How it all began…
I gather many of you are surprised at my sudden decision to become a vegetarian… given that last year I didn't go down this road because I claimed I loved my meat too much. A year is a long time. Three hundred six five days of thinking time (or there about)… and in my case that's a lot of time to discuss, with myself and with God, about what becoming a vegetarian means, what it'll entail and why I'd do it.
Yes, I do love meat, but animal cruelty plays a role in my decision. For those of you who have never been to Africa, you won't have seen the "normal" method of transporting chicken or cows. It's simple, hang as many chickens as you can to the handlebars and saddle of your moped motorbike as possible. To get the cows to the slaughter house you make sure the cows can't lie down by tying their horns to the lorry frame (most lorries in Eastern Africa are have open lorry beds), making sure that you can get s lot in. I'm not saying everyone does this. I know there are a few who do transport their livestock in a nicer manner, but in the nineteen years I lived in Uganda it was a regular sight on the road.
Animals are also kept in horrible conditions in the developed world. That's why there's organizations like the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Protetion and Care of Animals) and free range products. I could buy free range meat, yet no one will ask why I'm doing that. I want to be more radical than that. Saying I'm a vegetarian means I have a cause. We can all choose where we want to take a stand, what causes we'll fight for. I've chosen mine. Have you chosen yours?
Animals are also kept in horrible conditions in the developed world. That's why there's organizations like the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Protetion and Care of Animals) and free range products. I could buy free range meat, yet no one will ask why I'm doing that. I want to be more radical than that. Saying I'm a vegetarian means I have a cause. We can all choose where we want to take a stand, what causes we'll fight for. I've chosen mine. Have you chosen yours?
Why did I become a vegetarian when I was younger if animal cruelty is the case?
I was brought up eatting what was put in front of me. If I didn't like the look of it, I needed to at least taste it. It also made life easier for the people my family visited. You see, as missionaries, we saw a lot of people on our visit to England and Holland. We ate meals with a lot of different people and it was easier for our hosts if we weren't fussy. I also hadn't thought of it in depth before last summer.
When you live in community like I did, even when I was cooking my own meals, I didn't have the time to actively persue all the ins and out of vegetarianism. Maybe I still don't know what it means, but I am more aware than I was this time last year. I've spent the last ten days with friends of my parents on the Dutch border with Germany, this couple are vegetarians, so, for the last ten days. I haven't had any meat. I haven't missed it. I also spent a week with a good friend of mine, from my DTS, and his wife, who is a vegetarian. I asked questions and in turn I questioned myself.
The answer is simple. I chose to become a vegetarian because I believe that we need to look after the world around us. Animals aren't there to be mistreated. We shouldn't mistreat each other either. I love my meat, but I love seeing animals alive and well treated even more than that (however I do understand when farmers need to be kill their animals because there's too many animals for a given area; I just think they should do it in a manner that doesn't traumatise the creature). It's my choice, and I've chosen this path.
The answer is simple. I chose to become a vegetarian because I believe that we need to look after the world around us. Animals aren't there to be mistreated. We shouldn't mistreat each other either. I love my meat, but I love seeing animals alive and well treated even more than that (however I do understand when farmers need to be kill their animals because there's too many animals for a given area; I just think they should do it in a manner that doesn't traumatise the creature). It's my choice, and I've chosen this path.