Are you a vegetarian?
This is by far the most frequently asked question that comes my way.
No, I’m not. And yes, I have been, and for many years. Indeed, I thoroughly enjoy meals without meat and that’s what I usually cook and eat. I often order vegetarian dishes in restaurants, plus I love cooking with vegetables and other plant foods and have considerable experience doing so.
But, I’m not a vegetarian because I’ve always Ray Ban outlet accepted whatever I’m offered; I occasionally crave animal foods and feel better when I eat them, and I deeply admire the craft of cheese making and I love good cheese, despite the rennet that’s often there. (To me non-dairy cheese is a highly processed food.) And I’ve noticed that when I’ve answered affirmatively, the next question is, “Do you get enough protein?” This is not a question I wanted to spend my lifetime answering when there are more pressing concerns about our food. Rather, I wanted to be in the position of trying to change some of our barbaric practices regarding animals and not just look away.
Mostly, though, I really respect true vegetarians; those who really do manage never to eat animal foods. It’s a challenge to do so; it takes real effort and constant Gafas Ray Ban outlet consideration. When it comes to being vegetarian, either are or you aren’t, and since I’m not all of the time, then I have to say that no, I am not a vegetarian. It’s the most honest answer.
I have thought a great deal about vegetarianism. Although I haven’t eaten any mammals (beef, pork, lamb, etc.), for about 25 years, I do continue to eat poultry and fish. I’m always feeling a bit guilty for doing so. I just finished reading Barbara Kingsolver’s book “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, which led me to your website. In it, she points out that the domestic farm animals I love — chicken, pigs, cows, etc., would not exist if it weren’t for the fact that people eat them. They are domesticated creatures and would not survive in the wild. It goes without saying that our industrial farm system is an abomination, but is it wrong to eat an animal who has been raised humanely, fed wholesome food, and was (as she says) “harvested” as painlessly as possible? I can’t say that I’m now feeling 100% OK about my taste for certain animal foods, but she really opened me up to a different perspective. I have changed my buying habits, and only buy pastured poultry from the farmer’s market when available — which is only for four months. I have been very heartened by the slowly-growing shift taking place — for locally-grown, sustainable food, especially because I am an R.D. (registered dietitian) and see the devastating effects of the “American” diet.
Susan – Thank you for your thoughtful note, or, I should say, your thoughts on this subject. One reason I am not a card-carrying vegetarian is that, aside from the fact I find animal foods an important source of nourishment for me, I felt it was more important to try to change a reprehensible food system (ie modern meat) than to just say no meat, please. I have never bought meat that is raised in CAFOs and stockyards and huge poultry houses and actively supported ranchers who are in fact doing a more than decent job at raising animals. But no matter how well they are raised and cared for, no mammal, bird or fish expresses a wish to die, so one must take that whole business of taking life deeply into account. Is it wrong? I can hear so many answers to that question! One can only answer that for oneself, I feel, but in the meantime, the changes you’ve made go far to support better, if not decent, lives for those animals we raise.