10 December 2016
Newsdesk
Singer/actress Zendaya was so traumatised by how animals were treated in slaughterhouses, it was enough to make her quit eating meat.
In a new post on her app, the 20-year-old explains she was just 11 when she and her dad drove past a slaughterhouse, and when her father revealed what happened inside, Zendaya started rethinking her diet.
"My main reason for being a vegetarian is that I'm an animal lover," she shared, "definitely NOT because I love vegetables."
She insists her younger self was shocked when she realised how meat ends up on our tables.
"I thought it was awful, all those animals getting packed up in there waiting to be killed," she explained. "I couldn't believe that's how I'd been getting my meat!"
However, it took a viewing of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) video Glass Walls soon afterwards to persuade her to give up meat for good. And then, just days later, she had an incredibly vivid dream.
"I had this crazy dream about raining hamburgers," she noted. "You know that book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs? It was like that, with giant food falling out of the sky. And I still remember the dream so clearly."
She's no longer dreaming about things she doesn't eat, nor missing them, although she does illustrate the post on her app with an image of 15 burgers.
"I don't like the taste of meat," she insisted. "It actually makes me feel weird. The only thing I kind of miss are my mom's famous turkey burgers, but that's it!"
Zendaya still gets to enjoy some fast-food treats though, especially at famed burger joint In-N-Out Burger.
"(In-N-Out's) grilled cheese (sandwich) with grilled onions and extra spread... tastes just as good as the burger," she said. "And the animal-style fries (with grilled onions and spread) are unreal."
