So, it eventually comes up in conversation that I am a vegetarian. And then, inevitably, they ask, "Do you eat fish?"

Cheri refrains from commenting on how stupid people are. I suppose it's because so many (stupid) people have said they are vegetarians and yet still eat fish, and so ignorant people have to ask. And of course I say, "No, I don't eat fish." And then they launch into some silly story about their distant relative who goes fishing every day.

Yeah. My parents and grandparents were into fishing, and as a kid I was taken fishing several times. I probably caught a little fish or two, I honestly don't remember, but as a kid, I never thought of it as bad. Fish are so different from humans, it is difficult to empathise when fish faces can't make the same expressions.

But then I grew up, gained some knowledge. Fish have brains and nervous systems just like we do. They feel pain in exactly the same way. Fish don't have hands, and so they use their mouth to touch stuff... which means they've got lots and lots of sensitive nerves around their mouth. How would you like a big metal hook all the way through your hand and fingers and then being dragged along?

And then you think you're going to make it okay by throwing the poor fish back in the water? Well, I've got news for you folks, that fish is going to die. Imagine, your dominant hand has been mangled, you've been suffocated as you were taken out of your element, and then your whole body is crushed as the hook is removed, none too gently. If you don't die from the shock right away, you're going to die from wound infections or skin infections.

Commercial fishing is no better. You've still got living, feeling beings who are tortured before being killed. Which really goes for all animals who end up as flesh on your dinner table.

I think I am making a difference in the world by being a vegetarian. I think the world would be a better place if we stopped hurting and killing so many. Here's my vote for world peace.

More information about fishing can be found on PeTA's NoFishing.Net