You don't eat meat? Well put on your armor! Sword in one hand, shield in the other. Prepare to defend yourself!
Eating meat. One of those subjects that does not seem to have a middle ground.
Yesterday, I got lured into an argument about not wanting to eat meat. I've also gotten myself trapped inside a vegan bubble on Instagram. Both of these experiences show me that, for most people, there is no middle ground. As with many things in our society lately, there are just two camps and that, my friends, is quite counterproductive. Especially for the people trying to make a change for the better in a world where people have always been taught otherwise.
I am not a vegan, nor am I a vegetarian. I avoid meat and animal products a lot, up until the point where I now probably don't eat meat more than a couple of times a year. I use nut milk and have exchanged yoghurt for various vegan alternatives. I will eat meat if someone has prepared it for me, because I won't force others to cook vegetarian food for me. I also have a lot of cheese in my fridge, mostly because there is no way hubby will stop eating cheese (this will be tests from time to time with alternatives).
This has been, and still is, an ongoing process. I make some switches now and then, but I don't force myself (or hubby) to go cold turkey. I believe every step counts and I think the vegetarian/vegan movements would go a lot more smoothly (and willingly), if this way was used more often and was more acceptable and advertised by said movements.
Ofcourse, I do also think people should see more images and videos of animal cruelty in mass production facilities and transport, but that should be a job for producers that sell said products. You know, like cigarette packages with nasty lung photo's. That's not what I want to talk about today though.
Yesterday, hubby's friend came over. My husband loves arguing and his friend is the same. I do not love arguing. I am not quick, nor am I witty. I need time to process what I'm hearing, before I can come back to you with a well thought-out answer. So basically, I practice way out of my comfort zone when I get pulled into an argument with them. It does, however, lead to inspiration for an article the next day.
Yesterday, hubby's friend said I'm a leftish person who probably doesn't eat meat. I told him he was right, I hardly ever eat meat anymore. And boy did he bite. Now he clearly started this whole discussion, them being the argument-lovers and all, but somewhere down the line I got accused of wanting to force my believes onto others and making them feel guilty for eating meat.
Hellooooo, who started this again?
I don't generally want to 'force my believes onto others'. Honestly, this whole meat thing is a hornet's nest and I am a poor keyboard warrior at best, a terrible live speaker at worst. But what am I to do when someone basically straight out asks me? I won't lie. I tell them I don't want to eat meat. And when they ask me why, I tell them why. That's what a conversation is, right? That's how they work? Atleast that's what I've been taught.
So we went over all of the regular arguments a couple of times. I stuck to my own feelings and believes, not accusing anyone of anything, because I can't force anyone not to eat meat (except for hubby, when I do the shopping and cooking). And I guess I threw some good arguments in there, but it's no use arguing with someone who basically just sees it as a sport. Anyway, a couple of points that were hit:
You're going against our nature!
There was a time when eating meat would definitely have been handy or even needed to give all of us all of the nutrients we need as a human being. There are most likely many parts of the world and many people who don't have the luxury of choice and who probably still need meat to get all of the necessary nutrients. This is where I completely understand the eating of meat. Every animal will do what they need to to survive, humans included.
Western society, however, generally has a huge variety of items to choose from. Again, we will do what we need to survive. To obtain all of the necessary nutrients. However, many of us have the luxury of choice now. Us humans feel like a superior race, we can make choices and think about the consequences of our actions. We have science on our side and have found out what we need to live a good and healthy life. We know which nutrients we need to feed our body and mind. We also know where these nutrients can be found and today, we know how to get everything we need, without ever eating a single animal product.
We are also able to observe animal behaviour, proces what we see, relate with what we see, think about what we see and so we know that mass production and slaughtering of animals is a cruel thing. 'Luckily', we don't have to see it and so we don't have to think about it. However, by now, we all know about it, so with our superiority, our brain that's capable of so much thinking, our capability of compassion and with all of these other food sources at hand, is it really still natural to eat meat? We don't need it to survive. We can survive in a less cruel way.
If it's all about our nature, wanting to survive and doing whatever we can to survive, then we shouldn't be mass producing animals at all. We are wearing out our planet. The only home we have. We are doing this in many different ways and we all know we need to make many changes if we want the younger generations to have any chance of a good life. We also know that mass animal production and consumption is much more harmful to our planet than a plant-based diet and we know we can eat differently and still survive. Thrive even. So again, with our base natural instinct in mind, to survive as a species, should we not do whatever we can? We are humans and we pride ourselves on being adjustable. With the knowledge we now have, shouldn't we adjust?
