WHY VEGETARIAN

“Why are you a vegetarian?” This is an FAQ I would get whenever someone gets to know me. My answer varies depending on my closeness to a person, and my level of understanding towards the person. But today, I have decided to write down how I turned vegetarian and my heartfelt reasons of why I stay as a vegetarian throughout these years.

Before I begin, I would like to clarify I have no intention to judge non vegetarians, because whichever diet you choose to take, it’s your choice, and there is always reasons to support your choice, and I respect your decision. My only concern would be if you consume too much meat, and barely take any fruits or vegetables, I may be worried about your health.

Okay, why vegetarian? It’s by choice.

“Do you choose to be a vegetarian because of religion?” This would be the second question I get right after the first. My answer is: not exactly. My religion has never forced anyone to be a vegetarian, nor made it mandatory for all the disciples to be a vegetarian. Neither have I ever made any vow that I want to be a vegetarian for my lifetime. However, learning Dharma does help me understand the values behind my choice.

Let’s start with how I became a vegetarian.

I am not a born vegetarian. None of my family members and relatives were vegetarian when I was born. My mother and some of her siblings, who are my uncles and aunts, are always interested about the topic related to healthy lifestyles, healthy cooking and eating. They have been reading and exploring these topics. One of my uncles and one of my aunts would take my elder brother and I to try out delicious and healthy vegetarian cuisines once in awhile, and would share with us the nutritional values behind the food we ate.

Here comes the story I would always tell, and most of the friends who met me after 2016 would be familiar with.

I have a younger sister who is 9 years younger than me. My mum had decided to let her try out vegetarian baby diet. If I didn’t remember wrongly, my mum was still exploring, and had yet decided whether to let my sister continue with vegetarian diet when she grew older. Nonetheless it has gradually become my sister’s dietary habit. My family also started cutting down the percentage of meat on the dining table, until one day, meat are no longer available in the kitchen. We are used to it, and we are alright with it. But once in awhile we would call for KFC delivery. 

I was only vegetarian at home, and most of the time in school. During recess time, vegetarian stall always has the shortest queue. I think most of my friends would choose vegetarian stall because the queue is short. Once in awhile, I still had cravings for those meaty fast food or finger food like nuggets, seaweed chicken, fish fillet.

I stopped all these cravings when I was 15. There was once I had high fever, and was sick for about a month. It was rare for me to have high fever, and falling sick for a long period of time. It was then meat was no longer attractive to me. That’s when I stopped taking meat, and become a disciplined vegetarian. My body is now used to vegetarian diet, and can be sensitive to meat. Perhaps this story doesn’t make sense to some people, but this is sincerely the process of how I turned into a vegetarian.

Perhaps the process doesn’t sound convincing, and rather weird. I didn’t start off with any noble reasons. As I grow older, I get more exposure, I gain more knowledge, my perspective towards life broadens. The contemplation of the knowledge I acquire gives me concrete reasons on why I choose to stay as a vegetarian.

First and foremost, I stop seeing meat as food, but animals. There was once, I happened to walk into a meat processing factory during the seventh month of lunar calendar. They make roasted ducks, roasted pigs, and roasted chicken. The processed poultry were hung upside down. The expressions of every pig, every duck, every chicken caught my eyes. Yes they were dead, but their fear, their pain, their helplessness during the slaughtering process were all written on their faces. My heart throbbed. The animals are just like us. They have a heart, they have feelings like I do. I am not a compassionate person in nature. I have friends who are truly compassionate, who would cherish others’ lives like their own lives. They would take care of injured animals, or walk extra mile to liberate the insects at a suitable environment. But I am lazy to do so, I am not as great as them. I just start small, by not harming the animals in my diet.

Secondly, to rear the poultry, mass deforestation occurs. Large scales of land is needed to plant the crops to feed the poultry, as well as building farms to raise the poultry. If you have studied Ecology, and familiar with the biomass pyramid, the biomass of each trophic level is always less than the trophic level below. In short, to raise one cow, you need to feed them with huge amount of crops. A lot of carbon dioxide are produced in the processed. I just want to play my part not to harm Mother Earth. 

The above two reasons may sound ridiculous, and it’s definitely debatable. But I am not here to argue with anyone. Just sharing my genuine and heartfelt reason. Perhaps the objective may sound airy-fairy, my action may seem small and insignificant right now to create any huge impact. But I know I am not alone in this action, and this small little action will multiply by manifold.

Last but not least, I do believe in Karma. I believe that if I choose to protect the animals and the environment, I will be protected too. Do you remember the fable about the lion wanted to eat a mouse, but the mouse pleaded to be set free, and promised to repay the kindness. One day, the lion got trapped in a net set by the hunter. It roared for helped, the mouse bit off the net, and set the lion free.

“Aren’t you missing out the good food?” A lot of meat lovers would ask me this question. My answer is: I’m not a fan of good food. I don’t feel that I am missing out. What’s more, there are vegetarian and vegan food that taste really great!

“Don’t you think it’s troublesome to find your food?” Honestly, it’s not. I’m not a fan of food, and I always have a way to find something to eat. I would balance out and replenish more nutrition when I go home. But sometimes it could be a problem when I’m with a group of people who have certain cravings, at the same time want to include me along with them, they would have to find places that have vegetarian options nearby. I sincerely appreciate that. And I cherish friends who always discover vegan eateries and have vegan meals together whenever we meet.

“Don’t you think that your body has insufficient protein in take?” People may ask me this question out of concern. My answer would be: don’t worry about that. There are also sources of proteins in vegetables and beans! And look at my sister and some of my cousins who are born vegetarian. They are growing up well, looking handsome and pretty, and strong. They are also athletes who are vegans. So it’s not a big issue.

In conclusion, it’s a gradual process that I turned vegetarian, my family and education did play a part in influencing my decision. I am truly happy with my decision, and I just want to play a part in my life to be nicer to the fellow sentient beings. It has become a principle I would like to stick on in my life. I am sharing my sincere thoughts and perspectives here, and I appreciate your patience to read and comprehend this post. I hope you have some takeaways as well. Should you have any questions or doubts, feel free to discuss with me.