I have never been much of a meat eater. So much so that, many years ago, my aunt even asked me if I would ever consider going full vegetarian. I shrugged it off at the time, but a month ago, I started to give it some more serious thought. It was almost a random inner monologue. I am not sure what exactly prompted me to think about such a lifestyle change at that particular moment, but after a few hours of thought, I decided that becoming a vegetarian was right for me.
In one respect, this decision was trivial. The only animal protein I would usually indulge in was chicken. Sometimes sausage, bacon, and pepperoni, but mostly chicken. I had tried other meats over the years, but they were not able to impress me. Just the sight of raw meat has always been enough to make me feel uneasy. Some people love to sink their teeth into a slab of meat, but I have just never been one of those people. Because animal protein was never a major part of my diet, it was not at all difficult to decide to cut it out entirely.
The more important reason why I made this choice is because of the seemingly countless problems caused by factory farms. According to the ASPCA, “a factory farm is a large, industrial operation that raises large numbers of animals for food”. The vast majority, over 99%, of farm animals come from industrialized farms. The primary purpose of these farms is to maximize the profits of production, a goal that comes in direct conflict with animal welfare. On these farms, animals are placed in crowded cages or pens that, at best, allow for only limited movement and are rarely ever allowed to go outside. These animals are caused great levels of distress because they are unable to exercise their natural behaviors. As an animal lover, I cannot allow myself to consume meat knowing what that animal is made to go through from the time it is born to the time it reaches our dinner plates.
Animals are not the only ones that suffer from factory farm practices. Due to the unsanitary conditions of where the animals are placed, bacteria are easily able to grow, which can be passed to human consumers through meat, eggs, and dairy. Animals are constantly given large doses of antibiotics in order to combat this, but since bacteria are frequently evolving organisms, there is great potential for the bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics, making humans and animals susceptible to difficult-to-treat infections. Another problem is animal waste. The massive amount of waste produced by factory farms, along with the vast number of fossil fuels they use, get into the air and water, negatively impacting the health of humans and the environment.
Everyone has different reasons for making this type of lifestyle change, but for me, my primary reason is my love for animals, the environment, and my fellow humans.
Source: ASPCA.org; https://www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/factory-farms