Nov
06
Eating meat is the biggest ethical dilemma I face. On one hand, I love, love, love meat. And not only meat, but the meatiest of meaty things, like marrow. On the other hand, I love, love, love animals. That Sarah McLaughlin commercial for the American Society for the Prevention and Cruelty of Animals – the one with “Angel” playing in the background – makes me sob every time. Last year’s infamous Sarah Palin turkey pardon video (the one where she’s being interviewed by a reporter while a turkey meets its gory end in the background) had me vowing to never eat meat (or, at least, turkey) again. And every time I see an anti-meat ad in the subway – like the recent one that claimed Jack Russell puppies and piglets have the same IQ – I hate myself. But I always go back to meat. (And not always the organic, free -range, happy animal-stuff either. Hey, I’m on a budget.)
A major reason I can’t kick the habit? Aside from the aforementioned meat love, my boyfriend is also a hardcore carnivore. Merely talking about going vegetarian gets his back up – and even I must admit he has a point when he repeatedly tells me he’s met few people who enjoy meat as much as I do.
I recently read Alicia Silverstone’s new book, The Kind Diet, in which she describes coming home one day and announcing to her partner that she could no longer eat meat. He immediately agreed to join her, something I guarantee you would never happen in my household. I’m curious to hear from all the non-meat eaters out there: has going vegetarian ever caused any relationship friction?
My solution, for now, is to abstain from meat – but not fish, which I know is entirely hypocritical – one month out of the year, and, aside from that, to limit my yearly red meat eating to a once-a-month-or-so splurge. It’s not exactly flexitarianism and it’s definitely not the (very smart, in my opinion) vegan-before-six approach that New York Times columnist Mark Bittman advocates. But it’s something.
And with that, I’ll leave you with a photo of the yummiest meatless meal I’ve enjoyed this week: Chatelaine’s roasted fish with feta crust, from the December 2009 issue.
Happy weekend.
Roasted fish with feta crust
One Response to “ Of meat and men ”
Good article – I think many people face a similar dilemma. If you’re a true meat lover (like my family) then you’re unlikely to stop eating meat altogether. We decided to stop eating meat from the grocery store (didn’t know where it came from, how the animal was treated during its lifetime, what was in the meat) and now we raise our own, (and ironically eat less meat, perhaps because we are more aware of the connection between field and fork.) Obviously, this is not an option for everyone, but there are other local, sustainable farmers out there from whom you can purchase meat (and save money too). Also worth remembering that if we stop eating beef and lamb and pork altogether, there will be no inherent value in the animals themselves and many breeds will go extinct. People aren’t going to keep beef cows around as pets.
By Denise Nielsen on Nov 9, 2009