Top Ten Reasons Why I Chose To Be A Vegetarian

Karen Jeanette - Guest Author

I am a firm believer that everyone should live their life according to their own values and personal beliefs. Consequently, this is simply an abridged version of my personal journey to doing the same ~ becoming  “the V word” - a vegetarian.

From my early childhood, I have always felt an innate connection with all types of animals (dogs, cats, birds, pigs, cows, lambs, goats, etc).  I sincerely loved and truly believed that I understood them all!

I was blessed to be born into a home with a kind and loving miniature schnauzer. Growing up as an only child, that dog was my best friend. I truly adored him (and occasionally barked at him ~ don't judge).

My wider family, however, had a 180 degree different perspective than me regarding animals. For example, my Hispanic grandfather and his sons took pleasure in shooting birds off power lines with their BB guns and thought nothing of dog fights. They also enjoyed going crabbing or fishing and having a big cook up of their catch.  

Flower Child with Best Friend Baron

Then there is the Native American side of my family. They, at one point in time, acquired most if not all of their meat either via hunting or farming. At least that is what they told me and for emphasis, did so quite often.   

You can, therefore, understand why my love for animals and desire NOT to eat or harm them in any way did not go over well with my family. Consequently, due to their taunting I was inconsistent with meeting my goal of sticking to strictly vegetarian recipes. My only compromise was to consume as little meat as possible at our dining table.  

After graduating college, I opted to work for a well-known animal shelter in Philadelphia, PA.  As one might suspect, this is my favorite job to date.  While working there, I discovered a treasure trove of information that supported my vegetarian beliefs.

Information regarding the large amount of antibiotics and pesticides used in animal feed, the deplorable factory farm conditions where most of our store bought meat is processed, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (nicknamed Mad Cows Disease) and the negative environmental impact of raising animals for slaughter all of which strongly supported my desire not to eat meat, not even minimally.

It would later become crystal clear to me that, if I was to be true to myself and my own values, I had to stop eating meat for good.  This was a most difficult decision and one that convinced my family, my Dear Husband and my new in-laws that I am actually from planet Jupiter (or Mars, or Saturn, but surely not from Earth)! The sundresses, sandals and bonnets were just the tip of the iceberg of my true hippie roots.  "Now she is not eating meat?!"

Despite their views about me and my lifestyle choices, this has been the longest that I have not eaten meat (as well as most dairy products) and, excluding my chronic daily migraines, I feel so much better.  My chronic daily migraines were with me long before I became a vegetarian and is a topic for another article.

My Top Ten Reasons?

Meatless Taco
Photo Courtesy of: Phamfatale.com

Although I am quite certain a scientist or a meat advocate could negate each and every one of my reasons, I wanted to share with you my “Top Ten Reasons Why I chose to be a Vegetarian:"

1. Deplorable factory farm conditions
2. Less likely to encounter Mad Cow disease, salmonella and E.coli
3. My compassion for animals and advocacy for them so I cannot eat them
4. I feel more calm and more spiritually aligned as a vegetarian 
5.  Consumption of fibre, fruits and veggies has increased 
6. I feel my body is designed for a vegetarian diet
7. Doing my part to help to reduce the vast amount of soy and grains consumed by cows
8. I am contributing to trees being saved from being cleared for cattle ranching or growing crops for cattle feed
9. I am helping to save our water supply as it takes more water to produce beef than it does to produce wheat
10. Finally - I feel better about ME!! 

Photo Courtesy of: www.ripe6.net

I have a great deal of respect for everyone’s personal values and beliefs. So please know that whether you choose to eat meat or become a "Perpetual Flower Child" like me and give it up, completely or partially, is up to you. This for me is more about sharing - not preaching - and underscoring the individual choices that we all must make on any subject.  

Being vegetarian was a principled decision for me - to respect my personal values. What choices have you made on that basis, one that probably evoked ridicule from others? Do share with us by leaving a comment here or on our Facebook page. You may also follow us on Twitter. Continue to have a great day and an awesome week ahead.

Namaste. 

Karen Jeanette is a member of the DOS Facebook Group and lives in Arizona, USA with her Dear Husband and son . She is one of our three Guest Authors.