I decided to become a vegetarian almost two years ago and have had no regrets since making this decision. I feel as though this is one personal decision that can actually incite change and difference in the attitudes of the public. Deciding to cut meat out of your diet means asking a lot of questions and second guessing ingredients to make sure there is no type of contamination. But it will be worth it.

One of the main reasons I decided to cut meat out of my diet was the horrible treatment of animals. The cages that animals are put in are entirely too small and do not give them any room to move around in. They are forced to live out their relatively short lives in a cramped, dirty cage; any offspring that they have are taken away from them and the only time they see them is during feeding time, where are they are most often underfed. They live in squalor and are repeatedly abused and endangered. Many animals drop dead and are left in the general population to rot, while the majority of the animals are forced to walk all over them because they have no other room to move around in. This can spread diseases that lead to even more animal deaths, which is almost ridiculous to think about in an industry that profits off of the routine murder of animals. The animals that are brought to the slaughterhouse are often traumatized. There have even been reports of animals making high distressed noises similar to screaming as they are lead to their deaths because they know exactly what is ahead of them. The way these animals are "cared for" and ultimately killed leaves them with a very short and bleak life.

Another reason I decided to abstain from meat is that it is not actually that healthy. The journal of the American Medical Association actually reports that a vegetarian life style can prevent between 90-97% of heart disease and that the kidneys of a meat eater has to work almost twice as hard than that of a vegetarian. The conditions of the meat in transport is also ridiculously unsafe for human consumption. There are multiple instances of meat being rejected by one buyer as unsafe and that meat just continuously gets brought to different suppliers until one decides to accept. The way the same meat is packaged is not conducive to a healthy meal; they are incredibly vulnerable to diseases and other impurities that can work its way into the meat that a consumer decides to eat. The transportation of meat for restaurants is just as risky, and many do not use coolers, which dangerously lowers the temperature of the meat — which can then give the consumer food poisoning. Actually, if you adopt a vegetarian diet you are less likely to even get food poisoning in the first place.

I do not see myself ever going back to eating meat. The reality is that the treatment of the animals is something that I never want to be apart of again and is a cornerstone of an industry I do not think deserves my money. The health factor is also crucial to me as I do not trust the meat industry to adhere to any safety standards, as they have proved they do not care as much as they should. The meat industry does not and will not care because the mass public does not care. There is no widespread outrage or dent in their sales because we have all been fed the lie that meat is necessary and required to live a healthy life. I implore you to rethink this and decide on your own, and I hope you will not only choose to live a cruelty free lifestyle, but also try to spread awareness on the truth about the meat industry.