You're making us feel bad about eating meat!
No, you feel bad about eating meat, after I simply tell you why I do not.
In yesterday's argument, hubby's friend told me I was trying to make him feel bad about eating meat. I wasn't. I told him multiple times he should definitely continue eating meat if that's what he wants. I, however, would not, for the above reasons. This is how a conversation goes. You ask me why I do or do not do something and I tell you my reasons. If you agree with these reasons, you might start to feel bad about this, but that was not why I told you my reasons. I was just explaining myself.
You're forcing your believes onto others!
I don't! I really don't like arguing, but I have learned that in a conversation, it's polite to answer and keep the conversation going. That's all that was happening. Besides, isn't that how we learn from eachother? By talking? By explaining ourselves? Isn't that how we further our understanding of eachother and the world around us?
Plants have feelings too!
Alright, honestly, I don't know if this is true or not. I know they have defense mechanisms in place, but are they capable of feeling pain? Show me good evidence and I'll take it seriously. Aside from that, recently I saw someone arguing that parts of plants need to be eaten. That's how they reproduce. Seeds in bird poo?
But hey, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it! For now, I am doing what I can with the information I have.
We've always eaten meat, it's normal!
There was a time when hanging people was normal too. When thinking less of everyone different than your group was normal. There are plenty of dark pages in our past, things we no longer see as 'normal'. We learn, we evolve and we do what we can with the knowledge we have available at any given time.
Please, just let me try and eat my way through life in whatever way I want and I'll let you do the same!
The above points were all discussed at length yesterday. All because he wanted to argue. Yet I got the blame for forcing my believes. However, I don't want to force anything on anyone. If you are not able to stop eating meat, or if you simply don't want to, then by all means, eat your meat. This does not change anything about the cruelty involved, but you know that. I did not make that up, I just gave you my reasons for not eating meat, because you asked. As long as you can live with yourself with the knowledge you have, that's fine by me.
I'm not perfect, I still eat cheese now and then. I still eat the occasional fish. I'm making a slow transition. That might not be good enough for some vegans and it might be too extreme for some meat eaters. But it is my choice. I have my reasons.
I feel any swap you can make is a step in the right direction for both the animals and the planet, so I certainly hope people will do what they can, as long as they feel comfortable with it. Some don't feel comfortable with any kind of animal product, some don't feel comfortable giving up the things in live that they have always been taught to be normal. Some are only able to take a few small steps towards a more sustainable way of living, some will do whatever is humanly possible and some won't do a damn thing. It's all okay, just don't expect everyone to agree with you. And if you really do notice vegans are making you feel bad, then maybe you should search inside yourself.
As with all controversial things in life, deep down we all know how things should be. We wouldn't feel so offended if this wasn't the case. but not everyone is capable of the same amount of change in the same amount of time. If you want to get your point across, don't play the blame game. Share your arguments backed by facts and stick to them. Don't accuse others, just stick with your feelings.
"You're a murderer! You don't care about the welfare of animals!"
No, very, VERY few people in this world enjoy animal cruelty. However, this person has probably been taught something his or her whole life and now with new evidence might just not be capable of making a big change in a short amount of time. Maybe they live in a place where alternatives aren't available. Maybe they just don't know what the right alternatives are. Maybe you could educate them, instead of attacking something that they have always been taught to be normal. Ask them about this. Why do they not change? Would they appreciate your help? If not, atleast you did the best you could and they know that if anything changes for them in the future, you're available to help.
Just do whatever you want or whatever you're comfortable with. Argue with people if you want to, but with respect. Try teaching (if they are willing) instead of blaming. Try to make a change if you feel guilty, but don't beat yourself up about it if you don't have the resources or if you need time to transition. Be happy with every step you or someone else takes.
But hey, I would just ask you one thing. Can we please stop pretending there is anything wrong with a vegan not condoning animal cruelty? That is a mindset change which will do a whole lot of good. A first step towards a more sustainable life. And in exchange, vegans, could you try to stick to educating instead of blaming? You catch more flies with honey.