This is my story about what inspired me to become a vegetarian. I am not trying to sway or convert people to become vegetarian or vegan. By sharing my experience, I wish to inform people about what I learned. What I saw was very educative and eye-opening. The organization, that taught me much of what I’m sharing, creates positive change and saves lives. My decision to find out more from this organization changed my perspective and influenced me to become a vegetarian. The fact that I was able to meet and pet animals, whose counterparts I once ate, changed my view of meat. I have always loved animals, which is probably why it was such a profound and emotional experience for me to meet them.

As a child, I was always compassionate towards animals, probably because I was exposed to having pets from a very young age. I always remember my childhood with some animal involved. When I was three or four, my family had a red eyed and white furred rabbit named Lizzy. Later that year, we got an American Eskimo puppy who we named Angel. I got various pets throughout my childhood ,as well, such as: guinea pigs, hamsters, birds, frogs, and fish. And finally, after years of begging, for my tenth birthday my family got another dog, a pekingese who we named Walter. Because of these exposures, from a young age I knew of the love an animal can bring, and the admiration that they hold for their owners. From my experience with my pets, especially my dogs, I know that animals have emotions and feelings. Unfortunately, not all animals have the privileged life that my pets do. In fact, in some parts of Asia, dogs “suffer terribly” and are seen as food in the dog meat industry. The same treatment occurs in the meat industry in the United States. If we put animals like dogs and pets up on a pedestal, why don’t most people have the compassion towards other animals?

Up until about a year ago, vegetarianism and veganism was never an option to me. Despite this, though, I felt constant guilt when eating meat. At some points I thought about not eating meat, but I was too lazy and didn't wish to commit to the vegetarian diet. During the summer of 2015, I was visiting my brother at his college in upstate New York. My parents and I traveled around the surrounding towns, and saw an advertisement for an animal sanctuary. At that point, I didn’t know what that entailed, and was under the impression that it was a farm where I could just pet farm animals. This sanctuary is called the Farm Sanctuary, which is the country’s largest and most effective farm animal rescue organization. They have three locations around the United States. Their “mission” is to “protect farm animals from cruelty, inspire change in the way society views and treats farm animals, and promote compassionate vegan living”. On their several locations, they have rescued thousands of animals. It was founded in 1986 to fight the “abuses of factory farming”, and to educate and spread awareness about farm animals. At the Farm Sanctuary, they rescue farm animals from near-death situations, such as slaughterhouses and dairy-farms. They are given the opportunity to live a peaceful life as animals, not food. Many of these animals would be food on someone’s plate if not for the Farm Sanctuary.

Soon after we arrived there, I realized that I was going on a tour to meet animals who had been saved from death and suffering. What was so surprising to me is that all these animals had their own story and probably dealt with more suffering in their lives than I would ever experience. They were the few fortunate ones who get to live a carefree life of luxury. After we watched an informative video, our tour guide led us to see the cows. We were told to be respectful, since we were intruding on their territory. As we walked on to the field, we saw a group of huge, healthy cows. These cows had a vast field to themselves where they could prosper and relax. Our tour group was introduced to two different cows, out of the many, who escaped their lives on slaughter farms. Next we went to the goats, who were saved from dairy farms. They obviously live a happy life, with their freedom to roam, a shady barn to relax in, and a platform that they could climb if they choose to do so. After the goats, we went to see the turkeys and chickens. This was probably the most impactful part of the tour, because in addition to stories, there was visual proof of abuse. When I first saw the turkeys, it was clear of the abuse and treacherous pain they had endured before arriving in this safe-haven. The tour guide told us that turkeys in the meat industry are de-beaked, which means that part of their beaks are removed with some tool. What was so painful to hear, while crouched down next to a turkey, is that this was done without any pain reliever of anesthetic. On all of the turkeys you could see this damage. They are also de-toed, which means that their toes are cut off with shears. We also met pigs, who now live a leisurely life in a barn. They literally were just sleeping and relaxing on top of hay--which seems like a great life. The guide shared that pigs are actually smarter than dogs, a fact that surprised me because we treat pigs so awfully, while dogs live so luxuriously. At the sanctuary were donkeys and sheep as well.

All of these animals somehow changed their unfortunate fate. Many of the stories I heard included the determination of the animals themselves. They escaped death, and were saved by the Farm Sanctuary, where they are well cared for. The Farm Sanctuary opened my eyes to previously unknown information, such as that many of these animals are capable of human emotions. It is so saddening that they are treated as objects for consumption, when they have more to provide. Sheep and Goats are “social animals” and are known to be friendly. They “wag their tails like dogs, they know their names, and they form strong bonds” with both people and other goats and sheep. Goats and Sheep feel: fear, anger, rage, despair, boredom, disgust, and happiness, like humans do. Similarly, chickens and turkeys share features with humans as well and they are socially complex. They can “form well-ordered communities” and learn from “one another in sophisticated ways.” Chickens and turkeys are also intelligent animals who have outperformed dogs and cats on many tests of advanced cognition. Additionally, pigs are “playful and social” and they enjoy “running, socializing, relaxing, and playing in the mud” And like dogs, they know their names and come when their called. The Farm Sanctuary says that pigs are the smartest of their farm animals. In researches, they have been taught to play video games, and are more advanced than dogs and three-year-olds. Cows are animals who are capable of bearing grudges, building friendships, and becoming excited over intellectual challenges. It is a shame that with so many human-like qualities, we abuse these animals by keeping them in overcrowded facilities where they bear mutilations, deformities, and in the end--death.

Once I left the farm sanctuary, I was positive that I didn’t want to eat meat again. After I was told about all of this information, and after meeting and interacting with such barnyard animals--my perspective changed. I feel as if I have an emotional connection with animals, which explains my minimal reluctance to become a vegetarian. It was an immediate decision and I was willing to alter my diet for these moral reasons. It’s been a little over a year, and for now, I am a vegetarian. Hopefully in the future I will become a vegan. Without my trip to the Farm Sanctuary I wouldn’t have gotten this push to become a vegetarian. I am thankful for my experience, not only for making me aware, but for igniting my passion to help these animals that, in my opinion, have more to offer the world.