I think this is easier to do depending on where you live. For example, being a vegetarian in California is far more practical than in Korea or Vietnam.
I say that because your environment depends on how difficult this transition will be, don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
Nitpick, but given how widespread Buddhism is in East Asia, I would not be surprised if it were also quite practical to be vegetarian in both Korea and Vietnam. I do agree that there are locations where being vegetarian would be more difficult - more rural, meatcentric towns in America come to mind for me.
If you care about environment impact, even switching from beef to pork and especially chicken helps a lot. I haven't been in rural American towns but I think both should be available without any difficulties.
Yet swapping from factory farmed beef to locally sourced free range chicken will help with both.
Neither caring about the environment, nor caring about non-human pain and suffering are binary choices. What is better for animal well being may be worse for the environment (plastics in lieu of leather), and vice versa (forest clearing for Palm oil plantations). It's important to care about both and to do what _you_ believe is the most important.
You should strive to make better choices, even if they are imperfect.
> You should strive to make better choices, even if they are imperfect.
Definitely. If some unachievable ideal of perfectionism is preventing us from doing anything at all, it's quite harmful.
> What is better for animal well being may be worse for the environment (plastics in lieu of leather), and vice versa (forest clearing for Palm oil plantations).
This claim is often used as an argument to stay away from soy products even though the amounts of (mostly GM) soy used to feed livestock are larger by an order of magnitude.
It’s more difficult than you might imagine. I find Hindu countries are much easier as like others have suggested, not all Buddhists take vegetarianism as seriously as people think.
In Japan there is a type of vegan cuisine which monks eat, however it’s considered a kind of fundamentalist diet and it’s difficult to find outside of certain temples.
Buddhists aren’t restricted to vegetarianism. A friend of mine was a monk in Thailand for years and ate what was given during alms rounds. Tibetan monks will often consume meat as well, as the plateau isn’t great for fresh veggies all year round.
It’s often just cultural whether the local Buddhist lineage will eat meat or not. My acupuncturist, who is Chinese, always tells me I should eat meat at least occasionally. Personally I have no desire to after going vegetarian and really don’t miss meat at all. The idea of lab grown meat has zero appeal to me, even if it’s ethical and not horrible for the environment.
The best place to travel as a vegetarian is India. It’s so nice to have pure veg kitchens and to not have to worry if a restaurant will have an option for me on the menu.
I’ve lived in Vietnam for nine years. Good Buddhists will forgo meat for at least two days every month so there are loads of vegetarian restaurants around. If you don’t mind cooking at home it’s even easier.
I say that because your environment depends on how difficult this transition will be, don’t put too much pressure on yourself.