Why I (again) stopped eating fish
Why I (again) stopped eating fish
at the age of 13 Kia became a vegetarian, but 15 years later she started eating fish again. Here she reflects why this decision was wrong
There is inherent hypocrisy in what I do for work. On the one hand, I write about the state of the planet, demand upper tourism limits and deal with extinction treads, on the other hand I continue to fly when I know that it is the worst way to travel in terms of CO2 emissions.
I comfort myself that I don't eat meat, a worse culprit when it comes to emissions, but I eat fish and dairy products. You are tried to say "Well, fish is not as bad as meat" - and that may be the case from an ecological point of view, but what about morality?
The environmental question is tricky and complicated, but the moral - killing animals that we do not have to eat in prosperity companies is or should at least be easier.
I came into contact with the battles of animals relatively early. At 13 I visited the home of my ancestors in Bangladesh and witnessed how two cows were killed. When the stomachs were lifted out of the carcass, I swore to eat meat again, partly from moral objections, partly from the deepest horror.
I took it for granted to do without fish and so I became a vegetarian to the great desperation of my mother.
It was almost unknown for a Muslim child who grew up in the nineties in the east of London. I remember that at numerous weddings I sat with lamb curry with plates full of tandoori chicken and barrels and asked a waiter to bring me a little. Our culture revolves around meat and for a long time people thought that I was a curiosity.Nevertheless, I stayed vegetarian for the next 15 years. At the age of 28, however, I started eating fish again, mainly for convenience. Even in developed countries such as France and Argentina, Restaurants often didn't have a single vegetarian option, in this case I decided on fish.
Slowly fish fell back into my diet and sometimes I found myself to choose it with a vegetarian alternative. I didn't travel at all in 2020, but I still ate fish once or twice a month.
Andrii Koval/Shutterstock Fish cried out again in KIAS NUTE
Then last week two things passed that changed my opinion. First I read We Love Animals - so why do we treat we treat them so bad?, An revealing article by Henry Mance, editor -in -chief of the FT. Second, I listened to the Podcast Seaspiracy Controverse: Should we stop eating fish? and was absolutely not convinced of the counterpoint.
mance's article was particularly touching. In it he explains: "Love of animals is one of the basic values of our society. Rational thinking is different. The way we deal with animals does not suit any of these values; it is guided by tradition and inertia."
Basically we eat meat because we have always done it and don't bother to change it.
On the criticism of vegetarians, Mance says: "Do not believe that vegetarians cut down the Amazon. Three quarters of soybean production go into animal feed; less than 5 % go in tofu and soy milk. It is simply more efficient to eat the beans directly than animals. The expansion of agriculture is the greatest individual strength that brings wild animals out."
He writes about fish: "Then there are fish that we kill every year. Scientific studies now strongly indicate that they feel pain. But the animal welfare laws are largely not restricted by fishing in the sea: often fish are drawn in draft networks for hours."
I remember that a few years ago I read an article about an aquarium in South Carolina that housed an incredibly old Kobie. It was assumed that the fish was blind and would rest on the bottom of its large tank. At the time of feeding, a smaller, younger cobia swam on the bottom of the tank, pushed the older Cobia and led it to the surface. As soon as they were ready with the eating, the young fish led the older ones back to the bottom. That happened every day. Can we really say that these two creatures were not sensitive?
After reading Mance's article, I decided to give up fish consumption again. Unfortunately, this does not mean that I get a free ticket. MANCE writes: "Vegetarians generally consider dairy products as a guilty choice because it apparently does not bring death. But dairy products contain cows that are pregnant, immediately separated from their calves and then milked for our consumption. We solve the bond between mother and calf because we like the taste."
The moral imperative is clear: We in prosperity companies should stop consuming animals and animal products. Personally, I am not ready to do without cheese and chocolate, so what is the solution? Is there one?
I think the "imperfect veganism" by the writer Ezra Klein offers a good option. According to this model, Klein feeds at home, but accepts that he is a vegetarian when traveling or with certain meals with certain people. This incorporates the failure into the system and ensure that if you fail, you do not fall back into full carnivry. Rather, you can do it as a free day and continue to eat vegan.
I heard so many people say that the story will judge us hard for how we treat animals, but the same people also say: "But I can't stop eating meat", just as I say: "I can't do without cheese and do without chocolate".
When we look at the most hideous atrocities in human history, it is difficult for us to understand how good, normal people got to accept them. To understand that, we just have to look inside. We know exactly how you are terror. And we, like you, decide to stay calm and continue.
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