Step in line (queue) at a buffet, busy asking the men & women on ther other side if this & that dish has meat in them then serving myself some if they don’t and ignoring the others if they do. Then, almost like clockwork, the question pops up…
So you don’t eat meat?
This has been me for about a year now. Stopped eating meat not for any phenomenal, sacred — religious, monumental reason — I stopped because of a the simple reason that meat didn’t “sit” well in my stomach. I enjoyed meat — the taste, aroma (still struggle with this to be honest haha) — but the aftermath, was never fun.
So I was like, “no one died not eating meat, right?” plus I was already not eating pork and fish so the transition wasn’t too hard — and that was that!
It’s been quite a trip. initially had “cheat days” — devoured meat especially in the presence of company but eventually did away with those as well. And that brought me to a number of “so you don’t eat meat” interactions.
The interactions come in the form of several usual questions
Is it religious?
Given my dreadlocks, naturally that leads to ..) is it a Rastafarian thing? Very hair profiling, don’t you think? haha! That’s a no though I am very interested in ital food. Is it Buddhism? I admire a lot about Buddhism — eating habits has never been one of the reasons why though I respect the line of thought.
So you are vegetarian now?
I am not a fan of those questions because they are both presumptuous and unnecessary. To the 1st question, as earlier stated, the answer is that it’s nothing religious based.
Am I a vegetarian? I suppose I am now but I wonder why that is a thing. Can’t someone just not eat meat?
I personally have no issue with meat or people that eat meat. Is a vegetarian diet healthier? That’s subjective — I believe everything in moderation, even meat eating, can be healthy. Being vegetarian is no sure way that one will be healthy.
Am I vegetarian? Well, I do have a cache of doccies on balanced vegetarian diet, varieties, nutritional values, year round vegetarian recipes etc so maybe I am.
But I prefer just sticking to “i just don’t eat meat” it’s easier and more to the point. And I don’t think it’s any special a choice like those who prefer oatmeal to cornflakes, brown over white bread, fish over chicken etc. It shouldn’t be a big deal.
That said, I now eat more regularly, more conscious about nutritional value of what I eat .. and I have come to eat more fruits than I used to .. and is interestingly more pocket friendly :).
So maybe it isn’t a bad thing for me afterall. :))
