non-vegan job?
hi! i just started calling myself a vegan about a month ago after i had a bit of a revelation about the act of eating and using animal products. i realized that the way i felt about living beings--that there is no ethical difference between killing/eating a human (cannibalism) and killing/eating a non-domestic animal--did not align with what i was doing at that very moment: eating a hot dog.
after doing some research online and reading information i had never known about the intelligence, social lives and treatment of animals, i decided to pledge to be vegan for 30 days. (i actually thought i was pledging to be vegetarian at first, but that's beside the point).
so it's been going pretty well, despite the sudden change in my diet and the difficulty of having few, though delicious, options for vegan eating here at college.
my question is not about eating, though. i am working through that by myself and although i still do slip up, i'm proud of myself for not having eaten a bite of meat in 3 weeks.
my question is about my job. during the summers, i work behind the deli counter in a grocery store. yep, meat and cheese all over the place. egg salad and tuna salad, too. i slice hunks of ham and turkey on the slicers. i cut huge slabs of prosciutto.
i guess i'm wondering whether this job is an issue, whether it conflicts with my choice to be vegan (or vegetarian, which i might switch over to after my month is up).
i kind of need some way to make money, yet the entire premise of the job is essentially to cut and sell meat and cheese. should i keep working there?
some of you are probably going to tell me i should do what seems right and what aligns with my beliefs. obviously i will end up doing something of that sort in the end, but i just wanted input from some long-time vegans as well--should i sacrifice my job because it promotes food items i chose not to eat for ethical reasons?
and then there's the problem of whether, if i decide to quit, my parents will even let me.........
well, thanks!
after doing some research online and reading information i had never known about the intelligence, social lives and treatment of animals, i decided to pledge to be vegan for 30 days. (i actually thought i was pledging to be vegetarian at first, but that's beside the point).
so it's been going pretty well, despite the sudden change in my diet and the difficulty of having few, though delicious, options for vegan eating here at college.
my question is not about eating, though. i am working through that by myself and although i still do slip up, i'm proud of myself for not having eaten a bite of meat in 3 weeks.
my question is about my job. during the summers, i work behind the deli counter in a grocery store. yep, meat and cheese all over the place. egg salad and tuna salad, too. i slice hunks of ham and turkey on the slicers. i cut huge slabs of prosciutto.
i guess i'm wondering whether this job is an issue, whether it conflicts with my choice to be vegan (or vegetarian, which i might switch over to after my month is up).
i kind of need some way to make money, yet the entire premise of the job is essentially to cut and sell meat and cheese. should i keep working there?
some of you are probably going to tell me i should do what seems right and what aligns with my beliefs. obviously i will end up doing something of that sort in the end, but i just wanted input from some long-time vegans as well--should i sacrifice my job because it promotes food items i chose not to eat for ethical reasons?
and then there's the problem of whether, if i decide to quit, my parents will even let me.........
well, thanks!