Life is an Art

Vegetarians and Vegans, What’s the Point?

I had this conversation with a colleague. Some food talks came about and he said he was a vegetarian. It was the first time I met one in person. I’d read about them but I’ve never come across one.

“You mean you don’t eat meat, gizzard and the tasty baked chicken?” I asked in surprise. I couldn’t imagine myself giving up on suya and baked/roasted chicken.

“Yes. Fish is okay but no to meat”. He blatantly said.

“Don’t you feel you’re missing out?”

“Nope. It was a personal decision. My family does eat meat”.

I furthered no more question and discussed the incident with my sister when I got home. She told me that incidents do lead people to become vegetarians, vegans and the rest. I decided to pose that question to him next time.

“Why did you decide to become a vegetarian?”

“You see, my mother has a poultry farm where she rear chickens. I’ve killed a chicken twice in my life and it was hard…really hard. The last time was painful. I shed tears and couldn’t bear it anymore. I then thought ‘why kill the innocent lives because we’re more powerful than them? Why rear and feed animals just to kill them at the end? What if there was a more powerful being…probably a giant rearing and eating us up?’ That was when I decided to stop eating animals. I can eat their products but not their meat”. He said.

“How about fishes? They’re also living beings”.

“They cannot be compared to animals. Most fishes are dead before they are even bought and cooked”.

I argued no further but went home to reflect…and this is my observation.

Animals aren’t the only living being with souls like me. The fishes and sea animals also have souls. The living plants that are eaten as vegetables have souls and feel pain also when cut and killed. The fact that they don’t talk or show any element of pain doesn’t mean they don’t. The same goes with the animal products. If we experience the pain hen feels when laying eggs, we wouldn’t want to eat it. We would sometimes see elements of blood on it. We should also not forget that the eggs were supposed to transform into a chick. Why eat an unborn animal and prove to be a vegetarian?

Life is all about survival. Some animals feed on other animals and that is their survival instinct. The carnivorous animal cannot survive without feeding on other animals.

We, as humans, remain the highest order and we have power over all living organisms. God also have His supreme power over us. We live, eat and die at the end!

I’m sorry but this is my view about vegetarians and vegans. We’re all entitled to our way of life but this is just me, saying my personal view. If we decide to quit eating plants and animals, how do we then survive?

Share your personal opinion on vegetarians and vegans. You can send your story to mareeam802@gmail.com.

Life is an Art. It is beautiful and lovely. Although behind those lovely designs are challenges and experiences. It’s our duty to be happy. Remember, life is too short to remain unhappy, so smile deeply, love truly and never forget anything that made you smile.

Have a nice weekend!

Maryam AbdulWahab, Life is an Art.