"Ethical" Meat

"I don't have a problem with eating meat, just the ethics behind it."

The above statement was said to me during a "foodie" talk about curry.  I full-heartedly agreed with the individual and support her decisions 100%.  And, for that reason, many vegans are going to disagree with me... Many vegans disagree with me frequently, I just need to get used to it.  I'm already used to the fact that I make many people still eating meat uncomfortable...

Will I ever meat again? No.  Like the true-blue animal-rights vegetarians mentioned in the article below, I have developed an ethical opposition to the consumption of another animal.  I believe in speciesism, and hope for it to one day be as politically incorrect as racism, sexism, and all other prejudices in this world.  In the meantime, though, I want to support any baby steps away from the horrible and disgusting abuse that happens in every single factory farm, where speciesism is at its worst.  Like the feminist movement that has gone before it, the animal rights movement needs to focus on making violent rape/and torturous mercy killings illegal before we elect a cat for leader of the free world.  It's all about the baby steps...

As such, I support Meatless Mondays.  If everybody gave up eating meat for a day at least once a week, just imagine how many lives could be saved!  As long as you don't go on about it to me, I'll even be okay with you eating a steak the next day.  I'd prefer if you didn't...but if you know the producer, and you choose that over a factory-farmed chicken (who, by the way, I think need more protection than cattle in this country), I'll appreciate you're baby step.

I'm a farmer's daughter, and always will be.  Giving up meat was my single act of rebellion as a teenager, and I've always maintained a level of respect from where I've come from.  But I also have an idea for where we're heading...especially if we don't do anything to stop not only the abuse of animals for our mere pleasure (not nutritional benefit), but also the obesity epidemic and environmental consequences of over-production.  These are all points that I'll cover in the future...

After the "foodie" conversation, I made my way home and found this article on a Vegan Mainstream's facebook page.  Like many vegans I know, this article upset Vegan Mainstream.  It didn't paint rainbows of happiness across my heart either, but I can appreciate parts of it - especially the honesty.  Having profitted from the life of a farmer as a child, I do support "seeking out and paying a high premium for meat."  It should be a luxury - not a daily occurence!  In the same respect, fresh vegetables should be a daily occurence and not a luxury...and so I support local vegetable farmers.

Today I had a separate discussion with somebody whose sister had been a vegan for two years.  The reason for her to stop identifying as a vegan was because it was "too hard." She found herself deprived when going out with friends (to KFC...I'll hold back my comments on friends like that...) and following a strict diet too difficult.  This is exactly why I advocate for "cheating." I'm human.  I make mistakes.  And I'm not going to lose sight of the greater good just because there is milk ingredients in the bread I bought this week because I ran out of time to make my own.  As a fellow vegan pointed out, "an environmentalist doesn't stop calling themselves an environmentalist if they throw a pop can in a garbage can rather than the recycling bin."  So, to make the die-hard vegan police (who-don't-actually-exist) happy, I'll acknowledge that I'm a "Cheatin' Vegan."  For those who find life as a vegan or vegetarian too difficult for them, I'll be here to guide you in the right direction.  I won't, though, like the ex-vegetarian in this article, ever slide back into eating meat...and I mean that.

All that being said, I'm sure you're thoroughly confused about my point by now.  So, now's the perfect time to read somebody else's point of view.  There are some interesting points here, which inspired the above tangents, etc.  Check it out: "Why Vegetarians Are Eating Meat" in Food and Wine Online magazine.

Okay, so I am slightly sad that the ex-vegetarian started eating animals again, but everybody is entitled to their own choices.  Just as vegetarians and vegans concerned about the "questions being raised about meat replacements derived from soy and wheat gluten" have the choice of a HUGE variety of other vegetable protein sources out there.  And that's my favourite part about being a vegan right now - they just keep multiplying!  After seven years of not eating meat, I can honestly say that the times I have gotten my protein from ONLY soy or "omnisub" fake meats has been rare.  Maybe, if you add it all up it would be two servings a day for two months.  Out of 84 months, I'd say that's pretty rare.   Just think about the rise in popularity of the nine protein sources currently in my cupboard: quinoa, lentils, millet, white navy beans, brown rice, almonds, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), barley, kidney beans.  It definitely makes the choice of beef, pork, chicken or fish boring in comparison. And that's just what's in my cupboards right now.

So, if you're currently on an omnivore diet, I hope you at least try to chose more "ethical" meat.  Better than that, I'd be thrilled if you committed to giving up meat completely, but once a week is still good.  Otherwise, well, there's always more room over here in the veg*n room!

(I often joke around about my problem of food hoarding.  When there are also talks of disasters striking, though, I take comfort in - and comfort my cat with - the knowledge that he'll eat me before I eat him...which won't likely happen for six months after being trapped in my overstocked apartment.  Even in the worst disaster, I'm sure we'll be able to sneak out into the river valley for some vegetation by that time...)