MANY of us at the start of the year will have resolved to lead a healthier lifestyle. To give up smoking or alcohol, to lose weight and take regular exercise, but the best way to ensure improved health in 2001 is to go vegetarian.

Hardly a day went by in the past year without BSE and CJD in the headlines. Swine fever, salmonella and e.coli outbreaks all occupied the news for days on end. Add to this the well-documented link between a meat-based diet and Britain's three biggest killers -- heart disease, cancer and stroke -- and it's no wonder that 2,000 people go vegetarian in the UK every week.

For a free veggie starter kit contact PETA, PS Box 3169, London, SW18 4WJ or visit www.petaeurope.org

TONI VERNELLI, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), London SW1.