The Decision I Wish I Have Made Earlier
24th of October, 2016
Disclaimer: This article isn’t about making you go vegan or vegetarian, or me criticizing people who don’t adopt this lifestyle, but rather about my personal experience, and a spark of motivation that might come in hand for you.
It all goes back to that day. That day when the only thing I could think about was that I wanted desperately to go back home from spending a summer in the States. Not that I did not enjoy my stay but that after 4 months I felt that my work there has been done and that I needed a breath of fresh air. A touch of home.
On that specific day, I knew something was about to change that would significantly shift my whole perspective on the world and its circumstances. Although I have been meaning to do this since I can remember, I could never actually bring myself to the point where it all would be stable enough to last a lifetime. Yes, a lifetime.
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The 24th of October marked exactly 3 years since I decided to ditch meat-eating for various reasons. Firstly, the process of this decision did not come without any relevant data, and an exchange of cultures with people from all around the world. The foundation of this thought was merely based upon my summer spent in the States where I got in touch with all sorts of people with different ethnic backgrounds and different cultures. Since I did not have the time (nor the conditions) to make myself dinner or cook at home, I ate out every day and this meant mainly fast-food 80% of the time.
I recall one specific evening when during binging on chicken wings I stopped for a while and thought: “Well, I wouldn’t like it if somebody cooked and ate me.” — and that was it. The last drop in the water that filled my bucket of reasons why I should stop eating meat for good.
Background Story
I was always a sensitive with a strong love for animals. Not just pets, but all sorts of animals. I never got scared of spiders or bees but the contrary, it always made me curious, a trait that I think I got from my father due to the fact that every time he saw a weirder looking spider he always called me and we would stare at it and analyze it for quite a while. A thing we still do now. Call us weirdos, we’ll gladly take it.
To be honest, I never, not once, thought about where my food was coming from before I made the change. Factories? Farms? Happy cows waiting to be butchered? I just went to the supermarket like every normal person, casually picked out some parts of the body of an animal from the shelves, got home, seasoned it with all the possible stuff that’s out there, because let’s be honest, would you eat meat without any salt, at least? I don’t think so, and lastly, ate it. Like every other human on the planet.
This is what we are programmed to believe, this is how we’ve been raised. Whether it’s tradition or the ever so boring “health benefits of meat” that we’ve been telling each other. It is a circle that goes on and on and some people never seem to break out of it, despite the numerous evidence we have that is basically unnecessary killing and unnecessary torture to animals that to me are no different than our beloved pets.
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Since the 24th of October, 2016, my life has been different in many ways and aspects and I just wish I would have done it earlier. The fact that you are no longer contributing to the ongoing killing, to the lay waste of the whole planet and environmental damages caused by consuming animal products releases endorphins like you wouldn’t even imagine.
I am not saying you should stop eating meat, or you should stop supporting industries that torture animals for your money (hence circuses and zoo’s) or industries that use animals to test on them (hence beauty-related businesses, whether it’s fur, leather, or skin products), I am just saying to consider your options. Be mindful of what you’re spending your money on.
There are soooo many other options, more cruelty-free and more environmentally friendly which you can choose, you just have to think about it. Nevertheless, don’t be harsh on yourself or too strict if you fail in doing so, a small change is still better than no change at all.
This is the era of change, and it’s absolutely rubbish if you ask me, to bring up our ancestors and their traditions in order for us to justify what we are doing in the present time because there is a huge discrepancy between the two and thankfully we’ve evolved in ways I can’t even begin to discuss. I got asked recently if it was hard or not to ditch meat and my answer to that is YES, absolutely. At first, people will look at you like you’re from another world, maybe even think that you’re crazy.
Some people will laugh and say you won’t be able to last 3 days, and some people will argue with you in an aggressive way or make fun of you just because they are so close-minded that can’t bring themselves to try to understand, but don’t be mad at those people, they just do not know any better than this. On the other hand, there will be people who ultimately will feel inspired by you and maybe even ask for your help and that is such a satisfying feeling.
Take it step by step, slowly, read about it, watch about it, listen about it, and don’t be quick to judge.
Spread the Love.
Documentaries to watch: Earthlings; Cowspiracy, Forks Over Knives, The Game Changers, Dominion, Speciesism: The Movie, Live and Let Live.
