A lot of people have asked me why I'm vegetarian,
because I am, and I've never eaten meat on purpose my entire life.
Like maybe if the Taco Bell person at the windows screws up my order or something. But
I've never actually eaten meat
and the smell of meat is really disgusting to me, and so I'm vegetarian.
And people ask me why I am, because, you know, is it for religious reasons? Is it for other reasons?
And the truth is
I was vegetarian my entire life because my parents were brought up as Jains
and Jains believe in non-violence.
That religion preaches non-violence. And so,
being a vegetarian and not killing animals for food is part of it.
So, I grew up not eating meat.
And when I lost my faith and--
Rather when I gave up my faith, because I didn't want it anymore, around like 14,
I thought about vegetarianism and it seemed to still make sense, all those arguments I always heard
that, you know, you shouldn't kill animals,
you can eat healthy food without it. It is healthier to be vegetarian.
That all still made sense
and so, it's not like I started eating meats when I became an atheist.
And now, you know,
I'm vegetarian. And the funny thing is I used to think it was such a big deal.
And, you know, I could never date anyone or marry anyone who
was a meat-eater.
And atheism... like, "I could probably date or marry someone who is religious". That wasn't a big deal.
And now that is totally shifted.
Like now it's like, "No, atheism means a lot to me."
"But the funny thing is my vegetarianism,
I don't really think it's a big deal anymore." And it's weird because
I can eat dinner with people
who are eating meat
and it doesn't bother me one bit.
Like you would think if I was vegetarian for ethical reasons,
part of me would be really upset when people around me are eating meat
and it doesn't faze me one bit. And I have no desire, no impulse
to stop them.
And even if that's rude, I have no desire to start a conversation about
why they would eat that meat. I just don't care.
And I wonder if that makes me a bad vegetarian, because it's like, "Huh, it's my thing. I don't really care if it's your thing or not."
And then-- But when we talk about ethical reasons,
now I even have to ask myself if I really am doing it for ethical reasons, because
I'm not vegan.
I drink milk, I eat cheese. I mean, there's a lot of food I eat that
animals suffer in order to get it,
in order for me to get access to it.
And I have no problem with that, you know, and
I should if I'm a vegetarian, you would think.
I remember dissecting a cat when I was in anatomy class in high school.
That didn't bother me either. I assumed the cat died and,
you know, just like humans die and you can give your body
to science, I assumed the cat died of whatever natural causes and
now I was dissecting it. And that didn't bother me either.
So, all these people-- I keep reading all these ethical questions
about vegetarianism.
Like, what if we could synthesize meat in a lab somehow, would you eat it?
And I'm like, "Huh, well, I guess that would be okay."
Or, you know, what if the animal died of natural causes, would you eat it?
I don't know, I don't think I would,
but probably more because it just seems disgusting to me and not for any real ethical reasons.
I just don't--
I don't know where I stand on the issue and I guess I bring this up in this video
because, you know, if someone's religious
-- very religious -- or they're praying around me at a table,
or they're preaching their religious faith,
inside, I'm kind of screaming on the inside.
You know, I try to be polite in public, but part of me wants to have that conversation with them, or I want to have a debate
about why they're religious and why they think God exists and all that.
And you would think the same thing would happen
around people who eat meat. And yet
I don't have that at all. So,
I guess I'm throwing this out there to all of you
because I'm sure a lot of-- I've met a lot of atheists who are vegetarian for ethical reasons,
I guess, you know, convinced me why I should still be a vegetarian more than anything else.
It's not like I suddenly have a desire, by the way, to eat meat.
And if I go into a store where they're selling meat, like I can smell it, and I still don't like it.
So, it's not like I'm--
I'm looking for a reason to eat it,
but I don't really-- I don't feel like I have a strong of a justification
for being a vegetarian today
as I might have had, you know,
a year ago, a decade ago even.
I don't know, I guess I'm--
I guess I'm almost more disturbed by preachy vegans
than I am by people who eat meat,
who don't care about it one bit, who don't think about that at all.
And I feel like there's something wrong with me
if I'm a vegetarian and I don't care about
why people are not.
Like there's no part of me that wants to be preachy about my vegetarianism.
So, I don't know, I don't know if you feel the same way. I don't know
what your reasons are for eating meat or not eating meat, but
I'm very curious what you think about
me as a vegetarian, whether you think I'm--
I'm doing it for the right reasons or the wrong reasons, or
you know, or if it doesn't matter at all. Maybe it doesn't matter. It's just my personal thing, and who cares?
But I'd love to hear some feedback on that.
My name is Hemant Mehta and I write at FriendlyAtheist.com
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