Before you shy away from reading this article, no, this is not going to be a place where I try to convince you that you’re a horrible person for eating meat/animal products or that I am someone who is better than you because I choose not to. This is strictly about my journey and reasons for making the decision that I did.

I have wanted to be a vegetarian ever since I can remember. I have a passionate love for animals and had a hard time coping with the idea that I was participating in the consumption of the things that I loved so much. My journey as a vegetarian didn’t start because of health goals or general well-being like many do; it was catalyzed by my difficult experience at a slaughterhouse for cattle. 

My mom decided to bring me on a car ride one day to a slaughterhouse without my knowledge. This was a surprise to me not only because I had no idea where I was going but also because she knows I am sensitive towards things that have to do with animals. 

Right away, I saw cows who were nothing but skin and bones being transported back to their farm because they didn’t have enough meat on them to be slaughtered for selling purposes. I heard the cows, pigs and chickens crying out for help and the noises of machines trying to desperately cover that up. 

At this point, I became fully vegetarian. 

I was already trying to convince my parents of this transition in the weeks and months prior, but at this point, I was completely done. I was traumatized by this experience, so much so that I almost started crying, something that doesn’t happen often for me. 

What was really disappointing, though, is that the half of a cow that my mom bought that day wasn’t even appealing to them. All of the meat that they cooked ended up being full of fat, the result of being pumped full of hormones and artificial means of making the animal larger.. This was why the meat was so cheap. 

My parents ended up throwing away most of it including the bacon that stunk up the kitchen and had nothing but fat on it. I felt bad for the animal that had to suffer through intense hormone injections and death just to be thrown away.

Consumerism is a big issue in our country. We try to raise these animals so fast by pumping them full of chemicals and slaughtering them prematurely just to get them into grocery stores for people to eat. As a country, we are obsessed with things that move fast and need satisfaction right away. This is not only unhealthy for us as humans but also for the meat industry and animals as well.

A lot of vegetarians, like myself, aren’t just vegetarians because of their love for animals, but because we are trying to decrease the amount of meat that is consumed by taking ourselves out of the equation. We are trying to push the idea of more sustainable and ethical ways of raising animals. 

Most of us don’t try to force our beliefs on others but try to spread knowledge on the topic like I’m doing now. We aren’t all extremists who think eating meat is completely wrong but think that it’s not right at the amount that we are eating it. Having said that, I urge you all to consider the benefits of a vegetarian diet and the moral issue that comes with eating meat.