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I woke up this fine Monday to @themoodyvegan on Instagram sharing this article. I try to cocoon myself in ignorance for all the reasons I've mentioned here but this, I wasn't able to click away from.
I've been a voluntary ovalacto vegetarian (I don't eat meat but I do eat eggs+dairy) for more than a decade now because it felt horrible to me that an animal was being ripped away from everything familiar and everything it cared about (I was in my teens, pardon the flawed reasoning) and slaughtered (those horrendous moments before it died when it knew what was going to happen), just so I could enjoy a ''tasty" meal. I didn't want that shit on my conscience.
I don't talk about why I gave up meat much, not even people specifically ask why; I don't think too many people would *get* my poor-animal-and-its-family logic, plus it's really a personal choice, isn't it? I've also had plenty of judgment/ridicule thrown my way (vegetarians eat only grass haha/plants have feelings too, you know/now that you're married, you should eat at least chicken/what do you eat at BBQs/you should try one piece), not to mention the inconvenience it causes whoever is cooking because they end up having to make extra food just for me. But on the whole, I'm happy to report I have no FOMO whatsoever; I'm plenty happy with my paneer and mushrooms, thank you very much.
Please note that I also don't go around asking people to give up meat, not even my own hard-core non-vegetarian family, because I don't believe in shaming people for their lifestyle choices - that is just not my jam. I also acknowledge that human beings are near the top of the food chain and we might have a predisposed affinity toward meat.
My problem is when animals are mistreated to serve human needs. Do we really need to massacre animals before we eat them? Do we need farms to "churn out" animals and animal products? Do we need to beat an animal to death because you suddenly feel like a beef steak and mash on a fine Friday evening? Let's not even get started on "how holy cows are in Indian culture" when they're one of the most ill-treated species in the country, right up there with dogs.
And if *you* think you're ugly, a silk saree or a mink fur or even all the animal-tested cosmetics in the world are not going to make you pretty #FactOfLife.
We were outraged when that baby's body swept up on the beach. But how is it any less cruel to stick dead calf heads on a pole in front of mama cows to make them produce more milk? Who deemed human life to be worth more than an animal's? We're all species of different kinds inhabiting the earth right, one simply more evolved than another?
People (for lack of a better word) commit such acts of utter assholery (for lack of a stronger word) because there is always a market. Because drinking milk is an everyday affair in most households, beef is such a treat, or a meal without chicken/fish is incomplete. Because they think that, no matter what they do to the animals, it'll be worth it, for they will always ALWAYS get paid for their "efforts".
The point is, I'm going to try my hardest to give up dairy completely by the end of 2018 (this long a period because God knows I love my cheese, but I have to at least TRY, or I will never be able to live with myself). Giving up eggs might take a little longer for me, because nothing completely vegan is as good a source of protein (as far as my research goes), but I'm going to at least source it from conscious farms.
And I also ask you to make a change, some change, ANY change.
If you don't give a shit about the animals, then do it for yourself and your children; products from animals that have been injected with so many chemicals, with multiple infections, and very poor health do not sound like they're going to provide much nutrition, do they? I'm not asking you to go vegan tomorrow. Or at any point, for that matter, if that's not what you want. All I'm asking that you read up, educate yourselves, and make better, more conscious choices. It is not an expensive affair and even if it is, you can afford it, can't you, especially if you can afford that trip to Bali/Europe and trips to the mall and long-term tax-saving investments.
For the sake of equality. For the sake of a little less suffering in this world.
Please, give a shit.
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And yes, even one small choice that you make WILL make a difference. Maybe not a difference that you can see immediately or measure quantitatively. But it will, nevertheless.
Linking to Corinne for #MondayMusings
Linking to Corinne for #MondayMusings
Do you know what I love about you? No, not your adorable Instagram stories, although those are cute. It's your passion and your need to make the world a better place. Very very few people stick with that we'll past their early twenties so here's hoping you never lose that spark. May you never stop feeling so intensely about anything and everything you care about because God knows, I'd love you anyway. But this, this right here, makes you the most wonderful person I've met on my blogging journey.
