The Dharmic Law Reason: Ahinsa, the law of noninjury, is the Hindu's first duty in fulfilling religious obligations to God and God's creation as defined by Vedic scripture. The Karmic Consequences Reason: All of our actions, including our choice of food, have Karmic consequences. By involving oneself in the cycle of inflicting injury, pain and death, even indirectly by eating other creatures, one must in the future experience in equal measure the suffering caused. The Spiritual Reason: Food is the source of the body's chemistry, and what we ingest affects our consciousness, emotions and experiential patterns. If one wants to live in higher consciousness, in peace and happiness and love for all creatures, then he cannot eat meat, fish, shellfish, fowl or eggs. By ingesting the grosser chemistries of animal foods, one introduces into the body and mind anger, jealousy, anxiety, suspicion and a terrible fear of death, all of which are locked into the the flesh of the butchered creatures. For these reasons, vegetarians live in higher consciousness and meat-eaters abide in lower consciousness. The Ecological Reason: Planet Earth is suffering. In large measure, the escalating loss of species, destruction of ancient rainforests to create pasture lands for live stock, loss of topsoils and the consequent increase of water impurities and air pollution have all been traced to the single fact of meat in the human diet. No decision that we can make as individuals or as a race can have such a dramatic effect on the improvement of our planetary ecology as the decision not to eat meat. 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. Mahabharat 115.47 Those high-souled persons who desire beauty, faultlessness of limbs, long life, understanding, mental and physical strength and memory should abstain fromacts of injury. Mahabharat 18.115.8 The very name of cow is Aghnya ["not to be killed"], indicating that they should never be slaughtered. Who, then could slay them? Surely, one who kills a cow or abull commits a heinous crime. Mahabharat Shantiparv 262.47 The purchaser of flesh performs Hinsa (violence) by his wealth; he who eats flesh does so by enjoying its taste; the killer does Hinsa by actually tying and killing the animal. Thus, there are three forms of killing: he who brings flesh or sends for it, he who cuts off the limbs of an animal, and he who purchases, sells or cooks flesh and eats it -- all of these are to be considered meat-eaters. Mahabharat Anu 115.40 He who sees that the Lord of all is ever the same in all that is -- immortal in the field of mortality -- he sees the truth. And when a man sees that the God in himself is the same God in all that is, he hurts not himself by hurting others. Then he goes, indeed, to the highest path. Bhagavad Geeta 13.27-28 Ahinsa is the highest Dharm. Ahinsa is the best Tapas. Ahinsa is the greatest gift. Ahinsa is the highest self-control. Ahinsa is the highest sacrifice. Ahinsa is the highest power. Ahinsa is the highest friend. Ahinsa is the highest truth. Ahinsa is the highest teaching. Mahabharat 18.116.37-41 What is the good way? It is the path that reflects on how it may avoid killing any creature. Tirukural 324 All that lives will press palms together in prayerful adoration of those who refuse to slaughter and savor meat. Tirukural 260 What is virtuous conduct? It is never destroying life, for killing leads to every other sin. Tirukural 312, 321 Goodness is never one with the minds of these two: one who wields a weapon and one who feasts on a creature's flesh. Tirukural 253 [source http://www.flex.com/~jai/articles/hinmeat.html]

Hindus don't eat meat because they think it is very negative!!

Other than the above beautifully explained answer by "emilyw" the Hindus worship the cows. In olden times many Hindus lived solely on cows (for milk, fuel, farming) as there bread winner on farms and killing them for eating was forbidden. The same still applies to most of the Hindus. Also, Killing an animal to eat is considered sin in Hindus.

hindus don't eat meant because the believe in reincarnation, if they eat an animal, they technically could be eating a loved one.

ofcourse they do! Brahmins don't.

You might be eating your cousin...

well they dont eat meat cuz we belive we are reborn and when we are we can become any thing so if i eat chicken and when i am reborn i become a chicken so it is like i human eating a human and if somone in your family died u could be eating them cuz if they turn into a chicken and you eat a chicken so yah

Hindus not eating meat actually has more to do with politics than with religion. But in India, politics and religion go hand in hand. At one time, animal sacrifice was very common place all around India, including cows. It was so rampant that the number of dairy cows was reaching a dangerously low number, so the government enacted laws to save the cows. And since the government is closely associated with their religious life, it became a sin, to eat or even injure a cow. It has been so long that most evidence of this has been forgotten and the general Hindu public just takes it for what they have been told, a sin. Vegetarianism became more a part of Hindu life when the Buddhist movement started. And slowly over the centuries it has gained more and more of a foothold.

Because they are a cool gang...and I decided to join them a few years back (without going Hindu though ;-)

+5 Because they think the burger is their uncle Charlie