What Going Vegetarian Taught Me

How vegetarianism led to acceptance.

At the beginning of last year, I went vegetarian with my friend. It had been something I wanted to do for a while, since Los Angeles and “Kale-fornia” had worked its influence on me. I bet my friend that she couldn’t go vegetarian for a month, and she took me up on the dare. We agreed to go vegetarian together.

Around the same time, I had just watched Food Inc. in my food class. I was deplored and disgusted by the portrayal of animals and the meat industry in the film. Chickens were force fed until their legs would break because they couldn’t support their weight. The mutual agreement coupled with the effect of my food class served to fuel and enthuse me throughout my month of vegetarianism.

I remember always being hungry. I’d be hungry every 2 hours. But keeping my reasons in mind, I pushed through. About halfway into the month, I realized I could live without meat, especially in Los Angeles. It even made cooking a lot easier and simpler — no more defrosting meat and all those pesky meat-related complications. It was quite extraordinary how I went from eating meat every meal, to not at all.

The only difficult part of being vegetarian was eating out with friends (and giving up Korean BBQ). It was sometimes hard to find dishes we could eat, and sharing food was always a problem. Eating meat has been engrained into our society and is a natural facet of life. My friend and I were met by surprise when we told other friends we weren’t eating meat for the time being.

Most people’s reaction to my decision to go vegetarian was mostly neutral, some even positive and encouraging. But it was an encounter with my roommate that really took me by surprise. We were cooking in the kitchen, and the situation resulted in me saying, “oh, I don’t eat meat.”

“What? You’re still doing that? That’s stupid,” she replied, as she continued to cook away in the kitchen.

Stupid. Her word choice stunned me. I was perplexed. Are you calling me “stupid” for a choice that is not hurting anyone, rather, actually arguably beneficial to myself and the environment? I was offended. The remark was very uncalled for, immature, and unnecessary.

I was met by slightly negative reactions after my encounter with my roommate, but nothing to the degree of offensiveness of my roommate’s. Most reactions fell along the lines of “how do you live without meat?” or “what about protein?” or “I don’t get how you do it”.

I could discuss how broccoli has more protein than steak. I could discuss how eating animals is an anthropogenic product of domestication that we brought upon ourselves. I could discuss how a vegetarian diet would immensely help environmental problems and global warming. However, that is not the point of this article. I am not advocating for vegetarianism or veganism (yet). However, I am advocating for the acknowledgement of and respect for everyone’s decision.

What I learned from this experience is we should not judge or condemn anyone for their choices if it does not affect us. Respect them and their decisions, even if they go against the norm. People have reasons for doing what they do, and if being themselves is not harmful to them or us, we should acknowledge and accept their choices. Approach every situation with an open mind, from LBGTQA+ issues to your next door’s neighbours’ new pet.