About 8 months ago, I watched a video in my college English class that changed my life in a good way. PETA released a short video entitled “Meet Your Meat” which documents the horrifying conditions that animals live in when they are in factory harms. My professor went on to teach us about the torture they endure, which is just so cruel and downright disgusting.

We learned about almost every aspect of the meat, fish and dairy industries. It was only three days into the course and I had already sworn off meat. Every time I looked at a piece of chicken, my mind just instantly played the video of the chickens being squished in cages.

Here’s a little backstory for you. I’ve never been the biggest meat eater. I only ate chicken if it was in the shape of nuggets and only ate ground beef if it was on nachos at my favorite Tex-Mex restaurant. I hated seafood so I didn’t have to worry about that.

The main reason as to why I went vegetarian was because I couldn’t stand the thought that the food I was eating had experienced that kind of pain. I was so disgusted that the companies who produce this “meat” did not give a single thought to how the animals were feeling. If you are one of those people who believe that animals can’t feel, I highly recommend reading either the novel Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer or the essay Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace.

After reading both of these in my English class, it was clear to see that animals do indeed feel and they go through extreme amounts of pain in factory farms.

It was rather easy for me to make the switch to a vegetarian diet. As stated before, I wasn’t a big meat eater so my diet didn’t change much. However, I have found myself eating more vegetables and fruits than I have in the past. Because I changed my diet, I have seen a definite improvement in my health.

I have lost weight, my skin is cleaner, and my body overall feels healthier. I think that becoming vegetarian was definitely the best idea that I’ve had in an extremely long time. I can’t speak for everyone, but I can say that changing my diet was a simple thing and you should try it! Even if it’s only for a day or a week, it’s still worth a shot.

I also highly recommend for everyone, meat and plant eaters alike, to take 12 minutes out of your day and watch the video or read books about it. It doesn’t hurt to be informed about what you are putting in your body!