Tuesday, January 25, 2011

The Vegetarian Experiment


Growing up, I was never a huge fan of most meat. Put a piece of steak in front of me and I would rather not partake. However, I do like some meat like pepperoni, bacon, sometimes chicken, fish, etc. Although I eat a lot of vegetarian dishes, I also tend to enjoy meat products. However, I really want to try giving meat up altogether.
The other night, Ryan and I sat down and watched a documentary entitled, "Earthlings." This is a movie depicting the horrors of how where are meat comes from. I always knew that animals were being slaughtered for our meat and that it wasn't the most pleaseant of experiences, but I had no idea the extent of it! The best way I can sum up the situation is that the lives that are being taken are not being respected. All life (humans and animals) should be respected and treated kindly. I am not against eating meat, but the ethics behind it are seriously lacking! I don't want to support an industry that unnecessarily tortures and ridicules animals. Having an animal be shut up in a small space for it's whole life, subjected to injury and disease due to it's cramped living conditions, hung upside as it has its throat slit and left to bleed to death (which can take a lot longer than you might think) is not acceptable. For an animal to have a metal rod shot through it's head, have it's throat slit, and dropped to the ground (all while it's still alive) isn't something I can support. So...

I'm going to try to cut out meat. In some ways I could fool myself into thinking this will be pretty easy. I prefer tofu to chicken, I prefer soy sausage to the real thing, I don't enjoy most red meat (even veggie burgers are fine by me.) However, I know that old habits die hard. The types of meat that I do usually eat could be a struggle to cut out. Unfortunately, it's been so ingrained into our minds that meat is meat and it's acceptable to eat it, regardless of how it comes to be on our plate. Ryan made a good point when he mentioned that this moral issue isn't something that will ever be called into question in your life. Most people are not going to question your choice to eat meat or keep you accountable about where that meat came from. Most people don't want to think about it. This decision is something that I have to commit to on my own, because the majority of people think the notion of giving up meat is silly.

In my discuss with Ryan after viewing the documentary brought to light the importance of moral consistency. If I am alright with eating meat, I need to be alright with the way it is slaughtered. If I'm not alright with the way it is slaughtered, I can't be alright with eating it. So, I'm going to give this a try. We'll see how it goes, and hopefully I will be on my way to a life of vegetarianism!

2 comments:

  1. I spent many years as a vegetarian, but I must admit that I'm a full blown carnivore now.
    For me the problem was that I substituted grains/carbs far too often and ended up gaining lots of weight due to insulin sensitivity and the fact that carbs make those who are insulin sensitive gain and have unstable blood sugar levels. I wish you the best of luck on your chosen way of eating. Love you!! ♥

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  2. Thanks Michele:-)
    So far I'm substituting meat with tofu and vegetables; I'll try to be conscious about not over doing it on the carbs...

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