Why I became a vegetarian

There are several reasons why people decide to become vegetarian around the world, and perhaps it has something to do with something I often say: The amount of reasons to be vegetarian compared to the amount not to be vegetarian is staggering. there are simply too many reasons to argue against, in fact I believe it's impossible to argue against, it's too strong.

Everyone's journey is unique, but there are many similarities. Some choose to cut out meat for environmental reasons, others for health reasons (no, eating meat is not healthy and science has long since proven that and I believe it will continue to do so) or for ethical reasons to defend the ethical treatment of animals. Whatever the reason, it's good, so focus on what impacts you most!

It's been a while since I've actively participated in the movement on social media. I remember that I contributed a lot more previously, perhaps because I was affected by the exposure of jokes, or the loss of faith that I could introduce the conversation and questions into the heads of my friends and family, but lately I've been wanting to get a bit more involved, and I think that maybe this text could be a start. So my aim here is simple: to tell you my story, and to inspire you so that you too can have your own, along the way I'll give you some tips, and maybe you'll identify too.

The start of my journey took no time at all, that's right, you've probably heard of things like “Meatless Monday”, where participants cut out the use of animal meats every Monday or other day, and the idea is that, over time, you manage to eliminate one more day as time goes by, 2 times a week, 3 times, onwards. You could say I did the complete opposite...

But let's go back a bit first. If you know me, you know that I love sports, and if you know me even more, you'll know that since I was a child I've always played soccer and as a teenager I also started doing gymnastics at the school I went to, during this time I did what everyone does when they are part of these activities and culture, I significantly increased my protein intake, there was a time when I feel like I lost all my connection with the pleasure of eating, I would literally get sad when I saw that it was time for me to eat my rice with chicken and something else.

I ate absurd amounts, all for aesthetics and what I thought at the time was health. Even today, when I think about that time, I overflow with sadness, because I wasn't aware of how much life I was taking and how much suffering I was supporting, and it wasn't out of need or hunger. Fortunately, that time is gone. I'll also say that this experience I've clearly mentioned wasn't my only experience and view of animal-based foods. Like most people, I always loved eating meat when I was younger, and I have my fond memories, which I can relive today without sacrificing my life.

In the month of December 2019, something happened, I realized that for weeks I hadn't eaten an ounce of animal meat, I just didn't eat it, I didn't feel like it and I was fine with that, I also noticed that in the 2 or 3 preceding months I had also been eating little or none of it.

And then comes the part where everyone always has a reaction (be it positive, negative, both, you name it), on Christmas Eve of that year, I declared (to myself) that from that day on I would no longer eat meat. My family has never celebrated Christmas, and on this particular date I was just sitting at home, watching TV, playing computer games, etc. as if it were any other day. Suddenly I started watching documentaries and videos about veganism, vegetarianism and the animal cause. Today I've been a vegetarian for almost three years and one day I hope to become a vegan.

It was the animals, what touched me and made me cry was seeing the suffering of each one of them, I don't think I can explain that part, you have to see it for yourself, that's the part that only you can take the courage and do. After all, it's not something we want to see, it's not comfortable, it doesn't matter if you consume meat or animal products or not, you sympathize with the pain and ponder, how and why do so many animals have a life like this? where you are born and die in pain, where you are just a mere product, where your life is irrelevant.

We are so blind to the idea of animals being our food. We go to the supermarket, buy the cut of meat we want, cook it and eat it without ever asking ourselves how it ended up on our plate. The truth is that the most we have on our plates as a society is blood, pain, corpses, pus and, above all, sadness. And even though I'm a vegetarian - I'm not yet a vegan, so I still contribute to all this, I still violate animal rights on an almost daily basis, but it's important that we try our hardest to reduce all this.

We forget that these animals were actually living in cages that were sometimes smaller than their bodies. We turn a blind eye to the fact that they are injected with hormones and growth agents. We ignore the fact that they are raped. We ignore the fact that they aren't fed properly, so they resort to licking metal cages or eating their own feces. And somehow, we're okay with eating that meat. From the moment I decided to try not to forget, it became much easier.

My hope is that maybe something has changed for you, if it hasn't or you don't feel ready to make a drastic change yet, that's fine, start by thinking more about it, start for 1 day a week, start by including more vegetables in your diet, start by consuming content, by informing yourself, just start.

Here are some random but objective tips to help you:

• Watch documentaries, there are several on Netflix, but you don't necessarily need a streaming service, but I recommend them: Cowspiracy, What the Health, Dominion, Seaspiracy, Okja (movie).

• Get involved with content on the social network you use most, usually the best place for this is instagram, follow content creators, as they give lots of practical and quick tips, such as recipes and/or meal-preps.

• Once you've familiarized yourself with this whole environment and its purpose, then get to work, make recipes, try new ingredients and flavors, it will be easier and more enjoyable. I love to eat and I can tell you that I don't miss meat one bit to satisfy me emotionally and physically.