I used to think that vegetarianism and veganism were mostly practiced to promote health. However, having recently made a vegan friend, I now feel it’s more of a political statement in the sense of taking a stance against animal cruelty just as much as promoting health. I’ve recently adopted a vegetarian mindset, or at least a vegetable-heavy diet. It’s much more beneficial for my bipolar to combat the weight gain side effects of my antipsychotics. Yet, I’ve noticed that because I’m not a very political person, I’m not super strict on my meat consumption and I will consume some meat every now and then out of (mostly) convenience. Overall, I think eating a small amount of meat every now and then in addition to all the vegetables is still the healthiest option. That’s what has been cited by the medical establishment.
Yet, I still think about people like my vegan friend who has adopted a very strict stance against all animal products. My friend is passionate about animals and so I think that is the primary source of his motivation to stay away from meat. He possess this emotion attachment to other sentient beings that I don’t possess. I think that’s why I like him for he is honestly one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. He would’ve made a great nurse as I know he considered going to nursing school. Yet, I’ve written before that totalitarian asceticism from anything, whether it be alcohol, sex, meat, dairy, etc… is not something that I have ever personally adopted or really see myself adopting in the future. However, maybe that will change if I ever enter into a stronger relationship with another human being. Maybe adopting one of these extreme stances on consumption or indulgence is more about empathizing with another human being rather than the ideology itself.
The Ivory Tower 
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