Makenna Sowards—Free Response 3, Vegetarianism

 Dr. Kip speaking in class about renouncing vegetarianism because he considered it to boost him onto a moral high ground made me consider my own stance on vegetarianism. I haven't eaten meat in a year and a half, and my reasons for starting on this journey have remained as my reasons to continue. After learning about the detrimental impact of the meat-packing industry, I very quickly realized that was not something that I wanted to perpetuate by spending money on meat products. Though, it can very easily be argued that my small, personal movement against the food conglomerates responsible for releasing grotesque amounts of methane into the atmosphere as well as carbon emissions from large numbers of fossil-fueled machines does not make a very big impact, I think it serves another purpose: awareness. When people ask why I refuse to eat meat, it gives me the opportunity to speak on the carbon footprint of the meat-packing industry and how it is one of the largest contributors to destroying our world. Hopefully, by helping to make others aware of how large of an issue this is, more people will consider the effects of their diets on the world around them. I hope this does not make me sound like I'm standing on a moral high ground, I do not think I am better than others for choosing this, I think if I went back to eating meat, the disappearance of the dent in the industry I made by being a vegetarian would not be noticed. The only thing I have to gain by participating in this practice, is the ability to share my knowledge of the environmental crises in our world with curious peers. Through this, I hope that my small stance against the overwhelming industry, can have an effect after all.