Why am I vegetarian? Why not?!

I’ve been vegetarian for over 13 years now and whenever I meet new people and we go out to eat they always ask me similar questions about my diet so I’d like to take some space to talk about it.

The tipping point? I was a kid at the zoo and of all the exotic animals, there was one particular pretty cow with lashes so long they grabbed my heart and cried moo. I decided then and there I didn’t want to eat animals and proceeded back to my Grandma’s house with my new news. Unfortunately for her she’d already prepared a dinner of sausages and chicken. Fortunately for me she was so senile that she didn’t notice as I slipped forkfuls of meat under the table in a hidden jar while complimenting her on her cooking.

I don’t want to eat something that has a living life. I think animals are wonderful special creatures with independent minds and emotions and I simply don’t want to eat something that was killed for me to consume. I also don’t like the idea of being a living human and putting dead flesh into my body. It doesnt make much sense to me to fill my living body with something decomposing inside me. Then there is ecological reasons. Long before climate change and methane gas became a hot topic, vegetarians have been trying to convince others of how beneficial a non meat consuming diet is for the planet. Cows contribute a huge amount of carbon which is contributing to our global climate change crisis. Also the imprints of their hooves on the top soil is damaging the earth and preventing a sustainable and fertile future for the land in which they graze. Many forrests are cut down specifically to graze cattle and the loss of trees not only lessons our planet’s ability to absorb excess carbon, but it threatens plant and wildlife dependant on these areas for their habitat and survival.

In terms of health benefits, it is said that a nutritious and balanced vegetarian diet decreases the risks of heart disease, osteoporosis and many types of cancer. Consuming meat may also transmit unhealthy viruses and food poisoning including salmonella, mad cow disease, stereroids, and growth and antibiotic hormones.

So basically I am vegetarian for spiritual, ethical, health and environmental reasons. I don’t like being pushy and vocal in person with other people about my vegetarianism but it is something I am very passionate about and believe in strongly. I encourage everyone to question their diets and consider a vegetarian diet for the health of themselves, the planet and of course the lives of innocent animals.