Carnivore Turned Eggetarian

I quit meat nearly two years ago. Yes, I’m still alive 🙂 and I do eat out (and please don’t restrict your imagination to subway!). Every single person I met at my lunch or dinner had asked me “Oh! so you recently turned into a vegetarian (eggetarian to be precise)? how’s it going?”. I wouldn’t name it frustration but some kind of uneasiness would engulf me whenever I face that question.

One wants to know if there was a story behind it, another might have thought its a trend, someone else might think of it as a way to healthy lifestyle. I wouldn’t say my journey has been a cake walk as I liked eating chicken and fish for 24 years and I also cooked delicious (at least to me it did look like one 🙂) chicken curry.

When I decided on quitting meat, several thoughts bombarded my brain.

“Am I doing the right thing by quitting it at an early age? what about my protein sources (at least that’s what everyone thinks)?”

“Should I stop immediately or should I try all kinds of food first and then quit?” (a stupid question which makes no sense. After all, I’m human, I’m no exception to being stupid.)

“Will I miss experiencing several cuisines when I travel the world?” (Really?? as if you are a big experimentalist or a foodie!)

“Can I stick to my decision when people around me eat the delicious food which I too enjoyed once in my life?” (This one. yes, I have to think about it a bit. You’ve got some self-control mechanism issues, my dear Brain 🙂)

“Can I balance my change of diet with vegetarian alternatives?” (Houston, we have a problem!!! I’m a Texan by the way 🙂)

Every question seemed senseless when I just thought of one thing. You can’t have too many thoughts playing around your conscience just to follow what feels right to you.

I once saw a video which showed the poultry system and how our meat is prepared (this is the correct term as animals these days are not growing by themselves but are being grown by us the way we like them to). In the video, they covered from the eggs being hatched to the chicken being butchered.

It’s a machine jungle. After breaking their shell, chicks travel from one machine to another through a fast-moving belt which is overly crowded. In the movement, some of them skid and fall out of the belt and some climb over others and hurt themselves. The personnel monitoring this process have the toughest job here. They need to pick the chicks which are ineligible (with broken legs and wings) to grow into the chicken and separate them from the crowd. Can you guess what happens to these separated ones? They will then be thrown into a machine which has two adjacent wheels one moving clockwise and the other moving anti-clockwise. They can’t even know when they are born and why they are killed and all this happens in less than an hour. I know this is not the only inhuman activity that’s known to the world. But, somehow I couldn’t take it with ease.

Could you just imagine the existence of a bigger, wiser species controlling us and killing us just because they can? Moreover, I personally like animals and enjoy petting them just like I cherish being with the children. So, I had this ethical conflict. I don’t stop loving people just because they are now grown-ups. Then, how can I possibly love the animals when they are small and cute and kill them when they grow big? I didn’t have the answer and that made me feel sick that I was senseless.

I have heard everything from “The Food Chain Philosophy” to “Plants Have The Life Too” debate from the non-vegetarian friends. I’m no one to judge or condemn anything but have the full freedom to follow what I truly believe in.

I don’t know if I will ever eat meat in my life again but there was never a single moment when I regretted my decision. So, I’m good so far. 🙂

Tip for anyone who wants to quit meat: If you see some really yummy food made of meat, try to immediately fill your stomach with something else that you can immediately find (I vote for banana or beans). When the hunger is dead, the brain would automatically stop shouting at other sensory organs (eyes and nose are the culprits here 🙂 ) to have that craving. Gradually, you won’t even feel you are controlling yourself. That’s the power of habit.