Since turning to a vegetarian diet I have had to decline some food when I am over at my family functions or friends houses. When you say, "no thank you" and try to leave it at that they always ask "why are you not hungry"? Then I tell them that I do not eat meat anymore.
WOW! It's funny to watch the reaction on peoples faces, they look at you like you have just pulled your own finger nails off. Then all the meat eaters all start congregating I start feeling like they are ganging up on me saying oh not me, taste too good, bring on the steak etc. etc. Then they start talking about makeup (tested on animals) and the clothes I wear such as leather shoes or plastic flip flops (oil from animals that make the plastic) like hello, why do I keep having to defend myself?
I feel I am making a healthy choice of staying away from meat, btw I only wear makeup on special occasions and it is not a daily application and I have never worn fur but when I made the decision to stay away from meat is based on two things. The major one was because of all the garbage that is put into meat in order for it not to go bad and secondly was for the inhuman way the animals are treated and slaughtered. It seems that you can never just say you are a vegetarian then the conversation stops. This is something I will have to get used to and may use the option of "I'm not hungry" so I will not have to get into a heated debate.
I have always been conscious of products that I purchase such as soaps, lotions, lip gloss etc to see if their is a note stated *not tested on animals, so off I went searching on google for this information and found it on the peta website. I have attached the link that shows all the companies that do not test on animals...
http://www.caringconsumer.com/pdfs/companiesDontTest.pdf
Hang in there. I've been veg for almost ten years, and I still have those same conversations. Social consciousness is not all or nothing. It is a way of being...a spectrum, and as you move along this path your position on the spectrum will change. I started out still eating fish. After some time, I gave that up. I also used to drink milk, but I gave that up after some dairy farm cruelty issues arose in my state. I only stock method cleaning products in my house, which wasn't always the case. I have moved on the spectrum. As time passes I take another step, but because I haven't completed the path doesn't make the path itself incorrect. People will always try to convince themselves that they are correct by trying to make you wrong, but the former does not follow from the latter.
ReplyDeleteYou might already be here, but, if not, at some point you will be able to sort out the people with genuine curiosity from those who are merely trying to justify their choices. I embrace the curious, and I leave the others to answer to themselves. As it should be.
Hang in there. You are doing a good thing.
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
— Mahatma Gandhi