Someone last night commented on a friend's shirt, a brown number that reads "don't eat the birds" and has a couple drawing of some flying sparrows on it. This person decided to drop a little scientific knowledge on our dopey asses that went something like this: If you've ever worked around chickens or turkeys, you'd understand how stupid they really are and you wouldn't be able to help eating them.
So I suggested that by that logic we should eat babies and mentally challenged adults to which she replied with "nuh-uh" or "pfft, yeah..." or something equally levelling.
I did not mention that when I was young, I actually did work around chickens. I grew up in Texas, Oklahoma and Tennessee and some of my friends lived on farms. I was also in 4H and was required to raise a baby chick for a year. I was not stunned by the stupidity of these animals. In fact, the opposite happened. I was fascinated by the fact that it was equally as alive as I was.
I get asked why I am vegetarian all the goddamned time as if I had just told people that I eat my own shit. Generally I don't give a straight answer. This is mainly because I am tired of explaining the 1000 different reasons I could give, but a little bit because the answer is so obvious that it need not be asked in the first place.
I have been a vegetarian since I was 17 years old. That means that half of my life has been spent without dead animals polluting my digestive tract. I ride in 600 mile bike rides that last 7 days. My cholesterol levels are very healthy. I play soccer. I get sick maybe twice a year. I am the ideal weight for my height. I have very few cavities. I am not an idiot.
There are a lot of reasons that I became vegetarian, but I don't really focus on them anymore. It's the way I am now and it's as much a part of who I am as my eye color or my DNA.
These days I'm vegetarian just because I can be.You can be too. We all can be. Animals need not suffer, die and be consumed by human beings anymore. The proof is in the fact that you're reading this. It is completely unnecessary. "A death for no reason is murder" and I want no part of it.
It's that simple. Why am I vegetarian? Because I can be.
I don't like to talk about my eating habits with people that don't share my viewpoint, not because I fear the confrontation, but because I just don't want to be obnoxious. But if you're going to try and tell me that meat-eating is "natural" and "required for health", then you'd better be prepared to back up your argument with something other than "birds are stupid" because you'll just wind up looking like the stupid one.
So I suggested that by that logic we should eat babies and mentally challenged adults to which she replied with "nuh-uh" or "pfft, yeah..." or something equally levelling.
I did not mention that when I was young, I actually did work around chickens. I grew up in Texas, Oklahoma and Tennessee and some of my friends lived on farms. I was also in 4H and was required to raise a baby chick for a year. I was not stunned by the stupidity of these animals. In fact, the opposite happened. I was fascinated by the fact that it was equally as alive as I was.
I get asked why I am vegetarian all the goddamned time as if I had just told people that I eat my own shit. Generally I don't give a straight answer. This is mainly because I am tired of explaining the 1000 different reasons I could give, but a little bit because the answer is so obvious that it need not be asked in the first place.
I have been a vegetarian since I was 17 years old. That means that half of my life has been spent without dead animals polluting my digestive tract. I ride in 600 mile bike rides that last 7 days. My cholesterol levels are very healthy. I play soccer. I get sick maybe twice a year. I am the ideal weight for my height. I have very few cavities. I am not an idiot.
There are a lot of reasons that I became vegetarian, but I don't really focus on them anymore. It's the way I am now and it's as much a part of who I am as my eye color or my DNA.
These days I'm vegetarian just because I can be.You can be too. We all can be. Animals need not suffer, die and be consumed by human beings anymore. The proof is in the fact that you're reading this. It is completely unnecessary. "A death for no reason is murder" and I want no part of it.
It's that simple. Why am I vegetarian? Because I can be.
I don't like to talk about my eating habits with people that don't share my viewpoint, not because I fear the confrontation, but because I just don't want to be obnoxious. But if you're going to try and tell me that meat-eating is "natural" and "required for health", then you'd better be prepared to back up your argument with something other than "birds are stupid" because you'll just wind up looking like the stupid one.