I am Ganesh, an Indian atheist and I don’t eat beef. It’s not like that I have a religious reason to do that, but after all those years seeing cows as peaceful animals and playing and growing up with them in a village, I doubt if I ever will be able to eat beef. I wasn’t raised very religious, I didn’t go to temple everyday and read Gita every evening unlike most muslims who are somewhat serious about their religion, my family has this watered down religion (which has it’s advantages).
But yeah, not eating beef is a moral issue I deal with. I mean, I don’t care that I don’t eat beef, but the fact that I eat pork and chicken but not beef seems to me to be weird. So, is there any religious practice that you guys follow to this day?
Sure you can! Everyone who goes vegan or vegetarian manages to do it, and so can you!
And nobody goes vegan or vegetarian does it because they dislike the taste of meat - it’s because of the same reasons you wrote about the cows - it’s because we see animals as creatures which do not deserve to suffer just for our pleasure.
Everything you mentioned about why you don’t want to eat cows is just as true for all the other animals. Chickens are really friendly, playful and affectionate little guys! Pigs are smart and sweet, and have their own personalities.