Freedom of Meat

"It's not food, its violence!" was the chant used by a group of protesters inside a grocery store in the beautiful island of New Zealand to protest eating meat. Meat, a staple in the diet of millions of people world wide and the stuff of nightmares for some vegans. I eat meat. I was raised by a family who introduced me to a wide selection of animal products such as alligator, rabbit, deer, goat and sheep. While my diet consist of meat, it does not mean I'm going to protest against vegans in front of the produce section. I have a friend who chose a vegan lifestyle and does not judge me or others when I eat a hamburger or a steak. This is the respect she has because she chose such diet for her own well being. It works for her and it should work for the rest of vegans. People who choose a diet of meat do not want to be told not to eat animal products by a group of angry protesters because no one wants to be told what to do. We already have the government to do that for us and they are smart enough to allow their citizens the freedom to eat whatever we want. Vegans should understand not everyone wants to go full vegan. It is an unreasonable expectation like wishing for world peace. Yes, we know how meat in developed countries is processed and shipped to the meat counter. We don't need to be reminded. All we want is to eat whatever we want without any form of confrontation in the grocery store except by the butcher and the cashier. If a vegan tells you meat is murder, then remind them how their shoes, clothes, backpack and their precious smartphone were made. I almost guarantee if you tell a vegan to break their smartphone in protest of the cheap and cruel labor of human beings, they'll think twice about it. Now if there is a vegan out there wearing clothes from a thrift shop, no jewelry, rides a bike and the bus, grows their own food, no smartphone or any electronic devices, works for a non-profit organization, and cleans the environment telling me not to eat meat, maybe I would consider it. For now, we should not have to argue that meat is not food because it is. It has been for thousands of years and taking it away completely will definitely lead to chaos.