of which are good for one's health.

With 6 to 8 million Americans calling themselves vegetarians, and with the increasing awareness of the U.S. obesity epidemic, it's no wonder more people are reducing or eliminating animal products from their food repertoire.

A vegetarian diet can even help the reduce carbon emissions, according to a recent Time Magazine article. "The international meat industry generates roughly 18 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions," according to the article.

Even with the growing number of vegetarians in the country, there is still a substantial portion of the population that eats meat.

Since variety is the spice of life, we're happy to see both dining options on local menus.

After all, if there is a senior menu at Denny's and a children's menu at the International House of Pancakes, there is no reason for restaurants not to offer a vegetarian menu, too.