I saw the moral horizon and turned away.

For me, vegetarianism is comfortable and that’s all that matters. I never think about what I eat or salivate at the thought of that juicy steak I won’t allow myself to consume, because I just don’t want it. Not eating meat products is as easy for me as not eating cardboard is for the average person.

But the vegan thing would be more difficult. While eating out as a vegetarian is often a little difficult, eating out as a vegan sometimes borders on impossible. And let’s not forget the slew of real-deal animal lovers who would oust me as not being “vegan enough” or even “a real vegan” if I accidentally ate a cookie with butter in it.

More importantly, that buttery cookie tastes delicious — and I don’t want to stop eating delicious food to adapt to a specific diet. Many people have told me they like the idea of being vegetarian but they like steak and fried chicken too much. I get that — some of my fondest food memories involve my homemade alfredo sauce, a goat’s milk brie imported from France and my mother’s special chocolate chip cookie recipe, which just wouldn’t taste the same without a stick of butter.

In a world where rules and standards are forced upon us every day, we shouldn’t be arbitrarily forcing more lifestyle rules upon ourselves. Some people for one reason or another feel strongly enough about not eating animal products that the personal or moral peace of mind of living a vegan lifestyle outweighs the sacrifices to their diets.

For those people, going vegan makes sense, and for good reason. There is plenty wrong with the way much of the food in the U.S. is produced, and not eating eggs or butter produced in unsustainable and environmentally damaging factory farms makes sense.

I avoid supporting those industries by only buying organic dairy and locally-produced eggs from an organic farm. It’s a little more expensive, but those producers need the financial support and I need to know I’m not personally contributing to food being produced the “wrong” way.

Diet and food choices should feel comfortable to really work.

Of course people should make healthy choices, but going vegan or vegetarian isn’t always the healthiest or most realistic diet for every person.

Usually the balance is somewhere in between veganism and steak for every meal.

The most important thing to remember is people make diet choices for a thousand different reasons.

Whether vegan, vegetarian or carnivore, everyone should respect everyone else’s diet choices without judgment and simply work on making the healthiest lifestyle choices for themselves.