Why I Stopped Being a Vegetarian-Analysis - Essay Example

?Why I Stopped Being a Vegetarian-Analysis Nutritionists have often described America as a meat-eating nation. This claim is very hard to deny especially to those who have had the opportunity to be in the U.S. The majority of Americans love eating meat to the point that they are overly obsessed with it (Pozzi par. 2). When an ordinary thinks of American cuisine, the first thing that normally comes into mind is the hamburger. In fact, most Americans restaurants, including the famous McDonald’s must have known that Americans are overly obsessed with meat, which made the company start preparing hamburger and fast foods. As a result, most meat lovers in America often perceive vegetarianism abnormal. Vegetarianism refers to the practice of eating diets that free of meat, chicken, and fish. Most vegetarians eat vegetables, as the name implies and fruits. Research indicates that the majority of people become vegetarians because of health issues. However, cultural believes also influences others to become vegetarians. Laura Fraser’s article “Why I Stopped Being a Vegetarian,” is a captivating assay in which she describes her 15 years of personal experience as a vegetarian (Pozzi par. 3). We learn that Laura Fraser is a highly educated young woman who has written for several national magazines in the country, including Salon.com, the New York Times, the Daily Beast, the Oprah Magazine, Gourmet, Bon Appetite and the Glamour, just to name but a few. Her wealth of experience and education makes people believe what she says easily. In her famous article, “Why I stopped being a Vegetarian,” Fraser acerbically provides several reasons why she stopped being a vegetarian. At the same time, she gives a brief account of why she was initially a vegetarian before stopping to be one. Fraser does this by giving an account of her own fallacies of why she was initially a vegetarian. She does this in an attempt to justify her assertions for stopping to be a vegetarian, by giving a number of examples to strengthen her claim. In addition, she uses sarcasm a number of times to show how foolish she was originally when she decided to be a vegetarian as a means of bolstering her arguments for stopping being a vegetarian. This essay is addressed to two groups of audiences. The first group is American meat lovers while the second group is the average Americans, especially individuals who are vegetarians or those considering to join the band wagon. This discourse will discuss the effectiveness of Fraser’s reasons for stopping being a vegetarian. Many people have been pondering with the dilemma as to whether to be a vegetarian or not presently. This follows the health risks associated with eating red meats. Pozzi argues that most killer diseases that people suffer from today, such as cancer; obesity and diabetes are as a result of unhealthy eating habit of the present generation (par. 3). As such, many people are considering leaving stopping eating red meat such as hamburger, for vegetables. Even though this is the reality in the present world, Fraser thinks otherwise. In her case, she feels that it is right for her to stop being a vegetarian. As earlier stated, Fraser gives several reasons why she opted to stop eating vegetables. Based on her caliber and reputation, her arguments for making such a decision can be trusted. Logos Fraser begins by stating that she has had 15 years of experience as a vegetarian. As such, all her claims are based on solid experience. In her captivating essay, Fraser tell us that being vegetarian brought embarrassments in her life since it made her overburden her cooks with having to make her special meals all the time (Fraser 1). The fact that her cooks had to prepare for her a special meal different from that prepared for the rest of the family made her feel that she was overworking cooks. In addition, being a vegetarian made her feel that she was avoiding her friends since she could not socialize well with her friends, which was awkward in her view. Fraser states, “As a vegetarian, not only had I denied myself something I truly enjoyed, I had been anti-social” (Fraser 1). Socializing with friends is very important for human development and growth. Health experts advise people to find time to socialize with others since it is good for health. However, in Fraser’s case, we find that being a vegetarian made her anti-social, which was not good. Therefore, her reason for stopping being a vegetarian is justified since it denied him the opportunity to socialize freely with his friends. In this regard, by reverting to eat other meals, such as meat, this would give him the opportunity to socialize well with his friends. In addition, it will eliminate the special treatments, which he required as a vegetarian. Fraser also claimed that she stopped being a vegetarian after realizing that eating meat is not bad after all (Fraser 1). He gives an account of how being an animal activist made her stop eating meat. In addition, he states that his decision to stop eating meat was due to the health and environmental concerns associated with meat eating. However, he later learns that not all meat is bad for human health. This is justifiable since nutritionists have stated that eating white meat such as chicken and fish is not bad for human health. In fact, meat is very rich in protein, which is important for bodybuilding. Therefore, Fraser was justified to stop being a vegetarian by reverting to the responsible eating of all foods. Ethos Fraser tells us that she did not become a vegetarian out of choice but because of pressure from the society. She supports this claim by stating that he grew up as a dull white girl without anything that set her apart. However, the only thing that she could choose was being a lesbian or a vegetarian. Based on this argument, it becomes apparent that being a vegetarian was not her choice but she had to become one merely because the society wanted her to become one (Pozzi par. 4). Therefore, her decision to stop being a vegetarian is justified since there is no need of her to continue being a vegetarian when she believes that she should be eating meat, as well. Normally, it is always good to eat something that one is comfortable and likes, rather than just eating something because of the pressure from the society. Therefore, she is justified to stop being a vegetarian to allow her eat what she likes most, including meat. In conclusion, since Fraser talks out of experience of being a vegetarian for 15 years, vegetarians and those who intend to become vegetarians, as well as meat lovers should take her advises and reasons for stopping being a vegetarian seriously for the future health of American society. Works Cited Fraser, Laura. “Why I stopped being a vegetarian.” Salon, Jan. 7, 2000, p. 1. Pozzi, Katerina. “Why I Stopped Being Vegetarian.” Web. 21 Nov. 2013, http://dellaterrawellness.com/why-i-stopped-being-vegetarian/. Read More