We come in peace
I’m on a quest. A quest to set wrongs right, to set the record straight, to set my people free.
I’m on a mission to tell you that we’re not out to get you, or change you, or even judge you.
I’m here to implore and reassure you that it’ll all be okay once you discover I am…
“…a Vegetarian.”
Because it shouldn’t be a barrier between us, or even an issue. And here’s why:
Not every vegetarian wants to wage war on omnivores.
Not every vegetarian wants to debate the ethics of food, hell-bent on changing eating habits for the sake of innocent animals everywhere, or to send people on a harrowing trip - imaginary or real - down to the abattoir to show them “what really goes on”, or insist that you go out into the wild and shoot-and-gut a boar so you know what it’s like to have “blood on your hands”.
Not every vegetarian is a bombastic eco-warrior, an enlightened yogi, or, while I’m on the subject, an anemic hippie who’d insist that even lions eat tofu.
Some of us just want to get on with our lives, meat-free.
Some of us even want to integrate with the “normal” people - the omnivores. Some of us have far more omnivorous friends than vegetarian ones, and have little interest in converting people (though, in the event of a good friend deciding to make the switch, the lonely vego could be forgiven for feeling at least a little bit excited/vindicated).
The following may be a shocking admission, but here goes: I became a vegetarian because I never really liked meat. This is unfathomable to the more meat-partial members of society, but there you have it.
I also believe I’m healthier this way - it doesn’t work for everyone, but it works for me. And, while I’m certainly no activist, I do feel a little bit warm and fuzzy that I play a reduced role in some of the animal cruelty that goes on. But that’s as far as it goes.
It’s not a protest or a statement or a contribution - just a personal choice. The “saved” animals are a byproduct (or, in this case, NOT).
I’m not bothered whether you eat animals or not - I’m even happy when my friends enjoy what they’re eating, regardless of what it is (though I will admit that I do feel a little bit squeamish when a friend has rabbit on his plate and calls it “bunny”).
One of the missions of this blog is to find ways for us to all go out to dinner with peace, love and the occasional mungbean. Though I will share with you one last admission…
I’m not sure what a mungbean is.