It came to me at 2 am...

“Degenerates, degenerate. You'll turn into monkeys!”

The above quote was taken from an interview with Slavoj Zizek. It is called Zizek on Vegetarianism and can be found on youtube.com. I am mentioning this because since my arrival in Serbia I have chosen to follow a vegetarian diet.

The reasons for this conversion are interesting, to me at least. In part I am doing this to test myself, to see how much meat is a habit, and how deeply it is ingrained in human culture. Serbia is particularly meat orientated and not always open minded towards new ideas or identities, adding to the challenge. A fellow (Serbian) vegetarian shared the story of a time when he was offered some food, which he refused due to the meat content. The food pusher, however, protested that there was no meet in the dish. Only noodles and chicken.

The question here is whether I eat meat because my body needs it, or simply because that is how I was brought up, with the societies around me (including the educational system) telling me I need proteins (which I do) and that I get that from eating meat (which is true), but not telling me where else I can get it. I have also learned that the process of digesting animal proteins, turning them into something my body can use, takes a huge amount of energy, and thus is not particularly efficient, particularly in relation to the proteins derived from non-meat sources, which are already in a form our body can use.

I have also chosen to abstain from eating meat due to conditions suffered by the animals born and raised for human use and consumption. Not only do their lives amount to a miserable torture, but also, the waste produced is an environmental disaster. The waste created by thousands of cows, or pigs or chickens living in a tiny geographical area generally gets dumped into nearby water supplies, and contains all sorts of bacteria that should not be there. This water is then eventually consumed by other earthlings, making them sick, and spreading disease.

I think it also symbolizes our detachment from the natural world in which we have no choice but to inhabit anyway. Our subjugation of animals is but another level of power games and crude domination. The fact that meat is not a necessity for living a healthy comfortable life means this treatment of other earthlings is also not needed. As such, I am doing my best not to participate in this system.

Anyone interested in a deeply disturbing hour long documentary should watch “Earthlings”, you can google it and watch it for free on google video.

It has been interesting to observe my own willingness to admit my vegetarianism. Thus far I have been cautious to admit it, and I find myself, particularly in company where I fear a hostile reaction, minimizing its significance, or shying away from admission to not eating meat. What is this symbolic of? A fear of being the outsider? Or not wanting to challenge the norm (which is to eat meat)? Both I guess. Being a minority is never an easy thing, as the rest of society considers you a fringe element, as different, even if they are not overtly hostile towards you.

Ok, maybe being a vegitarian is not as serious as being an ethnic minority, but the mechanism of social marginalization is the same. If you don't fit in somehow, people like to question and make fun of you. I doubt I will ever be beaten up because I like veggies more than meat, but I can still feel unwelcome, like there is something wrong with me for my lifestyle. On some level that is just as brutal as being beaten up, because it make me feel pshycologically inferior or not normal.

It's an ongoing process for now, and a learning experience. At least I can say I haven’t had any meat for more than two months now, and I feel fine. No different from when I did consume beef, pork, or chicken (wait, that’s not meat…). I guess meat is not essential to our survival, and while I am suddenly growing hair in strange places, at least I am not a monkey yet.