New Perspectives

By Courtney Willey

When I started college, I became more environmentally aware and I adopted a Buddhist philosophy. With this new mindset, eating meat became something that sat uneasily with me, but I didn’t have the motivation to give it up. That motivation came last March, when I found a PETA pamphlet someone had discarded in one of my classes. What I saw in it was revolting. I had never comprehended the degrading ways in which chickens, pigs and cows are raised and slaughtered. I knew what I saw was wrong; animals aren’t meant to be treated like this. I decided to become vegetarian from that point on. Then, about a month ago, when the big PETA exhibit came to campus, I decided to step up my commitment and go vegan after reading the literature they were passing out.

The decision to go vegetarian was probably the hardest I have ever faced. I come from a family of conservative hunters and big meat eaters; some sort of meat dish is the entrée at every meal. When I told my family that I was no longer eating meat, they ridiculed me. They couldn’t understand why I was doing it and supported me very little. It was very hard for me to stick to it because I felt completely alone, but my conviction was strong enough to last. Nine months later, they still don’t completely agree with my reasoning as to why I’m vegan, and still tell me that I’m only one person and I can’t change the world, but they have at least broadened their horizons a little bit; they now try vegan dishes with me sometimes and they’ve finally accepted that I’m vegan.

I feel that I have an ethical obligation to not eat or use animal products. As a Buddhist, I feel that animals are not ours to use as we please, and they deserve equal respect as living creatures. As an environmentalist, I know raising animals for food is detrimental to the environment. For me, going vegan was just an ethical commitment that I needed to do, and I’m happier and healthier for doing it!