Critical Thinking: Why Do Some Vegetarians Eat Meat When They Are Drunk?

Over the years, more and more people have turned their back on meat and other animal based by-products. In the past, it was often a rare occurrence to come across someone who lives in this way, but nowadays, it can be a regular occurrence.

What has unboundedly played a part in all this is the internet, with this being something that has allowed people to get their hands on more information; information that they wouldn’t have come across otherwise. This relates to how some animals are treated and the numerous alternatives that are available.

Plenty of Choice

Another big factor in all this is that most supermarkets now offer a number of different alternatives to meat. So, even if someone doesn’t eat met, they will still be able to find plenty of things to eat.

And, even if there are not a lot of options available when they go shopping, they can simply go online and find a recipe. Living in this way can be a challenge in the beginning but after a little while, it can be no problem whatsoever.

A Personal Choice

If someone is a vegetarian, they may find that they feel the need to try to change people who eat meat. Then again, they may believe that it is not up to them to stop people from eating meat.
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This could be seen as something that would cause them to cross other people’s boundaries, causing them to come across as some kind of tyrant. Yet, if they are asked to talk about why they have chosen to live in this way or if another person if thinking of becoming a vegetarian, they might be happy to share their thoughts.

Another Approach

If, on the other hand, one does feel the need to try to convert other meat eaters, they might not come across as being holier-than-thou. Consequently, it will be a lot easier for them to get through to people.

Perhaps they realise that the only way they will be able to get someone to change their eating habits is if they are willing to put themselves in their shoes and to treat them with respect. If they don’t go this, it could be clear to them that other people will just shut down and/or walk away.

The Other Extreme

But if one doesn’t keep this part of them to themselves and neither do they share it with others in a respectful manner, they could come across as self-righteous. Due to how they live their life, they are going to be better than people who eat meat.

Thus, unlike these ‘sinners’, they will be doing the right thing. There may be people in their life who have the same outlook, with these people being just as intolerant towards those who live differently.

Self-Sabotage

Someone like this will have the aim to change the world, yet they will be trying to do it in the wrong way. Their behaviour is just going to create more resistance between them and those who do eat meat.

Additionally, they will add even more weight to the view that some people have that vegetarians are a bit odd or crazy. They won’t have been able to rise above how they feel and to think about the effect that their behaviour has on others.

A Defence

What someone like this could find - that’s if they were to get in touch with how they feel - is that their sense of superiority is a way for them to avoid feeling worthless. Presenting themselves as being better than the people who eat meat is then just going to be a mask that they wear; a way for them to displace their own self-hate onto others.

This could even mean that if it wasn’t for how they feel deep down, they wouldn’t even be a vegetarian. Someone like could buy into whatever cause is currently in vogue, having very little concern about the issue itself.

A Strange Situation

If someone doesn’t eat meat, this might not change if they are drunk; whereas if someone else doesn’t eat meat, they could end up eating meat if they were to get drunk. When it relates to the latter, they could find that they have the tendency to eat something that contains meat whenever they have a certain amount to drink.

What they could find, once they have sobered up, is that they end up being consumed by guilt and even shame. They could end up feeling completely baffled by what has taken place and vow to never do it again, only for the same thing to happen next time they get drunk.

Inner Conflict

One way of looking at this would be to say that this is simply what happens when someone’s mind is in conflict with their body and that, when they are drunk, their mind settles down, thereby allowing their body to take over. This is then no different to how someone can have the inclination to deny their sexual nature in their day to-day life and then, when they have a few drinks, they become extremely sexual.

When it comes to the latter, one may have been conditioned to believe that sex was bad during their early years, but when it relates to the former, the conflict within them could be due to the conditioning that they have received throughout their adult life. In this case, it could show that one has been eating with their mind and not their body.

Out of Touch

It has been said that if someone has a good connection with their body, they will know what they need to eat. The trouble is that if someone has been conditioned to eat certain things and to avoid other things, they will ignore their own inner guidance.

Naturally, if someone is eating with their brain, which means eating the so-called ‘good' things and avoiding the ‘bad’ things, they could be doing more harm than good. Their body will know what they need to eat, yet their mind will only want them to eat what other people have told them they should eat.

Conclusion

This is then similar to someone putting water in their car instead of petrol and then wondering why it won’t work. The key will be for them to put their mind to one side and to listen to their body.

If they don’t eat something because it would cause them to feel guilty, they could be starving their body of what it needs to work properly. The main problem is then not going to be eating a certain type of food; it will be the conditioning that they have absorbed over the years.