The Killing Way

I have been a `vegetarian' for the past fourteen years. I'm a `vegetarian' and not a vegetarian because I'm quite flexible with this diet, like when I go out with friends, I could join them in practically any restaurant (when I'm in a good mood) and order my food without meat or sea food in it...

And I eat eggs, cheese and most other dairy products.

So my friends say I'm a cool `vegetarian'. Everyone asks me why, nowadays I say it's my life style and I'm happy with it and have no intention of going back to meat anytime soon.

But you see, it's more than just life style, really. I hate to see animals get killed. I grew up with a strange biasness for animals...when I was about eight or so, I thought to myself that my fellow human beings are protected because we have mom and dad and old people have their children to take care of them; but the poor stray cats and dogs on the streets have to fend for themselves.

Without knowing what God is and whether there is one, I prayed for all the stray animals I saw outside of my home. During Chinese new year when we went to my aunt's house in Ipoh, I got to see the people in my aunt's house slaughtered chickens from their own back yard, it didn't gross me out (I don't get gross out by watching blood) but I felt so sorry for the chickens.

Then came one day when my mom turned vegetarian, in the mid 80's, then me when I was 14...and then my dad, and then my brother. My sister is not a vegetarian today but she prefers the green, I think.

When I first know how to articulate my principle and my opinion I became the defensive kind of vegetarian, always ready for a debate in the issue of this diet. I'm less of that now but I'm more sure that I will always stay away form eating animals, for the rest of my life.

Sometimes my policy becomes a blur when I'm faced with more facts about the meat-eating eco systems in the wild, and the human health relating to obtaining certain nutrients from animal products.

But I think it's total bullocks to say that one can't be healthy on a vegetarian diet. It's sheer stupidity to think that we should consume more tasty meat dishes because:

1. Life is short
2. We will die one day anyway
3. Eat pig brains will make you smart
4. etc

A balanced diet is made up of food groups that provide everything your body needs to stay normal = healthy. There's nothing you can't replace with plant food that you get from animal food...even things like Vitamin B12.

Excerpts from my article To Green Or Not To Green in [Health & Beauty]- May 2003:

"...B-12 is not found in plant foods except when they are contaminated by microorganisms. Vegetarians need to obtain Vitamin B-12 from other sources. This substance is needed for blood formation and cell division and the lack of it can cause irreversible nerve damage.

Vitamin B-12-rich foods: Vitamin B-12 is added to some yeast extracts, Soya milks, veggie burgers, bread and some breakfast cereals, tempeh, miso, and sea vegetables (amount of vitamin B12 present depends on the type of processing the food undergoes)."

But apart from all that facts, I just hate to see animals get killed to become my meals. I'm very happy with my `vegetarian' diet, I'm not missing out on anything in life, if you think I'm a fool...hehe, it's more of your problem rather than mine because I'm happy the way I am.

Lately I have been exposed to a few anti-cruelty to animal campaigns on the internet. The activists' videos of the killings (for clothing and food) is heart wrenching and it really affects you.

Sealing in Canada
Fur farm in China

My parents are now vegans because they say eggs aren't too ideal for their old age. My dad and mom still argue about petty things at home but they are very nice to animals, my dad takes care of this stray dog left in his work place (a factory in Taiping). During my CNY stay my dad would take time off to check on the pup to make sure it was recovering from a cold (he fed the pup medicine the week before)...

Eating shark fin is uncool, potatoes taste better.
Vegetarian diet if done the right way, it's a great way to slim down, just look at me.