For Many, Vegetarianism Is a Religion
I was once a vegetarian fundamentalist
I recently published an article about my experience with vegetarianism. In it, I talk about how my body had become a wreck after 36 years of a vegetarian and ultimately almost vegan diet, how I then started eating meat, and how my body healed as a result. You can read the details in my article “I Was a Vegetarian for 36 Years – Then This Happened.”
This article provoked many reactions. Most of them were from people who, after years on a vegetarian diet, are now eating meat again and are doing much better. But there were also attacks on me ... which is completely nonsensical, because a personal experience is inviolable.
„The own experience has the advantage of total certainty.“
(Arthur Schopenhauer)
This made me realize that vegetarianism is a religion for many people. Some are so fundamentalist that they even demand that everyone should eat a vegetarian or vegan diet. Conversely, I have never met a meat eater who demands that everyone should eat meat.
Why does someone eat what they eat? This question is part of a larger question: Why does someone do and think what they do and think? The search for an answer is self-exploration. The goal is to find out which actions and thoughts are natural and which are generated by programs.
Why does someone eat a vegetarian diet? Here are four common answers:
Because I grew up that way.
Because someone recommended it to me (a doctor, a nutritionist, a friend, …).
Because I read about it in a book.
Because of animal welfare.
For each of these reasons, vegetarianism is a matter of belief and, therefore, a religion. People believe because they have adopted beliefs or programs. Anyone who gives Reason 4 wants to be good and thus probably puts the welfare of animals above their own welfare ... because they often do not check whether a vegetarian diet is good for them in the long term.
Many religious vegetarians are fundamentalists who adhere uncompromisingly to their principles. Some of them believe that everyone should eat vegetarian food. Radical fundamentalists try to enforce this.
Many religious vegetarians argue with the abomination of animal factories. These should, of course, be rejected. Firstly, the animals are kept in unnatural conditions, which is cruel. Secondly, the products that come from these factories are not only of inferior quality, but often even harmful. Unnaturally kept animals have an unnatural metabolism and are often given medication. This affects products such as milk, eggs, and meat.
I have had conversations with religious vegetarians and found that most of them refuse to engage in logical argumentation. If you counter a religious vegetarian who uses the argument of animal factories, that there is also species-appropriate livestock farming and stress-free slaughtering, many of them will switch to the argument that we should not kill animals at all in order to eat them. This is a religious reason that has no logical basis. In nature, animals are constantly killed for food. Or should we forbid lions to kill and eat gazelles?
„Be a free thinker and do not accept everything you hear as truth.“
(Aristotle)
I was a vegetarian for 36 years. For me it was reason number 2: books made me believe that a vegetarian diet was right. I also completed relevant training courses. These supported my perspective ... because they were relevant. Although I am a scientist, I fell into the usual trap: I only studied sources that supported my thesis, ie I only looked for confirmation of my perspective. It would have been sensible and logical to devote the same meticulous attention to the anti-thesis. Then, I could have evaluated and chosen sensibly.
I was firmly convinced that vegetarianism was the right diet for everyone. I had distilled a handful of convincing arguments from what I had learned and disseminated them in lectures, seminars, and a book. With my doctorate in mathematics, I gave my arguments a scientific flair. I wasn’t just a religious vegetarian; I was a fundamentalist who tried to use arguments to persuade people to go vegetarian.
At home, I was a radical fundamentalist. I demanded that my wife and son also eat a vegetarian diet. My wife could have resisted ... but she didn’t; I was too convincing, and she was too loyal. She occasionally ate meat at her mother’s house. My son grew up on a vegetarian diet. He had no choice.
Today I deeply regret it all.
„You can't argue with religious people; you can't change their minds even if you prove them wrong.“
(M F Moonzajer)
I too was resistant to advice about vegetarianism for decades. No argument got through to me. Neither from the outside, nor from the inside.
After many years of self-exploration, I had become adept at questioning my actions and thoughts, exploring their roots, and recognizing the connections between body and mind. But my vegetarian fundamentalism was so strong that I applied self-exploration to everything – except my eating habits. As I described in my article, my body deteriorated visibly over the years ... but in my religious belief in vegetarianism, it didn’t occur to me to link this to my diet.
„Because what must not be cannot be.“
(Christian Morgenstern)
After 36 years on a vegetarian diet, my physical deterioration had progressed so much that I finally woke up and, for the first time, tentatively asked myself whether there was something wrong with my diet. As soon as I had asked this question, I “incidentally” stumbled across a video by Dr Berg. The rest of the story is in my article “I Was a Vegetarian for 36 Years – Then This Happened.”
Unfortunately, it took a physical crash to “crack” my vegetarian fundamentalism. I still remember my first ketogenic breakfast: four eggs, smoked duck breast, an avocado, lots of butter – and no bread. It tasted unbelievably good. I felt as if I never had eaten anything so good. Every cell in my body seemed grateful.
An animal eats when it is hungry; it stops eating when it is no longer hungry; and it eats what it has an appetite for. You too have an instinct, which manifests itself as hunger and appetite that tell you what is right for you, when, and in what quantity. But most people can’t hear the voice of their instinct because their programs cover it up. People eat what they have learned to eat. And all too often, people eat to distract themselves or to experience satisfaction. Sweets play a central role in this. In my book “Curiosity – The Mental Hunger of Humans,” I describe how the respective programs develop as we grow up.
Which diet is right for you? Finding an answer is simple, but not easy, because you too are controlled by programs. The path to finding an answer begins with accepting that you are controlled by programs that create over 99% of your actions and thoughts – which include your food choices. To “unleash” your instinct – and, therefore, your natural hunger and appetite – you must become a master of your programs. I describe a method in my article “How to Become What You Truly Are in 7 Steps” and in my book “Being Free – Get out of the Box.”
Further reading:
Article “I Was a Vegetarian for 36 Years – Then This Happened”
Book “Curiosity – The Mental Hunger of Humans”
Article “How to Become What You Truly Are in 7 Steps”
Book “Being Free – Get out of the Box”
My reason for becoming vegetarian was actually by accident.
I hadn't had any non - vegetarian food for maybe 2 months. And prior to that I used to have irregular menstruation cycles. But after those 2 months I noticed that my cycle was somehow regular and I hadn't changed anything else in my lifestyle. So I decided that I'll quit and see if my cycle is regular. And that's exactly what happened. So I left meat altogether... I haven't had issues yet. I never liked chicken anyways. I do miss eggs though. And after that I also came across the religion part of it. Like how killing is cruel and if we have other alternatives them why kill. I kinda agree with that. Because seriously killing for my own good health seems kinda selfish. Yes animals do kill but that's how they're wired . They can't think. Fortunately or unfortunately I can and I just think and 'feel' killing isn't very nice... But obviously I don't try to convince others to vegetarian or anything. Everybody should form their own conclusions. Let's see how this vegetarian journey goes. It's been only 3 years for me. I see a lot of vegetarian people in my country because some castes in India beleive in vegetarianism and I observe that they are perfectly fine
So I just hope that I'll be fine too. But let's see. Can't say anything.