Just because you’re a vegetarian doesn’t make you better than anyone else. I would know because I’m one of them. We’re not that great.
A lot of time we make people feel bad for eating meat or preach on a pretentiously PETA level. Although it is all in the name of meaningful change, we can get pretty annoying.
Those who refrain from eating meat usually do it in a bid of eco-consciousness or as a stance against animal cruelty. Both of those reasons are great, but there is no need to shame others who are trying their best to lessen their meat consumption.
Bragging about one’s willpower in the faces of those who are at least trying to make a difference has no benefit for anyone. It more likely than not turns people off to the idea of even trying to stop eating meat in the first place. Why would anyone attempt to become vegetarian if the group ridicules those who are attempting to make the switch but make mistakes?
There should be room for error. Humans are not perfect, and humans trying to cut out an entire food group are even less so. Almost everyone was raised eating meat. Old habits die hard, and sometimes your friend who says he’s trying to go vegetarian is going to crack. That is okay. Ridicule will just push him to give up.
This notion that people either have to never eat meat or be a carnivore keeps individuals from even trying to limit their meat consumption. The harsh polarity between the two groups instills apprehension for the sides to meet in the middle.
Meat shaming creates a divide between those who should be working together. The shame approach is an attempt at making meat eaters feel bad so they will change their ways, but that usually doesn’t work. It’s probably the worst conversion method.
Even if people just stopped eating meat a few days a week, it would make a difference. When trying to persuade those to come over to the dark — err, I mean, vegetarian — side, complete removal of meat is hard for people to jump on board with. Encouraging the deduction of one type of meat or designating one day to be meat-free is a better way to go about it. Helping people realize the small changes they can make will help them realize the power they have to make small changes every day.
Eating one less burger a week would be the same as taking your car off the road for 320 miles, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. If the entire U.S. population didn’t eat meat for one day a week, it would be the same as taking 7.6 million cars off the road. Here we see just how much power is in each bite.
Meat shaming is not the way to enact change. Nobody is going to listen to us preachy vegetarians if we always make people feel bad about their eating habits. We also need to remember how privileged we are to even have the option to eat meat or not. Many communities across the globe do not have the resources to make that choice.
So next time you see a steak and you’re about to open your mouth to either comment about it or eat it, take a moment and maybe don’t.
Jackie De Freitas is a UF journalism junior. Her column appears on Fridays.
