the awkward question

this past january i decided, after many years of considering it, to become a vegetarian.

it was an easy decision, surprisingly. i've never eaten much meat, in my entire life. as a child, my mother was always frustrated because she would labor over dinner and i usually would eat only the veggies and potatoes. sometimes i would skip dinner altogether and eat cereal.

but interestingly enough, the hardest part about becoming a vegetarian was something i never really expected: The Question.

it has come up many times now, and the first time it was asked i was quite stunned, without really any answer for it. "Why did you become a vegetarian?"

it really is a complicated answer, though it makes perfect sense in my mind. and until now, i hadn't been able to find a concise, clear, and perfect response.

i found this quote today, and i couldn't have said it any better:

"Do we, as humans, having an ability to reason and to communicate abstract ideas verbally and in writing, and to form ethical and moral judgments using the accumulated knowledge of the ages, have the right to take the lives of other sentient organisms, particularly when we are not forced to do so by hunger or dietary need, but rather do so for the somewhat frivolous reason that we like the taste of meat? In essence, should we know better?"

- Peter Cheeke, PHD (Contemporary Issues in Animal Agriculture, 1999)