If I am being honest, one day I woke up and decided that I simply did not want to eat meat anymore. Disclaimer, I still eat fish, eggs and some dairy products so technically I am a lacto-ovo pescatarian. But since the beginning of January, I only relapsed on meat twice and that was a few weeks after I started this so-called "new lifestyle." But other than that I have not touched red or white meat and I am almost four months free of it.
So why did I decide to just give it up? Well since you asked, my first issue was that I soon became very disgusted and uncomfortable with how meat was produced. Every time I now look at chicken or beef I am reminded that this meat was once a living, breathing thing. Do I really want to eat something dead and most likely squeezed through a tube? No. I just did not feel healthy about it, considering that this living thing once had legs.
Of course, my empathy for animals plays a huge role but I strongly feel that humans were just not designed to eat meat. Yes, I understand hunting, survival, protein and the food chain, but take a look at your own teeth. Human teeth are more designed like herbivores. We have no claws or no sharp teeth like carnivores, but more similar characteristics to herbivores who have flat molars for chewing, not ripping meat to shreds.
However, I do not judge anyone who eats meat because I once did. I understand how difficult it could be to give up something from your daily diet, hence why I am still working on giving up fish. Through this process, I discovered how many more healthy options and replacements there are instead of eating flesh. Although soy may not be the most delicious item on the menu, it sure does curve my cravings for meat, which I barely have anymore. With the right seasoning and spices, soy is now a part of my daily diet. Soy hot dogs, soy meatballs, and veggie burgers are a thing if you didn't know.
Once I had stopped eating meat, I noticed that vegetables really helped fill me up. I used to always feel hungry, thinking that my body needs to feed off another animal in order to survive. Now I can't even look at a piece of meat without feeling the sense of my body shriveling. Another disclaimer, I am not pushing anyone to give up meat, I am just explaining how I now see it.
Even though I do feel healthier, going out to eat is not the easiest. I never want to be a hassle especially if I go over to my friend's house and they are serving meat for dinner. Sometimes I get lucky if pizza is served because I can just scrape the pepperoni off it. But when I do go out to eat, there are a lot of options to substitute meat. For example, when you go to Chipotle and do not order meat in your burrito, you have the option of extra guacamole for free. Extra guac will usually cost you.
Along with meat, I have also given up a large amount of dairy. No milk in my coffee or cereal. Almond milk is such an easy and tasty replacement. Something about drinking milk from another animal's utter has been grossing me out for a while. In case you didn't know, we are currently the only mammals that drink another species milk. Giving up dairy completely is super difficult considering it is in so many products we consume daily, but I am open to trying.
Protein is not an issue because it is in other products such as tofu, quinoa (similar to rice), nuts, beans, chia seeds and more. All of these products are also vegan. Still not convinced it may be beneficial to give up meat? I noticed that I had also dropped a few pounds, but stress from college clearly counteracted that. The risk of high blood pressure and cancer are also reduced. I now think that I will never be able to bite into any white or red meat again without hearing an animal noise.