For the longest time I felt weird about eating meat. Not just weird; bad. Icky, guilty, etc. I was definitely a closeted vegetarian (I am a pescatarian as of right now but I could see myself being radicalized further in the future)…(no I don’t think fish have less soul or worthiness of life, it is just my understanding that the farming process for fish is more ethical). I don’t think eating meat is inherently unethical (again, could totally change my mind on this), but the way we go about it is completely fucked. The little voice in my head knew this, and for the longest time when someone would tell me they’re veg, I would have this almost instant high respect and regard for them, and took such an interest in this aspect of their life. I remember texting my best friends things like: “How can I claim to love animals and then eat chicken?” Closeted Vegetarian AF. So yeah, almost two weeks into pescatarian lifestyle and love it! Likely never going backwards (only potentially forward and more radicalized lol).
It’s been easy in some ways but surprisingly difficult in other ways. I don’t find that I really crave meat. There are so many incredible alternatives to eating meat. Here’s where the issue is: Society apparently heavily disagrees with this notion. I went out to the Farmer’s Market at the Grove in LA, a market that quite literally has dozens of restaurants to choose from. It took me so long to find a suitable meatless option. Of course I saw something disgusting sounding: “The Vegetarian Sandwich” — some vegetables thrown onto bread. Just because something doesn’t have meat doesn’t mean it needs to lack in substance. That’s where the issue seems to lie, restaurants are so meat-centered, leaving fairly limited non-meat options.
Regardless of slight challenges with finding options, it feels damn good to be finally aligned with this part of my value system. I generally think there’s a lot of cognitive dissonance with people and eating meat. Not often does someone want to harm an animal or raise them in torturous conditions, but it’s so deeply and severely normalized that they feel like they have no choice. On the other hand, they may just not know enough yet. Real footage of these farms would radicalize people who have empathy and regard for life. I think we should all see the footage at least once in our lives, to make more informed decisions. Not to mention, news like deli meat becoming classified as a class one carcinogenic? It’s not like meat is even good for our bodies. It’s just painfully convenient.
So now, sorry, I have to pose these questions:
How much of your values are you willing to let go of for the sake of convenience? What habits or beliefs are you clutching to while your inner voice goes against their grain? At what point will you be willing to create a life that is in line with who you are? What’s the tipping point, the moment you decide that a specific thing needs to change? When have you changed in the past to align closer to your value system? How did the change make you feel?
That’s all 🙂
With love,
Bri