One weird thing I’ve noticed about switching to a mostly vegetarian diet (fish and eggs only, with red meat maybe once a month) is that the deep angst I feel for factory farmed animals and mistreated pets only seems to have increased.

It’s as if my choice to refuse meat always reminds me of why I’m doing what I’m doing.

I’m getting worse at holding my tongue when I see people mistreating their dogs, but I feel like the general public’s refusal to accept that animals feel pain, loneliness, sadness, cold, confinement, and hunger is a problem that is too big for me to even consider tackling. And the existential angst cycle begins again.

I hope this is just something that’ll get easier to manage over time.