This has been sitting in my drafts folder for a while. Where do I begin? The title describes my feelings pretty well. Eating dead animals really does make me feel weird (in my mind, not gastrointestinally). I am going to try to lay out my journey to officially claiming the title of “vegetarian” as opposed to “flexitarian“.
Since I was in high school I have considered myself, as Michael Pollan has coined, a flexitarian. I ate meat at family gatherings when it was the main course, I occasionally had chicken. I have not been a fan of commercially farmed animals for about six or seven years. After I found out my high school had been serving recalled ground beef (long after the recall was issued), I didn’t eat meat in my school lunch for nearly a year. I can definitely be sure that my eventual vegetarianism stemmed from the horror of industrial farming plus my love of broccoli. I actually recall that for a few years when people asked if I was vegetarian (because I always ordered vegetarian items in restaurants) I responded with something like “no, but I really like vegetables.”
Throughout college, if I did eat meat it was almost always something I purchased from the farmers market or a local grocer that stocks products form small, local farms. It was more about sustainability to start, then I moved to a loose moral guideline of “if the animal is living a happy and fulfilled life” I will eat it. I also had no problem eating game because I knew that animal was going about its natural life before being hunted, it seemed more natural and appropriate.
One day in early 2013 I decided to buy a deli-made pack of BBQ seitan, and basically from that point I’ve been vegetarian (except for one last fried pork tenderloin sandwich, because I’m a Hoosier). It basically took realizing that seitan is delicious and that I could barely tell it wasn’t BBQ chicken. I bought a pack of soft tofu for a curry (because I didn’t know the difference between tofu types) and actually loved it. Tofu is like a protein packed sponge that will absorb any amazing flavors I put it in. I can do this! I can be vegetarian!
[Note: you don’t need to eat wheat gluten and soybean curd to be a vegetarian, you can get plenty of protein, if you’re concerned about that, from other sources like legumes (beans, lentils), rice, plus many other veggies]
After announcing this on facebook, a vegan friend, and roommate for 9 months, noted “you’re deciding this when you’re moving away from the vegan roommate you had for 9 months?!?”. I suppose there was something comforting about being 100% sure that your roommate won’t steal your bacon.
Basically, I had become increasingly unsure about my stance on having creatures be born just so that they can be killed and eaten later on, especially when we have more than enough other food. Even when I felt that game and sustainably raised animals were a more moral choice over farmed animals, can I still justify killing conscious beings when I don’t even need to for nutrition?
I get plenty of nutrition from the food I eat on a daily basis (I generally do not eat meat daily, or even weekly, anyway). How can I justify using unnecessary resources to create a life, and then take that life without any necessity? I have long disliked the general assumption many humans have that they are somehow better, like they’re the most evolved species or that they should take advantage of other species.
I foresee myself becoming vegan at some point in my life, but for now I will focus on sustainability and morality with a vegetarian diet. Veganism is a whole other leap, as it also involves a lot of awareness about where other items you consume come from (beauty products and clothing are big ones). I already pay attention to those things but, I tend to focus on the economical and workers rights perspective. I won’t fret if my veggies were sautéed in butter in the restaurant, but I will buy less dairy and eggs to keep in my home. There is a vegan bakery opening up around the corner from my house this summer, this could be dangerous.