美国素食优秀作文选（1）堪萨斯州
出自： 《番茄小屋》 作者：翻译/阿胖
(1)堪萨斯州，David Potter
有许多原因让我选择吃素。在我很小的时候，我就是一位喜欢动物的人。我喜欢观赏在我家后院遊玩的鸟儿，也喜欢到附近的公园，看鸭、鹅、松鼠及其他小动物们。对于动物的爱，在我童年成长过程中一直滋长着，然而，我还是一面吃着肉。
每当我看到电视上揭露屠宰场负面影像的录影带时，我总会觉得可怕，然而，长时间以来，我只是简单的试着將这些可怕的影像与想法，从我脑海中移除，目的是为了方便继续我”正常”(儘管是没人性且不健康)的饮食。
接着，在我14岁时，整个变了。我逐渐了解肉类与其他动物产品应该为大多数人们的健康问题负责。除此之外，我眼中开始从过去所吃的汉堡、鸡翅、与燻肉中，看得到惧怕与无依的牛、鸡与猪。这些不是食物，而是有父母、有家庭、有感觉与权利的生情生命。
这些认知让我见到餐桌上的肉时，將叉子放下。很快的，不同于大众的认知，我发觉吃素既不困难，也不是一种对味觉的吹嘘。我在我们这里的健康食品店找到相关丰富的素食食品，包括口味很棒的仿肉食品。吃着”仿热狗”，但却不会对环境造成伤害或杀害其他活的动物，这种感觉真好。
几年后，我將注意力转到我所吃的蛋与牛奶制品上。我很高兴选择了吃素，且开始怀疑这些动物性副产品，对一个让动物免于残酷的生活型态是否是可以接受的。于是我决定做些研究，且很快的知道了人道对待动物组织(PETA)。
在本地一个展示会上，我拿了一份PETA的宣传单，并惊吓的发现这些动物副产品的制造环境。鸡的嘴被烤焦，牛被榨取牛奶至死，这些都只是刚开始。在PETA的网站上，我发现更多的讯息，于是我决定吃纯素，且不再回头。
现在我21岁，不但比以前健康快乐，每天吃纯素与运动，让我具有最佳的运动员身材。我的血压与脂肪指数均低，且比以前更有活力，每天晚上睡觉时我知道我过着在一个不再伤害地球上其他同袍的生活。毕竟我们是相系在一起。我希望在像PETA这一类人们的帮助下，能让我们这个星球成为它的子民(包括人类与非人类)一个更仁道、更慈悲的家。
David Potter, Kansas
I suppose there are several reasons [why] I became vegetarian. Even as a small child, I was an animal lover. I had always loved watching the birds in my backyard and enjoyed going to nearby parks to see the ducks, geese, squirrels, and my other small friends. My love for animals continued to grow throughout my childhood; however, I continued eating meat.
I was always horrified when I saw undercover videos from slaughterhouses (frequently [videotaped] by our friends in PETA) in investigative reports on TV, yet for a long time I simply tried to put horrific images and thoughts such as these out of my head merely for the convenience of maintaining my “normal” (albeit inhumane and unhealthy) diet.
Then, at 14, it became too much. I came to realize that meat and other animal products were to blame for the vast majority of humanity’s health concerns. On top of this, I began to see frightened, innocent cows, chickens, and pigs where I once had seen hamburgers, wings, and bacon. I realized these items were not food—they were sentient beings with parents, families, emotions, and rights.
These realizations led me to put down the fork when meat was on the table. I quickly learned that, contrary to popular belief, conversion to a vegetarian diet was neither difficult nor a blow to the taste buds. I went to my local health food store and found a bountiful selection of delicious vegetarian foods, including wonderful imitation products for the meat dishes I had abandoned. It felt great to enjoy a “hot dog” without harming the environment or ingesting another living creature.
A few years later, I turned my focus to another element of my diet: eggs and dairy [products]. I was very happy with my decision to go vegetarian and began to wonder if these animal byproducts were really an acceptable component to a cruelty-free lifestyle. I decided to do some research and soon learned about PETA.
At a local show, I picked up a pamphlet from PETA and was horrified to learn of the conditions to which these “byproduct” animals were exposed. Chickens with their beaks seared off and cows milked to death were just the beginning. After learning more at
www.peta.org, I made the decision to go vegan—and never looked back.
Now, at the age of 21, I am as healthy and happy as ever. My vegan diet, along with daily exercise, has put me in the best athletic shape of my life. My blood pressure and cholesterol are low, I have more energy than ever before, and I can go to bed each night knowing that I live my life without harming my compatriots here on Earth. After all, we’re ALL in this life together. I hope with the help of people like those at PETA, we can all make our planet a more humane, compassionate home for all its residents, both human and nonhuman.
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