Because I can't stand the suffering that the animal has gone through before reaching the chef's hands. His neck has been broken. His stomach has been cut open. His guts have been poured out. His eyes have been plucked out. His blood has been drained. Then the flesh is cut with a knife.
I can die but can never eat non-vegetarian for this reason. Can't bear to see the pain of the animals. Can't imagine the struggle of the animal when the butcher or a machine is cutting it. He is struggling to survive and we are willfully killing it. How can I eat that and support such slaughter? Just can't.
Forget taste, even if it gives me longer life, I won't eat it. Even if it makes me 10 times stronger or 10 times more intelligent, I still won't eat it. The question of taste never even enters my mind after seeing meat. All I see is the horror of a dead animal.
Most people have some kind of boundary with respect to what they will or won't eat, even non-vegetarians. For example, most non-vegetarian Hindus don't eat beef because it's taboo for religious and cultural reasons. Most American non-vegetarians will eat beef, but not dogs--again, because it's taboo to eat "man's best friend." Other societies may consume dogs, but draw lines elsewhere.
Are you an American? Have you ever eaten dog, horse, dolphin? Jellyfish, cockroaches, haggis? If not, does the thought of consuming any of those things seem repugnant, whether for moral or environmental reasons, or general grossness? Almost everyone has something they won't eat. At the very least, consuming human flesh is taboo in almost every culture, even if most of us have never tasted it.
Everyone draws lines. Vegetarians just happen to draw their lines to proscribeall consumption of meat which, as a lifestyle choice, is actually more consistent than avoiding dog, beef, or cockroach in particular. I'm a vegetarian and an adult capable of thinking and making choices for myself. I don't eat meat for ethical and environmental reasons, and I don't think tasting it would ever change my mind.
I can die but can never eat non-vegetarian for this reason. Can't bear to see the pain of the animals. Can't imagine the struggle of the animal when the butcher or a machine is cutting it. He is struggling to survive and we are willfully killing it. How can I eat that and support such slaughter? Just can't.
Forget taste, even if it gives me longer life, I won't eat it. Even if it makes me 10 times stronger or 10 times more intelligent, I still won't eat it. The question of taste never even enters my mind after seeing meat. All I see is the horror of a dead animal.
Most people have some kind of boundary with respect to what they will or won't eat, even non-vegetarians. For example, most non-vegetarian Hindus don't eat beef because it's taboo for religious and cultural reasons. Most American non-vegetarians will eat beef, but not dogs--again, because it's taboo to eat "man's best friend." Other societies may consume dogs, but draw lines elsewhere.
Are you an American? Have you ever eaten dog, horse, dolphin? Jellyfish, cockroaches, haggis? If not, does the thought of consuming any of those things seem repugnant, whether for moral or environmental reasons, or general grossness? Almost everyone has something they won't eat. At the very least, consuming human flesh is taboo in almost every culture, even if most of us have never tasted it.
Everyone draws lines. Vegetarians just happen to draw their lines to proscribeall consumption of meat which, as a lifestyle choice, is actually more consistent than avoiding dog, beef, or cockroach in particular. I'm a vegetarian and an adult capable of thinking and making choices for myself. I don't eat meat for ethical and environmental reasons, and I don't think tasting it would ever change my mind.
No comments:
Post a Comment