Tag: humane

Sometimes I feel really awkward when I have to tell a new person (like a friend or a date) that I don’t eat meat. I never want them to feel like I’m going to try to push my “agenda” on them, or that they can’t ever eat meat around me, or that I’m a picky person. And this isn’t just in my head—this is a worry because it really has happened to me before. I feel awkward because I don’t want them to feel awkward. But at the same time, I do want to share why I think everyone should abstain from meat. I choose to be a vegetarian because of moral reasons, because I can’t justify the needless suffering and killing of animals. So if I believe so strongly in this for myself, why shouldn’t I stand up for animals in front of other people?

I became vegetarian on my own accord when, in an environmental science class in high school, I had to watch a disturbing video on factory farming. But I was the only student who was affected by it enough that I decided to change my eating habits. Even the teacher was (no joke!) eating a hamburger as he showed us the video. (He was a disgusting human on many, many levels, but let’s not go into that now…) So yeah, maybe my decision wasn’t made because someone else convinced me. But that doesn’t mean that other people wouldn’t at least consider a humane eating lifestyle if I had an open conversation with them about it. After all, doesn’t that work in other scenarios? I’m not a big news-watcher, but if someone informs me that an actor was just charged with abusing a woman, I’m going to boycott his films. If someone tells me that one of the makeup brands I use tests on animals, I’m going to promptly stop being their customer and go research cruelty-free companies. So, maybe, if I can educate my friends or family on the dark realities of factory farming, they’ll take a minute to question whether or not they can continue to consume meat with good conscience. In doing so, I may risk turning people off. I may risk annoying people who probably are just fine ignoring the pain of animals so that they don’t have to feel bad or change their ways. I may risk making them feel uncomfortable. But is their temporary discomfort a fair price to pay for standing up for animal rights? I’m going to say yes.