By Amanda Gaupp
Thanksgiving break- the perfect time to feast with your family on a variety of dishes, and of course the main prize, a turkey.
But my plans were different this Thanksgiving.
On November 28, 2019, I became a vegetarian.
For a few months I had considered becoming a vegetarian. Frightened by videos of animals experiencing cruel treatment, I felt guilty and wanted to make a change but felt discouraged at how difficult it would be to completely alter my eating habits.
Later on, after understanding that the switch was something I was passionate about, I felt the urge to make some sort of contribution. Quite honestly another part of me was also just wanting to try something new, not knowing this would be a cause I dedicated my whole life to.
During the week of Thanksgiving, my family and I were staying in a cabin in Tyler, Texas. The morning of Thanksgiving I had decided, why not try becoming vegetarian? It seemed less intimidating than being vegan, and it was something I had been wanting to begin doing but hadn’t been able to due to being distracted with school.
Now was the perfect time.
After the big Thanksgiving meal,avoiding the turkey, I felt quite accomplished. Being vegetarian wasn’t as daunting of a change as I thought it would be. Coming home from my trip I was extremely motivated to continue this journey as I reentered school and got back into my daily routine.
Not having much knowledge of how vegetarianism would benefit the planet, I did more and more research as time went on. Cultivation of livestock contributes largely to human production of methane. Since methane is a greenhouse gas, it’s emissions increase global warming and create tropospheric ozone which is damaging to the health of humans and their environment. With these threats, I determined that reduction of methane release into the atmosphere was essential.
Discovering that methane had such a negative impact, and that elimination of your personal meat consumption can help to make a difference, I became more and more dedicated to the vegetarian lifestyle. I say lifestyle because sustainable living is just that, a lifestyle. It isn’t a trend meant to be posted about and forgotten, and it isn’t an extremely complicated scientific process that only certain people can understand. Sustainability can be implemented into daily life in countless ways. The only true requirement is that you are in some way making an effort to make decisions which promote and benefit the Earth’s survival. For me, this was becoming a vegetarian.
As a vegetarian, I have found that the most commonly asked question I get is “do you not miss it?”. It being any sort of animal meat, chicken, burgers, turkey, ham, bacon, and so on, my answer remains the same: No, not really.
Of course, like any sort of decision to change, it takes time to get used to. But even skipping one of the most popular dishes on a holiday meant for eating animal meat, I didn’t feel like I was missing out. Instead, I was excited for what was ahead.
Too often people assign extensive worth to the normal routine they are caught in. A willingness to try something new is essential, and doesn’t require a lifetime commitment if you determine that the switch is unenjoyable to you.
So, everytime someone asks me how I am vegetarian, and why I could make such a decision as they bite into their cheeseburger, I explain that it is second nature now. Stigma placed around vegetarianism, or for that matter any plant-based diet, is ingrained into our thinking. Associating something different with something that is too difficult, not worth it, and inherently bad is counterproductive.
That’s why I encourage anyone who has thought about making the switch or trying out a plant-based lifestyle, to go for it. There is a diverse selection of vegetarian/vegan alternatives to meat products, as well as access to delicious foods which can sustain and improve your overall nutrition. The possibilities are endless, and there is no excuse to not at least try one plant-based meal.
Additionally, I try to focus on the scientific and environmental benefits of being vegetarian. A rapidly growing population demands more resource intake from the Earth. This means that each person’s growing ecological footprint, the amount of resources they consume, is increasingly draining the Earth of its resources.
Making a small contribution by decreasing your meat intake creates a domino effect. The notion that one person cannot make a difference is completely false. Statistically, even one person’s elimination of meat in their diet reduces the demand for livestock in the meat industry, proving that one person can incite change.
Taking into consideration the meat industry’s blatant corruption, this reduction in consumption is important for promoting both animal and human rights. Unsafe working conditions and low wages for slaughterhouse workers are common, putting both parties at a high risk for injury and death. By limiting your personal contribution to growing the meat industry you can benefit both human and animal welfare.
The inhumane treatment of animals in said slaughterhouses is immoral, and rejecting the responsibility humans have for raising their voices for creatures, which don’t have a voice of their own, is selfish.
That being said, I believe that each person should have the right to make the decision which is best suited for them when it comes to their diet.
Recognizing that financial and health issues may restrict an individual’s ability to be vegetarian is important. Shaming someone into making a change will never work. Rather collaboration, education, and encouragement can aid in providing people with the motivation they need to become plant-based.
Finding uplifting communities of other plant-based eaters, seeking out public restaurants that have vegetarian options, and advocating for those around me to try vegetarian dishes has opened eyes to vegetarianism’s benefits.
I am encouraged to see that more and more restaurants I visit are adding a wider selection of plant-based meals. And, as I have become vegetarian I started to share new recipes with my family, getting them to eat vegetarian with me at least once a week.
Small changes like this enable greater change later on. Revising your own habits and trying something new is a great experience. Most importantly however, this sort of lifestyle change is a critical piece to preserving the Earth’s sustainability so that humans may continue to survive for countless years to come.