What Being a Vegetarian Means to Me

There were many times in my life where I flirted with vegetarianism. I avoided meat for a few months in high school under the guise of wanting to lose weight, then stopped because it was too hard to reconcile my dietary needs with my family’s preference for meat. My second try was at the start of my freshman year of college “for health reasons,” but, again, I turned back to eating meat because there weren’t enough affordable vegetarian options in the university cafeterias to keep me satisfied. 

The point is, I had, for a long time, wanted to make the switch to a meat free life, but always lacked the drive and motivation to stick to it. Believe it or not, living in a society where most people eat meat on a daily basis can make choosing a different path, like veganism or vegetarianism, fairly difficult. There was also always the stigma of being one of “those people”- the annoying vegan/vegetarian that is almost militaristic in their beliefs and criticizes all of the meat eaters of the world, or tries to make faulty arguments about our bodies not being made to consume animal products. Because of the loud minority, this lifestyle definitely leaves a bad taste in some people’s mouths. For these reasons, the first few times I tried cutting out meat, I stuck to such weak and meaningless explanations for my choice- “I want to lose weight,” or “it’s strictly for health reasons.”

Something had to change to make this decision stick. I had to move beyond some shoddy, half-baked reasoning on to something meaningful that I was truly passionate about, or I would never actually get anything out of it. I would just be going through the motions. And sometimes a little heartache and tragedy is enough to do the trick.

I have always been an avid and passionate lover of animals. Growing up, we always had cats- first Jefferson, who was older than I was when he died, then Betsy and Peaches. They were always the lights of my life and gave me endless joy and companionship. I love animals so much I even once considered a career as a veterinarian or a zoologist. But, for some reason, this love alone never clicked as a good enough excuse to quit eating meat. I loved pets, that special class of animal we deemed worthy of love, affection and respect. All of the others… Well, they were on their own. Especially the lowly farm animals. This is something that we, as a society, rationalize and it is something that took a hard lesson for me to unlearn. 

About a year ago, when I finally moved out of the dorms and into an apartment of my own, I wanted to get myself a small pet to keep me company, since a cat seemed like too much of a commitment and would be too expensive to keep in an apartment. This led me to PetCo in search of the perfect hamster, the quintessential pet rodent. The universe, however, had different plans in store, as I ended up spying the cutest creature I had ever laid eyes on in my life. It was a gerbil, an “exotic” rodent that most people assume is just another name for a hamster. Although I was clueless about gerbils, I knew then, upon seeing this tiny being, that I was going to adopt them.

The aforementioned creature was butterscotch-colored with huge, almond-shaped, black eyes, a pleasantly round body and a fur-covered tail. When I spotted him, his angelic, sleeping head was sticking out of a ceramic acorn and my heart shattered into a million pieces and then melted. Before long, he, along with his smaller, grey buddy, were mine. I named him Toast and I loved him and his partner, Magellan, like they were my own children. They were my first pets in life that were 100% mine, and I took the role of pet parent very seriously. Soon, my evenings were consumed with spending time with them, letting them run around on my bed, watching them dig tunnels and chew cardboard, and just holding and petting them. 

I was so happy and ready to spend the next 3 or so years with my new little friends, which is why it came as a complete shock when, last October, after only about four months of having them, Toast died. The vet informed me that he had a massive tumor that literally crushed his tiny organs. The poor thing had probably been suffering while hiding his symptoms for months. I was devastated. For days, I could hardly keep from crying at the thought of the little guy. After about a week of extreme emotional pain, I came to the realization that I can’t have loved an animal that much, receive so much joy and sorrow from its existence, then continue to eat other animals and cause them pain.

Toast and Magellan had taught me a valuable lesson about the validity of animal life, and gave me a newfound passion and meaning behind my choice to go meat free. Through this conviction to cause as little animal harm as possible, and my respect for all types of animals, I have never faltered on my path of remaining a vegetarian. And now, one year in, I can say I can’t really see myself ever going back. I have never craved meat, or really even missed it. Sure, there are a few of my favorite meaty dishes that I reminisce about, but that nostalgia for meat is never strong enough to surpass my passion for animal life. Plus, there are plenty of meatless “meats” that are incredibly flavorful and delicious, even my meat-loving boyfriend sometimes partakes in my plant-based meat meals. 

One question most people ask me is if I have seen any benefits to my health since making the switch, and it’s a hard question to answer. I have not seen any direct, measurable changes in my health. I actually gained some weight in the beginning because I was eating a lot more carbs than my body was used to, but once I figured things out, my body went back to where it has been for the past few years. I think the only direct change I have noticed is that I have less problems with digestion, since my body has always had trouble processing animal fats. But other than that, I feel the same.

Would I recommend others go vegetarian? Of course. Cutting out meat is one of the best ways you can help to reduce your contribution to global climate change, since massive cow farms emit a ton of greenhouse gases. I also think that our society in general puts too much dietary emphasis on meat proteins, and everyone eats way more than they actually need. Even just reducing the amount of meat eaten would help, not only to save animal lives, but to save our planet as well. But I will never force my choice on anyone, as it is something deeply personal and meaningful to me, and I believe that such serious choices should be your decision to make alone. 

So- how was my year without meat? It was more full of love and life than ever, and I am so glad to have made this choice for myself and all of the animal friends I have met and will meet. This one is for you.