My stepdaughter, who's spending part of the summer in Hong Kong with me and my husband, has asked me to teach her how to cook a few dishes before she goes to boarding school in England. Although she now eats everything, she had grown up in a pescetarian household, where the diet included fish but not meat. She is especially interested in learning how to prepare meat, since she has never cooked it before.
I bought a couple of fresh chickens and demonstrated how to cut them into parts, first chopping off the head and wingtips to save for stock, removing the legs and wings, then breaking up the carcass. She was calm about the whole process - I know many adults who would have been more squeamish.
We had a discussion about vegetarianism and the killing of animals for food. I realise the practice is not necessary - we can get enough protein to remain healthy by consuming grains and other foods instead of meat. I'm aware of the environmental impact of raising animals for food - that it's inefficient because it takes a large quantity of grain to raise a smaller amount of meat, and it's not good for the planet because of problems with the disposal of their waste and the ozone-depleting gases that livestock emit.
And still, I choose to eat meat. Why? Because I like the taste of it. I eat other foods, too; after all, I'm an omnivore, not a carnivore.
Most of the vegetarians I've met have been fine with others who don't embrace their food choices; it's been a long time - thank goodness - since someone lectured me on the ethics of eating meat. I respect their dietary choices as well, and if we dine together, we make sure the restaurant we go to has a good selection of non-meat dishes.
Vegetarians are vegetarian for different reasons: some because their religion prohibits meat, others because they don't like the taste, while yet others cite ethical or environmental reasons.