Veggie Challenge Winner

I used to be an apologetic vegetarian

I used to be an apologetic vegetarian. When going over for dinner to a meat-eater's place, I would feel guilty for the inconvenience I was causing them. When friends asked me if their meat-eating bothered me, I would reply with a simple "no, not at all!". When asked by a friend or family member if I liked their new leather jacket, my answer would be a "yeah, it looks great!". When friends and strangers asked me why I am a vegetarian, I would reply with "oh, it's just for personal reasons".

Making the transition from vegetarianism to veganism and reflecting on my actions in the past has given me a new perspective. I have realized that choosing to be a vegetarian or vegan is not a personal decision, but in fact a decision that affects millions of lives worldwide. These animals do not choose to be tortured, beaten, experimented on, and killed. They do not choose to join the circus, become a fur coat, or become a hamburger. Today, we live in a society where we have the ability to choose whether or not to support this industry.

I find that the biggest obstacle regarding animal rights is that the general public is very misinformed or uneducated about these issues, just as I was a few years ago. But now I see that every time someone asks me a question about it, I am given an opportunity. It's a chance for me to be a voice for the millions of helpless animals that are unable to speak up for themselves. As a vegetarian, I save roughly 100 lives each year. While this is a significant number of animals, if I can use my vegetarianism/veganism as a statement and use it to educate others about the benefits of this lifestyle, the number of animals that I save will increase exponentially.

Something else that has become apparent to me is that it is SO easy to live cruelty-free. With the growing number of products on the market tailored to the vegetarian and vegan communities, there are endless possibilities when deciding what to eat. Not to mention, the health benefits are incredible - we lead longer, healthier, and more energetic lives. Furthermore, resources are plentiful when it comes to finding tasty recipes, getting advice, and meeting other people with common interests (TVA, Tars, PETA, etc). Many people think that living cruelty-free is very difficult, costly, and time consuming; generally, another unnecessary hassle. We need to let them know just how easy it is to eliminate animal suffering from their lives.

Now, when somebody asks me why I am a vegan, I am not afraid to speak up and tell them exactly why I have chosen this path. An equally valid question to ask that person is why they choose to eat meat. If I can educate and inspire them to make even the smallest changes in their day-to-day life, then collectively we are one step closer towards reaching our final goal - the liberation of all animals.

Gita, teen, from vegetarian to vegan - Toronto ON