In the last 30 years of my life, (I'm 31) I've tried almost all types of meat and non-vegetarian food that is easily available in India. Which excludes crocodile meat, kangaroo meat, horse meat, whales, dogs, cats and many more. Given that I come from a "Tambrahm" background, I was very proud of the fact that I ate everything and felt very cool. I never associated with meat on my table with live/dead animals. It was just tasty food. Its just recently, I felt very uneasy with non-vegetarian food.
Maybe it was because of so many documentaries and videos I watched about how animals are treated in the meat industries. Maybe Yulin cat and dog meat festival did it. Maybe because I have two cats. And more over, I succumbed to the guilt of controlling all other species all over the world. I succumbed to the guilt of leaving so much carbon footprint. How could humans consume so much? Just like we have Human Rights people to support and help the treatment of humans, why can't we also have Animal Rights so stringent? The Human Rights people (of whom I'm not a great fan of) help even those humans who have slaughtered other people, raped, committed all sorts of heinous crimes. But we have large scale industries that make money solely on killing animals, their meat, their hide. How can we make a business out of killing? And who are we to decide that the lives of other species are less important than the lives of humans? This is speciesism. I now associate with any non-vegetarian food as a dead living thing. It took me very long to understand that grilled chicken breast on the table was actually a bird which had life. A bird that was scared and stressed. It went through pain. It was murdered. Just like I would not be okay with having human stew, I'm not be okay with beef stew. Just like I am not fine with human baby ribs, I am not fine with baby pork ribs.
This is my prerogative and my decision. I however do not judge those who eat what they like. Just because I'm a vegetarian now, I do not go preaching it. And I expect the same from my non-vegetarian friends. Don't mock my choice. Don't ask me "Oh then why don't you turn vegan? Since you're harassing the animals by having milk?" Don't judge because you have just started eating meat and I have just stopped. Don't judge me because I'm brahmin and I've stopped eating meat. The two have absolutely no connection. I'm a brahmin by birth. And all these years I ate what I liked. It was my choice. I ate and let eat. I do the same now.
Maybe it was because of so many documentaries and videos I watched about how animals are treated in the meat industries. Maybe Yulin cat and dog meat festival did it. Maybe because I have two cats. And more over, I succumbed to the guilt of controlling all other species all over the world. I succumbed to the guilt of leaving so much carbon footprint. How could humans consume so much? Just like we have Human Rights people to support and help the treatment of humans, why can't we also have Animal Rights so stringent? The Human Rights people (of whom I'm not a great fan of) help even those humans who have slaughtered other people, raped, committed all sorts of heinous crimes. But we have large scale industries that make money solely on killing animals, their meat, their hide. How can we make a business out of killing? And who are we to decide that the lives of other species are less important than the lives of humans? This is speciesism. I now associate with any non-vegetarian food as a dead living thing. It took me very long to understand that grilled chicken breast on the table was actually a bird which had life. A bird that was scared and stressed. It went through pain. It was murdered. Just like I would not be okay with having human stew, I'm not be okay with beef stew. Just like I am not fine with human baby ribs, I am not fine with baby pork ribs.
This is my prerogative and my decision. I however do not judge those who eat what they like. Just because I'm a vegetarian now, I do not go preaching it. And I expect the same from my non-vegetarian friends. Don't mock my choice. Don't ask me "Oh then why don't you turn vegan? Since you're harassing the animals by having milk?" Don't judge because you have just started eating meat and I have just stopped. Don't judge me because I'm brahmin and I've stopped eating meat. The two have absolutely no connection. I'm a brahmin by birth. And all these years I ate what I liked. It was my choice. I ate and let eat. I do the same now.
