Unexpected Life Lessons from Being a Vegetarian for 8 Years

Personal insights and realizations about life from a vegetarian.

Time flies, and I can’t believe I’ve been a vegetarian for eight years. I remember it was in 2014 when I considered being vegetarian seriously. After attending many talks with the Hare Krishnas and reading the Bhagavad-Gita, my heart urged me to change.

So I stopped eating red meat. Then one day, I felt weird while eating Nasi Lemak with Rendang Chicken. You guessed it, and I stopped eating chicken. Before I knew it, by early 2015, I was a vegetarian. I refused to eat meat at this point, not even a tiny little cockle.

I received mixed reactions from people around me at that time. Those at the temple and my university friends encouraged me while my flatmates and family questioned me. A Malaysian friend said, “A Malaysian being a vegetarian? You’re going to miss many things”.

And there is truth to that.

I miss many things, but not for the obvious reasons.

Food used to be simple for me. I eat what I want to eat. However, food became a point of contention with family, friends, and people around me.

At this point, I realized that vegetarianism is not just a dietary change. It’s much more than that. After being a vegetarian for eight years, I’ve learned a few things about life, people, and food.

Don’t push this on others

As much as I feel vegetarianism is a great health and environmental choice, it’s not for everyone.

I was so excited about being vegetarian and couldn’t stop raving about it. I felt good physically, and it was an achievement for me. However, many people around me didn’t feel that way. They didn’t see what I saw. People were skeptical and were probably so annoyed at me too.

People generally don’t like to be told what to do or what they should be doing, even if the suggestion could be beneficial.

Food can be a sensitive topic. So any suggestion has to be threaded carefully. Before suggesting or pushing it to others, you need to know what you’re doing. And from many perspectives. — medically and more. Otherwise, you risk being one of those pseudo-science lifestyle influencers — you know what I mean.

A friend shared how she was turned off from being a vegetarian after talking to the president of a plant-based organization. She mentioned how the president was very enthusiastic about vegetarianism and veganism but also made her feel about not being one. It may have been unintentional, but this leads to my next point.

You are not better than the next person

Some people think vegetarianism makes you better than everyone else as if your dietary choice reflects your morals. Your abstinence from eating meat makes you morally superior to the majority of the population on Earth. As a result, you feel entitled to make others feel bad about their lives.

The answer is no.

As I said above, being vegetarian is not for everyone. We don’t know where a person is in their life. People might struggle with health issues, financial hardship, and many other reasons preventing them from becoming plant-based. Some don’t want to. It’s not your place to judge.

The funny thing is that I’ve also gotten a few of these remarks from fellow vegetarians.

I remember not knowing that red food coloring was made from crushed bugs. So many vegetarians avoid it. But I was new. I honestly didn’t know and made a red velvet cake — you guessed it, with red food colorings. I brought it to a gathering, and someone mentioned that I’m not a vegetarian.

Keep in mind that all of this was told in a very sarcastic, condescending tone that would have made many feel bad.

My point is don’t make others feel bad if they’re not following your choices. People are complex. Frankly, food is also complex, which is also my final point.

Food is complex

I remember taking a class at university on the sociology of food. We were talking about the role of food in society. The obvious one is for sustenance. You must eat to stay alive — how much and what you eat is a different question. But food also serves many other purposes. Food is a bond between people, holds memories, culture, and tradition, a medium for expressing creativity and innovation, and so many more.

Food is not just as it is — like most things in life.

Think about it.

Think about some of your fondest memories with your family. Does it involve food?

Mine sure does! I remember making hundreds of cookies with my mom during Eid, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything. I also remember the first time I decorated a cake and felt accomplished! Or that time that I binged eat a tub of ice cream after a breakup. That was so comforting.

Food is complex and plays many roles for people in their everyday lives. Don’t take that away from anyone.

I didn’t expect vegetarianism to teach me so much about life.

Our relationship with food is complex and weird at the same time. With industrialization, we have become detached from food — we get food from the supermarket or in a takeaway box, not to mention the current crazy prices. To many extent, it has led us to take for granted food in its whole entirety.

I don’t know where life will take me, but I hope to stay vegetarian for 20 years and more. This is my choice and my identity now.

If you are considering vegetarianism and veganism, go for it. I hope you’ll learn something from it.