A few Fridays ago, which was incidentally Earth Day, I was headed back to my dorm from class when I was approached by a man wearing nothing but what appeared to be a shower curtain. He proceeded to hand me a flyer on veganism and headed on his way.
Normally, when I am handed an unsolicited flyer, pamphlet, or business card of any sort, my first instinct is to promptly toss it into the recycling bin. I almost did with this flyer too, after I had fished it from the depths of my backpack. However, I stopped to look at it. The flyer listed several reasonably compelling reasons to go vegan (read: several reasonably compelling reasons to not eat meat).
Now, people may choose to adopt a vegan lifestyle for reasons such as eating healthier, concern for the environment, or concern for animal welfare. Whatever their reason may be, I can respect their decision. However, I personally could never adopt a vegan lifestyle. Here are five reasons why.
1. Meat and dairy substitutes will never taste as good as the real thing.
As some of you may know, I often try to steer clear of dairy products because they do hideous things to my skin. But I’ve yet to find a milk substitute that I enjoy drinking. I tried to have my mocha made with almond milk the other day, and it tasted like dirt. Sorry.
2. I love breakfast.
There are egg substitutes. There are bacon substitutes. There are vegan, gluten free pancakes and waffles and bread. But they’re just not the real thing. I couldn’t give up my favorite (and also most important) meal of the day.
3. I also love dessert.
There are some reasonably good tasting vegan desserts, but ice cream is my one true love and I just don’t think I could give that up.
Now, on a more serious note:
4. I love hunting and fishing.
I personally believe that hunting and fishing are very important. Not only for fun, but also as a way to provide fresh, free range food for myself and my family.
On that note, it is important to remember that the Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Service has wildlife biologists whose sole job is to calculate numbers and quotas on hunting and fishing that ensure the fish and game populations stay healthy. Hunting and fishing are one way that animal populations are controlled so that populations don’t become too large.
5. Hunters, fisherman, and ranchers are some of the most avid conservationists I know.
One claim on the flyer that I found incredibly wrong and untrue from my own personal experience was that, “you can’t be a meat-eating environmentalist.” In my own personal experience, I have found hunters, fisherman (commercial or otherwise), and ranchers to be some of the greatest advocates for conservation.
Especially in the case of commercial fisherman and ranchers, their livelihood depends on respecting the environment. Fisherman, ranchers, and hunters all believe in doing their best to conserve the land, and to take care of the land. If one respects the earth, the earth respects one in return.
The fact of the matter is that in order to protect the environment, we all must work together to conserve and protect it. Laying blame on one party or another for “killing the planet” is getting us nowhere. Respect each other, respect the earth, and the earth will respect you in return.
