My name is Lydia Guevara and I’m a vegetarian. Fire. At. Will. If you’re asking yourself the question “Who the hell is this girl?” be comforted by the fact that you’re among the majority of readers asking the same question. I’ve recently been involved with a PETA vegetarian campaign set to launch in South America. You can also call me a bit of an animal rights activist. If you’re still reading this I appreciate you tolerance, I know that nothing gets under an omnivore’s skin more than a vegetarian with a plot to preach.
The stigma accompanies most animal rights activists and vegetarians alike. We’re known as the people who ruin your dinner parties by pushing our beliefs onto you while you try to eat your meal, we throw paint on your leather coats, we pull a never ending thread of graphic statistics of animal deaths out of our sleeves at a moment’s notice! Believe me, I understand the turn-off. Though I never thought bullying someone into a certain lifestyle has ever been a good idea, nor is it effective.
I like to think I’m a bit softer than the average bleeding-heart bunny hugger. I know that most people genuinely care about animals, and I don’t think people who consume meat are soulless idiots that haven’t a thought in their head. I’ve been fortunate enough to have never come across an individual that would be okay with watching an animal get killed in front of them, for any reason. Though just because it isn’t happening in front of you, does that make it okay?
I suppose it comes down to perspective. I came to the realization just before I became a vegetarian that every time I consumed a meat product or purchased the latest leather handbag I was, in a way, giving my consent to killing the animal itself. I decided that I was not ok with that. Eating meat just doesn’t seem to be a top option for us anymore, especially when there are so many healthy and environmentally friendly alternatives.
You might be saying “But LG eating meat is just so easy, I can get it anywhere I want and it’s cheap!” Is it an easy option? Sure – the industry has made it easy for us and they have made it that we’re so far removed from what happens to these animals that all they have to do is put a colorful ad on TV with a catchy jingle, throw a toy at the kids when they buy their burger fun-meals and we ignorantly assume that things really aren’t that bad.
Unfortunately what these animals have to endure when it comes to their deaths is probably much worse than you can imagine. Since the demand for meat is growing exponentially the production output must be pushed to the max. This means hiring more workers who are willing to work for less money and have less skill when it comes to handling the animals. When you’re a beef corporation that has increasing demand, your sole priority is high numbers and profit, not sensitivity or quality of care. The industry does not have the time or the incentive to be kind to these animals when it comes to their slaughter.
“Well whatever, I still say it’s a natural thing to eat meat”. Well I’m not too sure about that. If you’re living in a highly developed nation, such as the US, chances are there isn’t anything too natural about what you’re eating as far as meat is concerned. Fast food, the purchasing leader of beef and chicken in the United States, contains more additives than it does actual meat. Most of their meat has chemicals in it to make your burger/chicken sandwich smell and taste a certain way. Natural, you say? If we were th
