I became a vegetarian in middle school. I dabbled in it for a while, then gave up, then going into my freshman year of high school I tried it again. I have been a “pescatarian” for the past 10+ years. Vegetarians don’t eat fish or meat, but they do eat cheese, milk, eggs, etc. As a pescatarian, I don’t eat meat, but I do eat fish, cheese, milk, eggs, etc.
I side a lot with being a vegetarian because I don’t eat that much fish. Some days I even border vegan because I’ve switched milk for almond milk for most of my diet. But in technical terms, I’m a pescatarian.
When I started this journey, I did it alllll for the baby animals. I have a huge heart for animals, I love them more than people, and I just wanted to do my part to help.
It was that way for a long time, but in recent years my mindset has changed a lot. I don’t just skip the meat for the animals, I do it for my health. Red meat isn’t great for you anyway, but even chicken or turkey isn’t great because of the way it’s raised. Most affordable meat options aren’t raised in healthy environments and tend to be injected with hormones. There is just something off to me about eating a chicken that grew in a cage of its own poop, never being let out.
I don’t like to preach about being vegetarian, I don’t think it does any good for me to show you videos of cows being slaughtered. Maybe when you’re young it’ll make an impact on you like it did on me, but once people are set in their ways a video they can’t relate to won’t make a difference.
I do urge people to know where they’re buying from, know what’s in your products. And that goes for everything you eat. Where were your veggies grown? What is actually in that processed crap? I’m not perfect, I don’t eat ethically or healthy all the time, but I do make an effort to be informed. I’ve always said that if I could really know that the chicken I was eating lived its years on a farm being able to grow naturally and live naturally, then I would probably start eating meat again.
But for now, that’s not a realistic expectation.
I’ve been trying to cut out meat to. It’s a hard process to go from eating meat all the time to not but I also don’t like all the hormones and stuff they put in the chickens and cows. It causes cancer and it’s bad for the animals to live that way. It makes me sick just thinking about it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would start with just cutting it out for one meal a day and going from there! You’d be surprised how easy it is once you sneak it in meal by meal
LikeLiked by 1 person
Really related to this. I was a vegan for half a decade, but I’ve slipped into a weird sort of vegetarian / pescatarian thing. Thanks for sharing this!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I feel like as I’ve gotten older I care much less about if I’m a vegetarian or vegan or pescatarian and just care more that i’m doing the right thing! Thanks for reading 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
I have thought about the vegetarian thing a lot but I don’t think I can ever fully go through with it. But I have trying to be a lot more conscious about where my meat is coming from. I’m not a fan of supermarket meat anymore. I am moving next month and where I’m going there are a lot of farms. That’s where I want to go from now on to get my meat and dairy cause at least I’ll know where it’s coming from and can personally ask the farmer questions.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s great! I think that’s an amazing step towards helping the animals and treating your body better
LikeLike
love this! informative without being preachy at all. i’ve always been so tempted to go vegetarian, working on it 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s great! Small steps make a big difference
LikeLiked by 1 person
A few years ago I would have scoffed at giving up meat. But in recent years, I can tell my stomach does not enjoy meat that much. I’m trying to reduce it out of my diet
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know a lot of people who are in the same boat as you, it’s great you’re listening to your body!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I absolutely loved reading this, Rosie!!! I too have evolved in my vegan/vegetarian/pesce journey. Thank you for sharing yours- I think it’s important to let people know it’s 100% OK to change your thinking/thoughts surrounding your personal diet and preferences!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes definitely!! Ive always believed we shouldn’t be judging but just sharing our opinions and hoping it helps
LikeLiked by 1 person
It actually is a realistic option, Rosie. Simple Truth Organic (& other brands too) has eggs & meat. All of their animals are raised humanely. I don’t eat processed foods unknowingly, I always read ingredients. I choose organic veggies & grass-fed, free-range beef. Cage-free, hormone-free eggs & chicken etc.
I do stay away from pork because those little guys eat everything in sight even if raised well & given a nice diet lol but I admit, I love bacon.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yea it’s definitely realistic for home life, it would be a little out of my budget though. It wouldn’t be realistic for eating out though and if I can’t eat meat both at home and eating out I’d rather just skip it all together. I buy my eggs cage free but even then I need to do more research because brands can say anything these days even if it’s untrue! Our food industry is crazyyyyy
LikeLiked by 1 person
Loved reading this! I’ve been pescatarian for almost 6 years and my reasons have shifted around too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! It’s funny to reflect on how things were when I started
LikeLike