| | I've been on a bit of a nutrition kick these past couple of weeks, and being a vegetarian obviously this has a LOT to do with eating more protein and being healthier. Along with this, I've been getting asked quite frequently why I'm a vegetarian. So I wanted to constructively sort out my thoughts and beliefs on the matter here of course! I did it essay form though, so hopefully it won't be too boring to read. Everyone has that one unique belief that sets them apart from the rest of their world. For some, this may be the belief that all life started from one tiny particle floating in space. For others, it may be in the power of the supernatural. For me, it is believing that animals were created to be loved, not eaten. This singular sentence automatically derives a new meaning in most minds: vegetarian. Yet from my past year of experience, there are not many who truly understand and respect just what a vegetarian lifestyle is. I haven’t yet met a meat eater who has come to empathize completely with this part of who I am. There is so much more that comes with stopping the consumption of animals that it is time people began to understand. The most common question that I am asked is “Why did you decide to do this?” I can explain this quite simply in a quick story. About ten months ago, right after Christmas, I sat in my living room watching my dog Chip wag his tail merrily while my parents, brother and I drank our hot chocolate by the Christmas tree. I walked over to my dog and began to pet him. His mouth hung open into what almost resembled a smile, and he rolled over onto his stomach so that I could scratch it for him. I did for a moment, and when I stopped he crawled over and rested his head on my leg to sleep for a bit while the family watched a movie. In this one innocent action, I came to realize that my dog could display emotions such as love and happiness just as I could. I could never harm him, just as I then accepted I could never harm another animal myself either. Right then, the desire to eat meat left me for good. I made it my New Year’s resolution to become a vegetarian. Although this story doesn’t explain much in the realm of nutritional value or core beliefs, it does illustrate the feeling my heart gets whenever I see a peaceful cow or pig at a fair and realize that it is soon to be slaughtered. I cannot stand to see the world think so nonchalantly about consuming things that were once living, breathing, moving, and feeling just like we are. I wouldn’t want a foreign alien species to come and begin to herd and eat me, so why should I do the same to the animals who occupy more of this earth than I do? In becoming a vegetarian, my family ends up buying three whole cows less beef every year than they usually would. This is only one statistic out of many. I feel as though I am saving lives, no matter how few. This is the pivotal reason I changed my diet, yet of course I have researched the matter thoroughly and have other answers prepared to give when people ask me “Why?” Usually the “Why?” is accompanied with something along the lines of “Don’t you get enough protein?” My answer typically contains a sigh and then I delve straight into the explanation of the food pyramid. The triangle is not really a meat triangle. It is a protein triangle. This includes foods such as eggs, beans, nuts, and green leafy vegetables as well as meats. Also, it has been scientifically proven that the nutrients found in these four sources are more beneficial than those found in meat, because not only do they contain protein but they also hold other vitamins and minerals essential to human function. I eat these daily, and so I am just as healthy as someone who eats chicken breast every night for dinner. Biologically, some scientists will agree that the construction of our jaws and teeth are not made in the way that most carnivorous animal’s jaws are. We have flat, rounded molars, whilst carnivores have a full set of pointed teeth specifically designed for tearing meat. Also, our stomachs and digestive systems do not produce the same acids used in carnivores to digest meat more efficiently. Our bodies cannot immediately digest meat as it can vegetables and grains, and so meat sits in our stomachs until it rots into small enough pieces to pass through our intestines. I don’t exactly appreciate the idea of rotting flesh sitting in my stomach. Since becoming a vegetarian, I have felt like I was doing more for the environment that I had been previously. I have become nutritionally healthier and thus motivated to exercise more than I had been before. I’m now more motivated and aware of the rest of the world than I had previously been, because believing in one form of activism led me towards interests in others. I have felt like a kinder and gentler person, and this caused my self confidence to rise. I know this seems like an exaggerated list just from becoming a vegetarian one New Year’s, but it is all true. I know that eating meat has become an integral part of our society, and I also know that I will never be able to get the rest of the world to see things from my perspective and agree with me. Yet I do know that compassionate people are willing to hear other’s sides of the story, and so I am spreading mine as far and wide as I can, in the hopes of saving a few happy cows. Also, thanks to all the great people who have left me super comments this past week! I appreciate your support so much! |
