LIFE - Why I Am A Vegetarian Part 2

Image of a cow standing on a beach with the word life written on it.

When my partner and I started to reduce our meat consumption due to environmental reasons, I thought that meat was a necessary part of life, and that vegetarianism was an extreme choice. It was a quote by Leo Tolstoy (author of war and peace) that made me evaluate this assumption. The quote was:
'A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food. Therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite.'
This made me understand eating meat in a whole new light; there was no survival aspect, no real health benefits (we now live in a time where most of us can get all the necessary vitamins and minerals we need from alternative sources), no great purpose. I was purely eating meat because I liked the way it tasted, therefore I was putting my own hedonistic desires above the life of another creature.
Due to this I came home one day and said to my partner ‘today I am becoming a vegetarian’.
I don’t think that being a vegetarian is for everyone, I think that there are people who may need it or who are not in a place where they can make that sacrifice, but I do hope that more people come to see meat consumption in this way.

May we learn to value all life, may we understand the privilege of our new context, and may we understand the choice that is before us.

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