Is It Really Easy To Be A Vegetarian In Peru?

            As the only vegetarian in our group, I wrote a guide for surviving as a vegetarian in Peru. Indeed, most Peruvians are able to respect vegetarians and I have had many good meals without meat. However, when I saw this sign outside a random restaurant, I felt very upset.

            Obviously, this sign is designed for tourists, helping them better understand where their food comes from. From Cuy to Cordero, the sign has well presented both the sources of the food and what the actual food looks like. The pictures are vivid and directly, and I cannot even think of a better way of explanation that serves the same purpose. However, as a vegetarian who quit eating meat because of ethical issues, I find this sign very disrespectful and cruel. The sign directly shows that these animals are killed and being eaten by humans. It is cruel because the contrast between each group of pictures is very clear: animals before becoming food V.S. animals after becoming food. It seems that these animals can be killed in a second as long as the tourists want to have a taste of their meat. They can no longer live in the world because of human desire. Therefore, this sign is disrespectful for vegetarians like me that believe in the equality between animal lives and human lives. It makes me think of the ethical problems behind eating meat. Although I understand that not everyone thinks the same way as I do, this sign clearly assumes that eating animals is an acceptable action. I felt very disappointed and even a little bit angry when I saw the sign. Even though it is designed for tourists, it fails to consider the fact that there are tourists like me who simply cannot approve the action of eating meat. It is true that being a vegetarian in Peru has not been a problem for me, but I hope that restaurant owners can respect the reasons why some people become vegetarians, and come up with better explanations of where the food comes from.