Vegetarianism - one year on

Don't tell anyone, but I don't even like animals that much.  generally they smell unpleasant, I don't like being licked by them and have a strong aversion to their hair when it gets anywhere other that attached to their bodies.  But what I really cannot abide, what I cannot stand, what I refuse to participate in is their suffering. There is enough suffering in this world without me contributing to it by proxy of eating their flesh.  Today is my one year anniversary of becoming a vegetarian and I can say with some certainty that I will be vegetarian for life.

I have learnt a lot in my year of being vegetarian, a bit about myself, and a lot about other people.

With regards to myself I have learnt that I don't miss meat, I have learnt that I am equally healthy on a meat free diet than I was on an omnivorous diet, maybe even more healthy. I have learnt that I can have a great deal of compassion for animals and their captivity, I actually feel a much stronger connection to animals and see all animals, not just the ones we choose as pets, as sentient beings now, I have learnt that the meat and dairy industry is even more horrible than I previously thought it was.

What I have learnt about other people is that they don't like to be made to feel bad, they don't like to change their habits and they refuse to believe the truth when it conflicts with their core beliefs.
One thing that people prefer to believe is that the cruelty and suffering that can happen to animals in the meat and dairy industry doesn't happen to the animals THEY are eating. I used to believe this too, but I was in denial because I didn't WANT to believe it, just like I didn't want to believe that animals kept in captivity aren't happy, and how I didn't want to believe that there is no such thing as humane slaughter. And why didn't I want to believe it? Well quite simply because the implications were huge. The implication was huge, it meat totally changing the way I ate, it meant not eating meat. again. ever....no ham sandwiches, no roast chicken, no pork pies, no pepperoni on my pizza, no bacon or sausages in my fry up, no chicken soup, no turkey for Christmas dinner, no steak and ale pie.  And for someone like me, who really liked meat it would have been a really good idea to continue being in denial about the meat and dairy industry, to dismiss the fact that animals have feelings, to dismiss the damage it causes the planet, to dismiss the way it causes suffering to other humans the other side of the world, but that would mean not only un-knowing everything I learnt through films like this, this and this, but also it would mean being incredibly hypocritical and selfish.  Hypocritical because I claim to care about the environment, because I claim a desire to end suffering in the world and because I claim to love my neighbour.  Selfish because at the end of the day, why was I eating meat?  It's not necessary for health (in fact it's positively harmful for health), I simply enjoyed the taste.  And it struck me that simply liking the taste of something in my mouth was not a good enough reason to cause suffering to animals, to cause harm to the planet and to deprive other humans that I share the earth with.

I can't end world hunger, I can't stop humans hurting other humans, I can't live without using up the planets resources, but there is one very simple, very easy thing I can do which has a direct and immediate effect on the world and the lives of animals, that is really easy to do, and even benefits my own body, and that is to never eat meat again.  There is a great sense of peace in knowing I am taking peaceful action to change the world and it is so so easy to do.

Won't you join me?

Becoming a Vegetarian

On the 21st of February I consumed my last Satay Chicken Chow Mein from my local Chinese takeaway.  I was pretty sad about it, it was a really really good one!  The chicken was so juicy which somehow made it worse, if it had been dry and chewy I wouldn't miss it so much!  But I had made the decision to become a vegetarian and it was a decision that needed to be made and I would like to explain how and why I came to this decision.

Here are the hows:

• My sister has been a veggie for about two years and she has been a great example to me, she has shown me that it is perfectly possible to live as a vegetarian and she is so positive about it, saying how she never misses meat and eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.
• One of my Facebook friends  is a vegan and often puts up pretty horrific images of animals being killed etc.  Two particular things she put up were triggers for me; THIS essay by Gary Yourofsky and THIS video of pigs being abused (this is a really horrific video, you have been warned).
• For Boris' birthday we visited the Sea Life Centre in London, and while I have some concerns over the keeping of animals in captivity, I was really impressed by their conservation message.  There were loads of signs around saying which fish were in decline and what to eat instead.  It made me realise that eating fish is really damaging for the ocean and there is no easy way to ensure the fish you are eating aren't becoming extinct. 

And as for the why:

• My health - or more specifically cancer.  I am pretty scared of it, people I know keep getting it.  I don't want to get it so I am going to do everything I can to avoid it.  Statistically vegetarians are less likely to get cancer and a number of other health ailments including heart disease and strokes. This all sounds pretty good to me.
• The Planet - There are so many reasons why eating meat is harmful for the planet, here are just a few examples: Rainforests are destroyed to make land to graze cattle for meat resulting in around 1000 species per year becoming extinct, the burning of forests contributes to 20% of all green-house gases, it takes 2500 gallons of water to produce 1lb of meat. The raising of animals for meat produces millions of tons of toxic waste which is quite often released into waterways. As a self professed environmentalist, I couldn't in good conscience continue to eat meat knowing the damage it causes.
• People - Eating meat is harmful to other human beings on this planet, people are starving to death (approximately 60 million each year) because their countries sell grain to feed animals for meat. If everyone ate a vegetarian diet there would be no reason for anyone to go hungry. As a Christian the thought of people dying because I like the taste of meat is abhorrent to me and becoming a vegetarian is a first step towards causing less harm to my fellow human beings.
• Animal welfare - Unless I can absolutely guarantee without any doubt that the animal I am about to eat hasn't suffered I am not going to eat it.  I don't want to cause pain and suffering to animals, any more than I do people, if I ate meat I am causing suffering by proxy because of creating demand. 

So there you have it, a very brief account of my journey to vegetarianism.  And do you know what, I feel much better, I feel like a great burden has been lifted.  I feel like a more honest person now, I feel like a more empowered person I am not lying to myself any more that the way I eat meat is ok because it's free range or organic, or I don't eat it very often, I can have a more un-hypocritical love for all animals and I am no longer in denial about their treatment.

So why am I sharing this with you?  Well even though I have only been a vegetarian for a very short time, I already feel a burden of responsibility to share the facts about the meat industry that I have learnt so that people can make an informed choice about whether they want to eat meat of not.  It isn't about beliefs, opinions or judgement it is about facts and information, and if people can hear these facts then I have at least given them the opportunity to re-evaluate their position, even if they choose not to change it. And how can I be judgemental of anyone eating meat when I ate it for the last 30 odd years?

And finally, here are some awesome memes about how great being a vegetarian is:

If you are thinking about becoming a vegetarian but not convinced it is for you, watch THIS video and see what you think then.

Halloumi, hummus and sundried tomato pesto sandwich

In an attempt to make our lunches a bit more exciting, and more specifically our sandwiches; which had become a sad combination of processed ham and limp lettuce leaves, I took in Pinterest and discovered this delectable ensemble. 

Simple toast two slices of brown bread, place some slices of halloumi on one piece and grill, then layer with sundried tomato pesto, sliced tomato, cucumber, lettuce and a good tablespoon of hummus (preferably home made) and voila, a delicious lunchtime treat which is both healthy and tantalizing to the taste buds. Plus it turns out my toddler loves halloumi!  As per usual I troed to use all organic ingredients in this sarnie, coldn't source any organic halloumi though.