How I became a Vegetarian

     People become vegetarian for many reasons, for me it
was a reason of conscience and health. As a child, I felt guilty
about eating animals. At dinner I would comment that I felt sorry
for the cow or the turkey. There’s something disturbing about seeing
a cow grazing peacefully by the side of the road and then ordering a
hamburger at a restaurant. Walking by the meat section of the grocery
store and seeing blood dripping in the meat package,
always drove the cruelty of life closer to home. I remember dressing up
as a cow and ordering a hamburger at McDonald’s one Halloween
and thinking how ironic I was. My parents were steak and salad
people, omnivores. Although my aunt and middle school
math teacher were vegetarians, I had never given vegetarianism
any thought, until I met a Vegan, Bert, in college. We started
jogging together (me keeping up as best I could) and it slowly
started to dawn on me how healthy he was. One day just before
new years, and a week before I turned 21, I was walking through
the new book section of a local library, and found a book called
"Why do vegetarians eat like that?". I realized that becoming a
vegetarian would allow me to be healthy and feel less guilty about
the food I ate. My friends and family were surprised but supportive
of my choice. I often came home with stacks of vegetarian and nutrition
books to answer my constant stream of questions.

-OmniFox