One minute read. Written by Avishi Mishra – a grade 9 student.

The earth is our home, and currently it has many broken windows – tangible and intangible ones. Deciding to read a newspaper is basically deciding to dive into a plethora of crime, cruelty, and curse. Some of these world crises we see are animal cruelty, water shortage, animal borne diseases and ill health. These examples seem to have a common solution- VEGETARIANISM! 

Let me tell you what I feel this way. Last summer, I read the book ‘The Omnivore’s Dilemma’ by Michael Pollan. That book made me question everything I eat! It taught me a lot about how eating meat negatively affects our bodies, the environment, and obviously the animals we slice open to feed our hunger. 

One of the things that I learned from this book was that eating meat was of obvious essence in medieval times. Soldiers at war, globetrotters and people living in areas of sparse arable land had the dire necessity to eat all that they had available; which was mostly meat. But, the case is different now. We live in a modern world, with almost global access to technology. There are countless technologies that help to cultivate crops in and transport meatless food to areas where grains cannot be grown. 

The book also mentioned the positive health effects of becoming vegetarian. Vegetarianism is linked to less animal borne diseases, lower blood pressure, better heart health and longer life spans. A funny way my father puts it in is that- when you eat a chicken,you also eat the disgusting insects it ate. 

A very interesting fact shared by PETA was that it takes more than 2,400 gallons of water to produce just one pound of meat whereas it takes only about 25 gallons to grow 1 pound of wheat. Water shortage is a massive crisis. As per the World Wildlife organization, 2.7 billion people experience water scarcity at least one month a year. A global switch to vegetarianism will be a huge push towards water security. 

Lastly, the most obvious reason to quit meat is animal cruelty – it’s something that disturbs me. The way the animals are slaughtered is beyond cruel. The details are gruesome, which are best not mentioned here.

In conclusion, take it from me, a former meat eater, and currently struggling vegetarian – just stick to the grains, fruits and vegetables!It’s the right way to eat.

Written by Avishi Mishra.
Avishi is a 14-year old student of grade 9. She loves to read, write and watch Netflix ?

Please note: the views expressed in all opinion pieces belong to the writer. They do not reflect the opinions of the platform. I Kid You Not believes in giving a voice to today’s children, not matter what side of the debate they are on.