Recently been reading an article on how the food items we consume at public places like restaurants are contaminated with such and such items that are not only harmful to our health, but also detrimental in the long run. In the article, the author mentioned the word ‘dead body eaters’ which denoted non-veg eaters, pun intended or not as the case maybe. The same sort of mentality is also found among non-vegetarians, who don’t shy away from calling vegetarians as ‘grass eaters’. The reason is simple; in some way we are trying to be acceptable, trying to portray we are better.
Why should you be critical of what I chose to eat, as long as it is not harming you or any other person in particular? If non-vegetarians are dead body eaters, every vegetarian diet is not complete without milk and milk products, and everyone knows it is an animal product too, taken from the animal while it is still alive, painfully. You want to know about the pain? Read Maneka Gandhi’s books on why cow’s milk is to be done away with. Also, there is an increasing number of people that would vouch for an egg being a vegetarian item. My question to these, you want to eat eggs? Go ahead, why create such absurd ideas just for acceptance? It is just either including animal produce or avoiding the same in your diet.
I have stopped eating meat and eggs ever since I conceived. People interpret it from their perspective and propagate too. I have my own reasons which are not spiritual or religious but purely personal. Need to mention here that I had conceived after seven years of marriage, and constantly advised by many vegetarian friends that it was due to me being a non-vegetarian, and I never changed my diet till I conceived. The striking thing was the proponents of the theory had an infertile couple in their own families whom I knew very well of. Well, if I had not answered them back on that, it was purely because I felt sorry for their ignorance and cultured enough not to laugh loudly at their insane idea.
The moment I disclose that I don’t eat meat and eggs, many people ask if I belong to such and such a caste. Where a person says they avoid such items on such and such days, people take it with no questions asked, saying you stopped eating such and such items forever sparks a thousand questions. A friend went on to another level of commenting, ‘Despite not eating meat and eggs, you can never belong to my caste while despite me eating meat and eggs, I shall never be considered an outcaste’. I knew it was rude and tried to answer it in the most composed way like, ‘I don’t think I am foolish enough to even want to belong to your caste’.
Some friends ask me about the eating habits of my kids. Well, I was brought up in such a household, I cook for them, though I don’t taste it, need to mention here, cooking for more than 15 years, not every dish has to be tasted for salt. If I have my doubts, my husband and kids are there to help, after all it is for their taste buds that I cook, and let me put it here, I revere the food I prepare for them more than the food I prepare during religious functions.
Some friends blatantly say, ‘good you have become a vegetarian, make your kids vegetarians too’, which irritates me a lot, why would I make a decision for my kids in such a simple thing as eating? Well, healthy eating is one thing, which I definitely would imbibe in my kids, no binge eating too, but why would I be choosing his menu? If I had the liberty to stop eating meat, doesn't my son have an equal right to decide on eating meat or otherwise?
Parents like me take so much pain to not offend or discomfort peers in school by packing only vegetarian food. I think we should also instill tolerance in our kids, if we happen to belong to pure vegetarian eating group, that showing disgust at other’s food and typecasting people on that basis simply proves that we have not yet grown up as humans. Let’s remember, a human when called an animal is despised no matter but being called a vegetable is even worse.
Why should you be critical of what I chose to eat, as long as it is not harming you or any other person in particular? If non-vegetarians are dead body eaters, every vegetarian diet is not complete without milk and milk products, and everyone knows it is an animal product too, taken from the animal while it is still alive, painfully. You want to know about the pain? Read Maneka Gandhi’s books on why cow’s milk is to be done away with. Also, there is an increasing number of people that would vouch for an egg being a vegetarian item. My question to these, you want to eat eggs? Go ahead, why create such absurd ideas just for acceptance? It is just either including animal produce or avoiding the same in your diet.
I have stopped eating meat and eggs ever since I conceived. People interpret it from their perspective and propagate too. I have my own reasons which are not spiritual or religious but purely personal. Need to mention here that I had conceived after seven years of marriage, and constantly advised by many vegetarian friends that it was due to me being a non-vegetarian, and I never changed my diet till I conceived. The striking thing was the proponents of the theory had an infertile couple in their own families whom I knew very well of. Well, if I had not answered them back on that, it was purely because I felt sorry for their ignorance and cultured enough not to laugh loudly at their insane idea.
The moment I disclose that I don’t eat meat and eggs, many people ask if I belong to such and such a caste. Where a person says they avoid such items on such and such days, people take it with no questions asked, saying you stopped eating such and such items forever sparks a thousand questions. A friend went on to another level of commenting, ‘Despite not eating meat and eggs, you can never belong to my caste while despite me eating meat and eggs, I shall never be considered an outcaste’. I knew it was rude and tried to answer it in the most composed way like, ‘I don’t think I am foolish enough to even want to belong to your caste’.
Some friends ask me about the eating habits of my kids. Well, I was brought up in such a household, I cook for them, though I don’t taste it, need to mention here, cooking for more than 15 years, not every dish has to be tasted for salt. If I have my doubts, my husband and kids are there to help, after all it is for their taste buds that I cook, and let me put it here, I revere the food I prepare for them more than the food I prepare during religious functions.
Some friends blatantly say, ‘good you have become a vegetarian, make your kids vegetarians too’, which irritates me a lot, why would I make a decision for my kids in such a simple thing as eating? Well, healthy eating is one thing, which I definitely would imbibe in my kids, no binge eating too, but why would I be choosing his menu? If I had the liberty to stop eating meat, doesn't my son have an equal right to decide on eating meat or otherwise?
Parents like me take so much pain to not offend or discomfort peers in school by packing only vegetarian food. I think we should also instill tolerance in our kids, if we happen to belong to pure vegetarian eating group, that showing disgust at other’s food and typecasting people on that basis simply proves that we have not yet grown up as humans. Let’s remember, a human when called an animal is despised no matter but being called a vegetable is even worse.
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