Going Cold Turkey: Vegetarianism (Part I - My Reasons)

Eating meat has finally stopped making sense.

The idea of converting to a vegetarian lifestyle has been sat patiently at the back of my mind for a large chunk of time. While it seems to me now that there is no logical reason to continue eating meat, two weeks ago my brain couldn't comprehend a day without it.

While I attempted to understand these barriers, I found myself back home after my mindless weekly shop where i'd purchased meat as a force of habit. I'd bought enough to last me a couple of weeks at least, but as I prepared the beasts for the freezer I found myself repulsed by the idea of how convenient it was for me to do so. I get hungry, there's nothing to eat, I purchase the goods, and I'm fulfilled, painless. 

Being so far removed  and only seeing the end product as I would any other grocery, makes it a perfectly impersonal process, i'm sure that if I was handed a knife and told to bring steak for a household I would come back bearing the gift of canned beans and a loaf of bread. 

These thoughts got the ball rolling, however I knew my actions to abstain from meat would not affect the world at large, so why should I be the one to never visit that familiar roast ham haven ever again? Besides, wouldn't, given the chance, the animals that are slaughtered do the same to me in my shoes? I'm just lucky enough to find myself at the top of the food chain looking down; selecting what will sustain my deserving human body for the minute, it's just the way it is. 

Then I reminded myself that no decision I have ever made has affected the world at large, so this is no kind of excuse, I wish instead to change the world inside my head, whether it sends the animal kingdom into a frenzy to break free and run into my open arms to congratulate me or not. 

As for my stance at the top of the food chain, I do not feel I deserve that status, nor do I need it. If it were the case that I had to eat meat or starve to death I would be selfishly and infinitely thankful to our ancestors for teaching the generations to feed, but not now, not with all of the alternatives that are available to experiment with and discover. 

Aside from the obvious nutritional value, I feel I have no real obligation to meat. Aside from beef burgers of the cheese soaked, red in the middle with all the toppings I desire variety, I know I can look back on my meat filled days with a short lived glance. 

Being shown the website www.theppk.com/ by a friend who has recently taken the plunge into vegetarianism helped me to find a bunch of recipes that eased the pain of thinking i'll never eat for pleasure again.

I shall be using this blog space to  describe in detail the hallucinations and night sweats I experience with my withdrawal symptoms, but mainly just to mark my progress and commentate new food experiences. .