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to try going vegan and yes, the paneer and cheese get me too. I can go without milk, by the way. Almost completely off it these days. But sigh, you are giving me 2018 goals. Let's see. Oh and I don't eat eggs. Just never liked the taste as much.
Ah Shy. You say it like it is a good thing, ignorance is indeed bliss; feeling so hard about something and not being able to make even dent to the bigger picture is possibly the MOST frustrating thing ever.
Delete:'(
Good on you, if you try. I most certainly hope we kick the habit, so to speak.
Let's see, indeed.
P.S: <3:*
I ama work in progress. I was a vegetarian till college, even though my whole family was non vegetarian. After that I discovered KFC. But last year I turned piscetarian. Maybe I will give fish too in coming years. I stopped drinking milk but have occasional paneer and cheese. Never realized before how difficult it is to find breakfast in the morning here.
ReplyDeleteHalf the time I am explaining to my friends that I don't have any meat cravings, it's not something I am forced to do. And it's definitely not a fad.
I am really afraid of the hormones that are put in the animals and birds for more production. It is doing more harm than good. Hopefully people will see that.
Loved the post and can see how strongly you feel about this cause.
Thanks for coming by, Rajeeeeeeeee :)
DeleteIndeed. When we start looking at animals as food alone, then we starting thinking of profits we can make by increasing the numbers, and then comes the lets-mess-with-chemical-enhancements part. Not good for ANYone across the chain.
I really do appreciate your passion, and personally if you asked me to witness the slaughtering of the meat that I'm about to eat, I wouldn't do it. But no that doesn't stop me from eating meat.
ReplyDeleteSomehow I see it all as a part of the foodchain, you know? Like the predators and prey, how if the predator stops hunting for the prey the ecosystem is disturbed. Sure we humans can make do without the meat, but I think the slaughter for the same needn't be called a crime either. It's been like this for aeons, not causing much harm. And yeah I'm against the unwanted cruelty posed to animals, but that's an entirely different story.
Anyways, let's respect the other's choices for their lifestyles. :)
Thanks for coming by, Darshana...
DeleteThe slaughter becomes a crime when inhumane methods are used, when the animals are treated like objects as opposed to living beings. We have found ways to make even capital punishment more humane for people, can't we do the same for animals, if we can't do with their meat? The fact that they can feel pain is completely discounted in our version of the story, and as intensely or more. Slaughter has been going on for aeons, but getting progressively more cruel as well. These are concerns that both meat-eaters need to address by making more conscious choices, by insisting on ethical slaughter (which itself is an oxymoron but I'll run with it). When we don't care, the people involved in the actual slaughter don't either.
This has been so top of the mind for me the past few week. You've written exactly what I would have, only so much better and with so much more passion. I turned vegetarian over ten years ago, sometime round the time I conceived the twins. And have never gone back. I hate explaining the 'Why' of it. I recently watched a video of a dairy farm and it was so heartrending that it made me want to give up dairy completely. It's tough, though, specially for the kids. But I'm working on it.
ReplyDeleteI know :( I don't think I can look at another packet of milk in my life without having flashbacks to the article. And that is pure misery because my cuppa tea and my cheese have been the most precious parts of my day. I hate explaining too, mostly because when I've tried, people are dismissive.
DeleteEvery word you've written is passionate and makes perfect sense as well. I was a vegetarian for many years before I started eating meat again. It sucks to cook different dishes for the family. God knows, I already do so much of cooking. But yes, milk is what I want to give up too. Not sure, how though. I love my curd, cheese, paneer, ice cream. It is tough and eggs I think I will continue to eat always. Not sure if I can do it soon, but yes giving up meat is on my mind.
ReplyDeleteI love the passion and conviction with which you have written this post. I eat non veg and I feel guilty about it too. I have been wanting to stop, but I keep making excuses. There are people like you, then there are people who don't give a rat's ass and then there are people like us. We are the worst hit (looking from my end of the grass) as we want our meat and we feel guilty about it. I will think about this for sure. :)
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