livin veg

In the past two months, three of my friends have gone from being omnis to vegetarians. Three completely separate people. In my life, not many people I know have become vegetarians/vegans. Usually, when I meet one, they have already been one for quite some time. My mother and a few friends back when we were teens being the exception.

One friend watched Peaceable Kingdom for a class and was so upset by the things she saw that she and her roommate then decided to try not eating meat. She’s been veg for over a month now. Another friend asked me for advice. She originally wanted to make the change slowly. However, while her intention was to make a gradual transition, she went full speed and hasn’t eaten meat in 2 – 3 months.

The third person is someone I just met. Chatting by email I asked him why he had decided to go veg. I thought his response was great. Trent wrote to me the following: “I said “I’ll do this for a month” because I wanted to see what it was like, to see if I could even do it. I had high cholesterol and heartburn, and when I did some research which led me to try not eating meat. The timing was right because I had been thinking about the animal rights aspect of it. Last year we got a dog, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (called Sebastian), and I started to think, “Well, I wouldn’t eat a dog, so why wouldn’t I eat a…” I think back on when I was a kid and fished, and the thought of a fish wriggling on a hook just makes me sad now. When I see slugs or snails or worms after a rain on the sidewalk, I try to help them back into the garden. Sometimes I think I like animals more than people. You ever that way?”

I thought his response was so great. I love when people make the connections between eating meat and their pets. Plus, with the health benefits, the diet just makes sense. Transitions are gradual. Minds have to be changed. Information has to be obtained. But more importantly, people have to be ready. I feel confident that the animal movement is doing it’s job, getting the info out there and making  a difference. These three people are perfect examples of that. As Peter Parker knows, with power comes great responsibility. I think, with information comes great responsibility. Getting the information out there is vital. Only then will people be able to make informed decisions. Even if they just reduce their consumption, or buy from real farms instead of factory farms. All of it helps.

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