So you love animals, but you also love to eat meat?
If you’re someone who appreciates and has respect for animals and our natural environment, but who also eats meat as part of your regular diet, you’re not alone. In fact (based on my limited circle and experience) I’d be willing to bet you’re amongst the majority of people in the developed world. Until I was about 20, I was in this group too.
Tell me if these sound familiar:
- I’ve always eaten meat – it would be too hard to stop
- I know meat comes from animals, but I love a good hamburger/ burrito/ butter chicken and I can’t imagine my life without those options
- Meat is part of a balanced diet
- I believe humans are built to eat meat, plus we’re at the top of the food chain
- Vegetarians/ Vegans are extreme creatures whose views I just can’t relate to
Perhaps you see the occasional story about how intelligent pigs are, or that you can train a chicken, or that cows are just like big dogs – you briefly consider whether we should treat those kinds of animals as more than simply a food source, but you push the thought to the side and resume regular habits. Besides the fact that most people eat the same way you do, it would be too hard to change your lifestyle that is so established.
I would like to challenge those thoughts and behaviour. I would like to challenge you to allow yourself to ponder those thoughts a little longer – let them sink in rather than skimming across the top of your consciousness, and actually take some time to consider whether you could actually act on your inherent respect for animals, by making some changes in your life.
On this website, I want to provide resources to all animal lovers to make changes in their lives (I’ll be doing so in my own life too) – however big or small they are. If you fit the mold I described in the first couple of paragraphs of this post, consider the following options:
- Identify one day per week, mark it as ‘meat-free day’ and commit to eating non-meat meals on that day each week.
- Identify one type of meat (eg chicken) and commit to not eating that meat for one month.
- Set aside some time this week to research vegetarian recipes. There is a mind-boggling volume of information on the web (not to mention in bookstores) – start with this list.
- For some inspiration and a reminder why the animals we farm for meat are amazing individual creatures, check out some videos.
The idea is you’ll start with one small step and, once you’re comfortable with it, expand to another step.
Whatever you decide to do, write it down and stick it to your computer monitor, or set a reminder on your phone. It’s easy to think about doing something one minute and forget about it the next! (*raises hand*)
I know it’s not easy to make changes to the way we live, but I truly believe it’s possible and if you take a little time to more deeply consider your ideas and values I’m sure you’ll find some room for change.
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