How my son turned me into a Vegetarian?
..because I was tired of lying to my 4-year-old son. Lying every day. Lying whenever he asked me the question. I felt like a cheat and the biggest hypocrite.
Somewhere around 9 years of age, the first time I actually went to the chicken shop with my father and saw the entire episode. I was aghast. I was pained. I came back home shocked. Two hours later, I had traded ….my palette a slave …I pretended to repress what I had seen...and all was well. Next time onwards ...I pledged not to accompany my father to the shop. Rationale well placed. Palate well placed at the top.
‘We don't say bad words or hurt anyone.’ Don't we all say this regularly to our children? I am doing the same. ‘It's not nice. Don't pluck flowers. Don't uproot plants. Don't throw the pebble at the dog. Don't stamp on the earthworm. Let the ants be; let them go home. You have to be sensitive to people and animals.’
‘Then do we kill them and eat?’
Silence...one long silence and then came the bouncer- ‘But you say that we shouldn't hurt anyone.’ (He is an avid reader of animals and knows it far too well now that chickens, goats, and fish are living beings.)
Meanwhile, I got a chance to read The Sustainability Secret: Rethinking Our Diet to Transform the World … and what is revealed was not only nauseatingly appalling but also deeply distressing. The statistics and the facts are enough for one lifetime of shame and guilt. I realized how much of a hypocrite I have been all this while. The only difference is that I didn’t get to kill. But I ate knowing very well that my taste buds are propelling a cold-blooded murder. All for the sake of my taste buds and protein intake. Ridiculous.
Son, I write to you out of remorse, shame, and tons of guilt. I only hope you will understand while growing up what goes into different cultures where eating non-vegan meals is part and parcel of upbringing a child. The palate gets addicted and trusts me; it's hard to get over. Now that you are in my life, I can only ensure that I walk the talk and hand over to you something more meaningful to live by. I want to give you those answers which you can't question later in your adult life, and should a need arise to question, you should have the freedom and strength to choose another answer and not feel slaved because of some habit that I inculcated in you.
I say this because many non-vegans like me will testify-It’s going to be hard to walk on the vegetarianism path. But I Must. I Will.
I am no animal lover, but I don't want to be a killer too. Yes, we are vegetarian, and we don't hurt anyone. Yes! I was wrong throughout.
Simple. A little late, though…. better than never. That’s just my and my sonny boy's story.
What Studies tell us
Animal breeding and agriculture are the single most important reason our earth gets so crowded, contaminated, polluted, and water depleted. Animal agriculture takes approximately 340 trillion gallons of water. Be it taps, toilets, showers, pipes, or appliances, we cannot be called responsible and water-friendly unless we stop animal agriculture. Studies put across figures which show that with approx.% 97 water on planet earth being saltwater, there is very little freshwater (around 2.5%). Out of this 2.5%, around 69.5% is locked out up in glaciers and snow. What is really left with us is a meager 0.4% water, and it's estimated that by 2025 two-third of the world population will suffer from water shortages. Just one hamburger uses 660 gallons of water—just one.
Don't waste water-Our daily mantra to our children’s it? Huh! It’s a valuable resource. Don't leave the tap open. Wash hands fast. Don't brush your teeth with the water tap turned on. Don't stay in the shower for so long—no playing in the water. And here I was using 660 gallons of water over one hamburger, which I could have easily saved by eating a vegan meal.660 gallons is equivalent to taking a shower for two months.
I am for sure taking my first step.
Findings attributed to the book The Sustainability Secret: Rethinking Our Diet to Transform the World- By Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn.
For more information, please visit the following link.
http://www.cowspiracy.com/shop/the-sustainability-secret-rethinking-our-diet-to-transform-the-world
Image courtesy-Pixabay
Earlier u were playing hide n seek wid ur lovely son....now u r playing on ur front foot......ur first step makes d way for others...... (especially ur fav one)......hope ur lovely son is getting all his answers now (honestly)😃
ReplyDeleteHello Ranjan, I am late in my reply. I apologize. Its difficult as of now because for someone who has been a 'non-veg person'. Craving come and go and I am trying hard.
DeleteFor my son...yes...I too hope he gets his answers as honestly as possible.
As of now I quit NV... but I was thinking, r we not killing plants for our food.... which r also living organisms.... what I feel is y can't we just let the plant grow on its own n as our food supplement we can use just the food produced by plants for them.... I don't mean to hurt anyone's feelings but this is one of my silliest( may be the most genious) question...
ReplyDeleteHello Sudarshan,
DeleteThere is a difference in being a vegetarian and being a vegan.Its a matter of choice. I choose vegetarianism as of now. Veganism goes a step further in the direction you are talking. After all its all about the choices we make for ourselves.