Dear Vegans,
So you don’t eat meat or ay animal products whatsoever. That’s great to hear. Really, it is. That's your choice, and I respect that. If you tell me you’re vegan, I will accommodate you as I can.
However, I am not vegan. I will never be a vegan. I quite enjoy eating meat and using animal products. And you should respect that as my decision. Sadly, I’m coming to realize that many (not all) vegans refuse to accept my decision to consume meat. And that’s where I get upset. I have the capability to accept your decision, so why can you not accept mine?
As a former Future Farmer's of America member and a student in agricultural studies, I proudly support farmers and ranchers. I am well aware of the practices they use in order to mass produce enough food to fulfill the demands of consumers. What I’ve come to notice on social media from vegans is, and there’s no easy way to put this, there is a large amount of ignorance and false information spread around that is believed only because someone posted it. It baffles me every time I see some claim against the ag industry that I know to be completely wrong, yet it has been shared thousands of times. Don’t get me wrong, I really don’t care if you’re vegan, but I really do care if you’re vegan for the wrong reasons.
Consider this: the price per 100 pounds of beef cattle averaged $124 this year, meaning finished cattle that are ready to be slaughtered are worth roughly $1,488 (assuming they weigh 1,200 pounds). Therefore, the claims that farmers mistreat their livestock just don’t make sense. Why would someone do anything to damage an asset worth so much money? It doesn’t make sense. Farmers invest so much into what they do, and they care so much about feeding the world. They want to produce quality products, so any animal cruelty or mistreatment of the animals would cause stress, in turn reducing the quality of meat available for sale. It just doesn’t make sense.
I have absolutely no problem with people who choose to not eat meat. I do have a problem with people who support PETA. The organization produces videos and images used as scare tactics that falsely portray the agricultural industry as one of abuse and torture. Nothing seems to anger me more than when I see these videos pop up on my Facebook newsfeed from people I know. It hurts me that so many people blindly follow these beliefs without doing any research themselves.
With being vegan, oftentimes I find that there is a strong push against GMOs. And that’s an entirely different story. I guess I’ll never understand the blatant disregard for the hard work that is put into the agricultural industry. I hate to burst your bubble, though, but while you may not eat animal products, you probably use the many by-products that result from the slaughtering of livestock. These include marshmallows, adhesives, gelatin, some soaps, and even some makeup products.
To those that are vegan for reasons other than what has been discussed thus far, I just hope that you made the decision on your own accord. Not because some celebrity has boasted about the health benefits or has degraded age, but because it is honestly what you want for yourself. Continue to be vegan if you want, and I will continue to eat meat all I want. Just please don’t force your choice onto me or try to scare me into not eating meat.
