When I was 12 years old, in what I thought was the prime of my digital age, I became exposed to the horrors of the meat industry via YouTube. As a Latina, it is without a doubt that I was raised to eat meat like my family, and never even gave the idea of being a vegetarian the time of day. Then, one day, I came across the not-so-lighthearted part of YouTube, and stumbled upon the famous “Meet Your Meat” video and never looked back.
Within those short 12 and half minutes, I was sold. I had decided that I no longer wanted to incorporate meat into my diet and felt strongly that if I could make at least a small difference and curate a diet without the need for meat, I would do so. My family was outraged — they didn’t understand and continued to cook meat dishes in hopes that it would sway my opinion. To say that the transition was hard is an understatement. Not only was I a child trying to navigate around a new lifestyle, but I was surrounded by a culture that did not know life without this component.
I am now 20, and 8 years ago I was the only vegetarian around in a 10-mile radius. As the years have passed, more and more people have crossed over to becoming vegetarians/vegans and I can thank them for the expanding veggie options at restaurants (although chains like McDonald's and Burger King could use a little work.) When you’ve followed this lifestyle for this long, I cannot even begin to tell you how often people tell me that I don’t make a difference, that animals are here for human consumption, arguments that these animals are going to die anyway, or that I am putting my health at risk. After all this time I have learned to brush off these comments, and for anyone thinking of going vegetarian, you should ignore them as well.
Not everyone is going to agree with this and I understand that. My only hope is that people will respect my choice as much as I am willing to respect theirs. To sum up, in social situations, it’s easy to become discouraged when everyone around you doesn’t see the point. To any reader out there: whatever you choose to do in life, do it with passion, whether this is a fitness activity, a career, or a health decision. If the welfare of animals is something you feel passionate it, defend that passion at all costs.