Now, I know this is mentioned in my "About Me" section, but I think I will elaborate a little more about some aspects of that. Like vegetarianism, for example.
I am a vegetarian. I have been for almost five years now. I was a pescatarian for the first few years- I would eat fish and shrimp and some other (responsible and non-threatened) seafood. For the -past- few years, though, I have been a just plain simple vegetarian. I suppose if you want to make it confusing, I'm an ovo-lacto vegetarian, because I eat eggs and dairy, but isn't that still included in vegetarianism? Vegans don't eat eggs, dairy, or any animal products at all, but most other vegetarians besides vegans eat honey and eggs and milk and stuff. (Well, not eat milk, but still....)
People always ask me why I became a vegetarian. The answer is pretty complicated, actually, and it changes depending on the audience and the time available. There really isn't just one reason why I became a veggie; it's more of a mix between a couple of reasons.
1) Environmental aspects- This should be clear. It just plain takes less energy and less steps to process vegetable matter compared to meat matter. And there's the whole grazing thing- the rainforest is partly being chopped down to make room for cows, which then turn into someone's hamburger.
2) It's just plain gross- you're eating that thing. It's dead. Someone killed it. EW. I mean, I understand it if you are in a situation as humans have faced throughout our evolution, but nowadays, in my society, I don't need to eat meat to survive (clearly). So, I don't really want to. If I'm not willing to stab and gut it, I'm not willing to eat it.
3) Overpopulation and overuse- Most of us know that over-fishing is a serious issue, if not as important as some other more pressing things. The same goes for certain meats- buffalo, etc. Not neccesarily steak, but others. And the area in which they are raised is overused; I think I have already mentioned some of the rainforest problems. People ate meat for thousands of years, yes, and it was entirely sustainable (for the most part), yes. But there were much fewer people then, and overpopulation was not such a problem.
4) Health- For the most part, it's healthier not to eat meat.
5) Religious- My religion teaches me to be in harmony and appreciate all other inhabitants of this earth. That includes animals. That means (to me) don't kill and eat them.
*TO MAKE SOMETHING VERY CLEAR*
I do my best not to be one of those snooty, self-righteous, better-than-thou vegetarians. I sometimes seem like I'm getting that way, but I assure you that that isn't my intention. I was just trying to explain why I'm veggie, not that it is the right choice for you, or that just becuase you aren't veggie you are a worse person than me. I DO NOT THINK THAT VEGETARIANS ARE BETTER PEOPLE THAN MEAT-EATERS.
I actually have no vegetarian friends, so there you go.
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4 comments:
My husband is an avid hunter and fisherman (I grew up in a hunting family.) We have venison in our freezer. At times the deer population in our state becomes too big and these animals will die due to starvation. My husband gets very upset when the lakes are fished with nets. The Native Americans are allowed to do this on the reservations. I only eat fish if it's caught not bought, except for salmon and tuna.
I understand. As I said, I have no problem with other people eating meat, or even hunting as long as it's done humanly, doesn't target species that are become threatened, and isn't just for sport.
I know...I just wanted to share;}
I'm an omnivore, but I completely understand why someone would be a vegetarian. I would be one, except I dodn't think I'd be able to give up meat. I mean, steak and pork, sure, but not bacon or chicken. It wouldnt work. (And yes i know that bacon and pork are from the same animal.)
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