That Annoying Question

"Why are you a vegetarian?? I could never give up meat."

First of all, bullsh*t. You just don't want to try.

But honestly, I get asked this question, give or take, about a bazillion times a day. Im most surprised that people I've already told keep re-asking like I changed my mind in 24 hours. My standard I don't want to argue with you right now response?

"I want absolutely nothing to do with the factory farming industry."

I find that this answer is the best way to avoid the hostile confrontation that some people seem to want. If it truly is someone that wants more information or to understand further, they will ask you. Very few have pushed beyond this response for more background, while everyone else just tends to make some comment about how they love steak and couldn't leave it behind.

Everyone knows the saying "Ignorance is Bliss". I couldn't agree more, especially in regards to what eating meat really means. Eating factory farmed meat is being willing to turn a blind eye to unimaginable horrors, illness, and to pump your own body full of the same chemicals and antibiotics that pig was fed. Frankly, I am no longer able to pretend that I do not know my food. To be educated about anything is to hold a new light to your life.

That being said, when someone asks me why I am a vegetarian now, I do my best to explain that my number one priority is to separate myself from the awful things thats are companies like Tyson Chicken. Animal welfare is at the top of my list because it encompasses so much more than that. It is cruel to fill a calf full of growth hormones and antibiotics and by choosing not to consume this meat, I do wonders for my own body in not taking in those same chemicals. I don't contribute to methane air pollution. I don't have a hand in sewage runoff into our rivers and lakes. I don't watch overfishing of our oceans change entire ecosystems without doing a thing. I love being my own person.

It is hard to take a stand, let alone stand up to those who doubt you. I am very proud of myself at the end of every day when I haven't contributed to ground beef sales.

Hang in there everyone!! Speak your mind in a political and educated manner. Stand your ground and use these every day opportunities to educate someone else.

<3 Jaime

PS... if you haven't read this book yet, FREAKING DO IT! (and then let all your friends read it too)