“Vegetarians who eat fish are actually onto something!”
The above linked article kind of made my day.
I have been a pescetarian for several months now – near half a year. Honestly, it has been difficult at times, but not for the reasons you might think.
The difficulty is not, as many assume, the removal of meat from my diet. In all honesty, I had been forcing myself to make sure I had meat in my diet prior to becoming a pescetarian. The issue is that my choice is relatively unpopular in the southeast, and therein lies the challenges with my lifestyle change. Friends have looked at me in disbelief, as have strangers. I feel like quite a nuisance when I am being entertained and feel the need to mention that, if I do not eat a meat dish, my reason is a lifestyle choice, not a snooty response to the cooking. These are all things I am getting used to, and are not enough to deter my choices for now. I honestly have felt healthier and more like myself ever since I began this choice.
You see, I have wanted to be a vegetarian since I was a young child. This desire came from the sadness and guilt I felt when I learned that chicken came from chickens, steak came from cows, etc. I was not allowed to become a vegetarian, however, because my parents did not believe it would be healthy for a “growing child” to go without the protein in meat. In many ways, they may have been correct. Nonetheless, after being on my own for several years, I finally have decided to at least try out this lifestyle I have always felt more attuned to. Now my reasoning is somewhat more mature. When I was still eating meat, it was a decision that I had to make blindly – meaning if I thought about the meat industry or saw a chicken truck, I would not eat meat until I forgot about it. In general, I don’t feel good about blindly supporting things that I do not ethically support. Further, as a Christian, I personally believe that God gave us domain over animals when he created Adam and Eve. I know that He never told us to be vegetarians; however, I also think He wanted us to practice that domain ethically and with love. The conditions that we put our “meat” through before it gets to us is not something I could any longer endorse. So I began the removal of meat from my diet with Lent, and have continued since. Who knows how long it will go on! But in the mean time, I am quite pleased to read something supporting both the health benefits and the ethics of my life choices. Hooray!
amormundial 