All throughout the world, there are a plethora of diets, all of which have their own pros and cons connected to them. From vegan and vegetarian to having meat as a staple in every meal, there's always a lot of talk about which way of eating is "better".
Growing up, I was what I would call the "typical American" when it came to what I ate. While I was born in Alaska, I spent most of my childhood in the Southern U.S., enjoying brisket and ribs at every gathering I attended. Eating meat was simply ingrained in my lifestyle. I didn't think anything of it.
First and foremost, I want to explain why I'm writing about this. In no way am I trying to write anything that convinces you to immediately change your diet. In no way am I attempting to attack someone else's personal beliefs on the subject. Those two things are counter productive to an environment that encourages intelligent discussion and civil debate. I'm simply writing about my views concerning diet. Don't take what I say as truth. Do your own research. You might be surprised at what you find.
Anyway...
While I was attending high school on the outskirts of Austin, Texas, I one day came across a couple YouTube videos about going vegetarian. At this point in my life, I had known what the vegetarian diet looked like for a while, but I never even considered the reasons that would lead me to give up the joy that eating meat brought into my life. After educating myself, I came to realize exactly what I was putting into my body. The more I thought about meat, the more it grossed me out. I was becoming worried that I was traveling down a road that wouldn't allow me to U-turn.
For a while, I actually tried to ignore what I had learned, for I was simply not ready for such a huge change. I also worried about what the people around me would think.
In some ways, I feel as if BBQ (especially in the South) is a component of religious belief, particularly when in combination with Christianity. When anyone forms an argument against eating meat, even one that is entirely personal and has nothing to do with convincing others, that person is often met with statements fueled by religious belief (trust me, I know from many experiences). Everything from, "God made the animals for humans to reign over", as well as, "The Bible says that those who only eat plants are weak", people use against herbivores.
I never saw it this way.
After much inner debate, I decided to set aside any fears that I had concerning myself or others and simply go for it. I took a week long trial run. And to the surprise of both myself and my family, I actually felt like it was for me.
Now, you might be wondering what exactly convinced me. What I've found to be most effective in diving deep is to ask yourself some questions. Here are some questions that I asked myself:
- Why do I eat meat?
- Is my reason for eating meat worth the killing it requires?
- If I had to, would I be willing to take the life of every animal that I eat?
- If it meant that I could live a healthier and cruelty-free life with a well-planned vegetarian/vegan diet, would I go vegetarian/vegan?
- Does the importance of meat in my life outweigh the importance of environmental impacts the cultivation of meat inevitably has?
This is just the start of many questions you will ask yourself if you decide to go down this rabbit hole.
If your answers to these questions didn't even come close to warranting further inquiries concerning vegetarianism, that's OK. Don't let anyone guilt you or bring you down about not wanting to change your diet right away! Being prepared to make this large of a change requires a certain amount confidence in the message, and that doesn't exactly come easily.
I do encourage you, however, to continue thinking about it whenever you're ordering a meal or cooking a dish. The worst thing we can can all do to ourselves is ceasing to question everyday "normal things".
We often become disconnected from the reality of what we eat. Having everything already prepared and ready-to-go allows for ignorance and unethical practices.
While I am the one who's writing about this topic, I certainly don't have everything figured out. For one, I'm not even a vegan yet! I've been vegetarian for over two and a half years, thinking the entire time about wanting to go vegan. When you're living with your parents, it can be hard to throw all of this on them at once. That's why I started with simply cutting meat out of my diet, and limiting the amount of dairy I consumed. I am slowly removing all animal products from my diet at this point, but haven't got all the way there yet.
All in all, question your current choices! Scrutinize the integrity of your reasoning. Pull apart your arguments. You may find that you haven't been entirely honest with yourself.
