She Told Her Cousin’s Young Daughter That Meat Comes From Animals, And It Sparked A Full-Blown Family Debate
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How young is too young to tell a kid about the realities of where meat comes from?
I can’t recall when I learned about it, but I think it’s safe to say that every parent handles that delicate question differently.
And most parents probably don’t like it when their kids learn about this stuff from other people.
In today’s story, a woman explained why her cousin is upset with her after she told her daughter about that subject.
Let’s take a look at what she had to say.
AITA for telling my cousin’s kid that meat comes from animals?
“I’m (21F) a pescatarian and have been one since I was 7, the same age my cousin’s kid is.
This past Sunday, I took my cousin’s daughter (7F) to her favorite restaurant, Shake Shack, while babysitting her.
She got a regular burger and I got a shroom burger (it’s a vegetarian mushroom patty instead of meat). I’m pretty sure I’ve eaten shroom burgers before, but this is the first time she noticed.
Well, since you asked…
She asked me why my burger was different, so I explained to her that it’s made of mushrooms and cheese instead of meat. She asked why I didn’t get a normal burger and I explained that I don’t eat meat.
I was under the impression that she knew what meat was since I can’t remember a time I didn’t, and I assumed it was something all kids either figure it out or get told by their parents when they’re very little.
Unfortunately, I was wrong.
Oh, boy, here we go…
She asked me why I don’t eat meat and I tried to explain to her in the best way possible that I don’t like hurting animals.
And that’s when I found out that she had no idea where meat comes from. She was really confused and asked what hurting animals had to do with meat.
I was absolutely shocked. I thought it was pretty messed up that her parents hadn’t explained it to her, especially since I literally came to the realization that I didn’t want to eat meat at the same age.
I carefully explained to her that beef, like in her burger, comes from cows. She said, “oh, like how milk comes out of cows?” I said not exactly and explained that animals get killed for meat.
I also mentioned that chicken, like chicken nuggets, is the same as chicken the animal.
Uh oh…
She was really upset and didn’t want to finish her burger.
I also tried to soften the blow by explaining that animals also eat animals. I specifically mentioned that some animals, like her cat, can only eat meat and can’t live without it. She was very upset but kept asking follow up questions like if she could stop eating “dead animals” like me.
And I told her she could but that she should talk to her parents about it. She even tried my mushroom burger and liked it. We also discussed fish and the difference between pescatarians, vegetarians and vegans. She said she wanted to be vegetarian.
This has turned into a big ordeal.
She ended up telling her mom (my cousin) that she wasn’t going to eat meat anymore and her mom took it terribly. My cousin screamed at me about how I destroyed her child’s innocence and corrupted her with my “vegetarian agenda.”
Anyway, she ended up causing a whole debate in our family. Her husband agrees with her, and same for her brother and her parents. My dad also agrees with her and my mom and my sister both think I did nothing wrong. I’m genuinely not sure.
I personally think every child should know where their food comes from, and that kids should have the right to choose whether to eat meat or not, but I also understand that I did totally upset my cousin’s kid and this might’ve been a subject better suited for her parents.”
Reddit users spoke up.
This reader thinks they all SUCK.
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Another individual agreed.
This Reddit user weighed in.
Another person said she’s NTA.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about two kids trying to earn money by mowing grass, and decide to solve their gas issue by stealing some of dad’s.
And this reader had a different take.
Well, she probably just should’ve kept her mouth shut, don’t you think?
Yeah, that probably would’ve been the best way to go about it…
But the cat’s out of the bag now!
She just fired up her entire family!
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