Can One Make a Difference? Like Actually?

Long story short, I’m a vegetarian and let me tell you why.

It comes to a surprise for a lot of people when I mention I’m a vegetarian. I come from a Muslim family of meat-hungry boys and I try to avoid meat as much as I can.

While I do understand that the protein we get from meat can help with out growth, and meat is able to provide us with many nutrients, my main reason for not eating meat is not only to stay healthy. It’s to make a point. I became vegetarian about 3 years ago when I moved out of Dubai and to Montreal for my undergrad. It was more out of convenience than anything. I wanted to save money and lose weight, but I also only eat ‘halal’ meat and was not bothered to go out of my way to find some.

Overtime, I noticed that I was feeling a lot healthier and fitter whilst being on my vegetarian diet, so I decided to dig a little deeper into it. I learned move about vegetarianism but also the industrial meat industry. Growing up with meat-eaters, and then turning vegetarian, meant that I was constantly pestered about how bad it was for me not to eat meat. Research shows that as long as you are able to keep up your protein intake, you’ll be fine. And there are plenty of foods out there which are high in protein.

Although I do enjoy and crave meat sometimes, the reason why I don’t act upon my cravings is not because I think meat is gross and disgusting, I think the meat industry is gross and disgusting. Earlier when I said ‘halal’ meat, it was because we don’t realize what happens to those animals. The immoral way in which they are killed in completely invalidates their halal label.

People often ask what’s the point and if one person really stopping will make a difference. I might not be making a direct difference, but people talk, and as they say, ‘there’s no such thing as bad publicity.’ And so no matter what people say about my diet, it’s starting a conversation with the possibility of another person lowering their meat intake.