Veganism has gained a lot of popularly in the last couple of years, with many famous celebrities and even professional athletes embracing and endorsing a plant-based diet. Documentaries like “The Game Changers” have encouraged many to consider switching to a vegan diet. The rise in vegetarianism and veganism has also given rise to the age-old debate of vegetarians vs. non-vegetarians.
I am a vegetarian by choice. I don’t eat non-vegetarian food because of my love for animals. I would feel guilty if I caused pain to another living being just for the pleasure of my taste buds. However, I have absolutely no problem with people who eat non-veg. I have never tried to convince a non-vegetarian to switch to a vegetarian diet, and I would appreciate it if my non-vegetarian friends and acquaintances stopped trying to convince me to switch to a non-veg diet.
Not all, but most of my non-vegetarian friends find it hard to comprehend my reasoning behind being a vegetarian. I’ll give a simple example to explain what I mean.
In China, it’s common to eat dogs. Almost everyone here in India condemns it as they believe that it’s cruel to kill dogs for food. So a dog is where you draw the line. Fair enough. Any living being that experiences pain is where I draw the line. How hard is it to understand?
I often try to avoid veg vs. non-veg debates as they’re boring and repetitive. People, both vegetarians and non-vegetarians, come up with all sorts of weird logic and misguided beliefs. The stupidest 10 IQ argument that I often encounter is “Plants are also living beings, stop eating plants too.” Yes, plants are living beings, but they don’t feel pain as they don’t have a central nervous system. You would have known this had you paid a little attention at school.
One of my friends, who is a non-vegetarian, shares similar sentiments as me regarding killing animals for food. He says that he would like to become a vegetarian, but non-veg food tastes too good to quit. I understand what he means. I would like to be a vegan someday, but right now, I am not prepared to give up certain foods. I’ve never tried to push him into quitting non-veg food because, like I said, I don’t care what you eat. I just don’t want you to interfere with my dietary preferences.
Both plant-based and meat-based diets have their benefits and drawbacks. Eat whatever makes you happy. Just don’t be that annoying person who always tries to convert vegetarians into non-vegetarians and vice versa. Eat and let eat. Bon appétit.