Other perspectives: beyond veg*nisms

I was brought up by my parents as a strict vegan until around the age of 10, then they had a little lapse and became just vegetarian for a few years. They switched back to being vegan when I was around 14.
When I left home, I found it too hard to continue being a strict vegan while at college etc, so reverted to being vegetarian. At this time, eating meat was unthinkable for me, the idea never even entered my head.

Never having tasted it, there was a certain element of 'not knowing what I was missing'....and a certain element of conditioning from my parents which meant I wasnt really curious to ever try meat.

All this changed when I went travelling at around the age of 23. I ended up living and working on a remote, off grid organic farm on a small island off the west coast of Canada. The farm had lots of free range, grass fed livestock that were obviously treated very well. Everyone else on the farm ate meat, but only meat that came from the farm itself. This really made me think about why I didnt eat meat for the first time, and why I would slap this all encompassing, restrictive label on myself.

I found that I could find no good reason not to eat meat from the farm. The animals clearly had a happy life, were well treated and were not pumped full of hormones and antibiotics. They were also about as 'local' as any food could be, so from an ecologocial perspective I could see no problem.

This thought process culminated, unfortunately, in the death of a female duck at my hands. I felt that if I was going to eat meat, I couldnt justify it unless I was willing to do the dirty part myself. The death was quick, and I'd like to think as painless as possible. The duck ended up in a stew that evening, along with various vegetables also from the farm. I wasnt overly impressed with the meat, but felt no revulsion or disgust at eating it. After that incident, I tried various other meats on the farm including beef, pork and chicken.

So thats the story of how I stopped being a strict vegetarian ...Unfortunately I'm not living in such idyllic surroundings anymore, and only have access to meat from industrial agriculture. I refuse to eat this sort of meat, and so am back on the vegetarian bandwagon until more gainful opportunities arise. Everything about industrial meat production disgusts me, be it the way the animals are treated, the inefficiency of the farming system etc. (the huge amounts of fossil fuels it takes to sustain them) or the fact meat is regularly flown around the world just to please greedy consumers. So I guess I would describe myself as a very selective Omnivore at the moment...

 

I get asked all the time why I am veg*n and I honestly can't give a straight answer anymore....I know my body feels better...I know I did it while I was in culinary school because I felt bad about all the animals....I often feel bad about having leather seats in my car...Then after a while and a few spurts with raw vegan....the consciousness factor really opened up in me...and it made me actually get out in the world...and start thinking...I kind of think of being veg*n as a gateway into the world.....it's not just a diet to me anymore...its more of a lifestyle....I'm not saying I'd never eat meat again.....Theres probably certain times in life where if I had to, I would...but I don't like to think that far ahead....It's about right now

 

I don't like to use the v-word in Redneckia. If I tell people "I don't really eat meat" they get the idea without getting defensive.

Why? I cannot think about meat without thinking of suffering. Takes all the joy out of bacon.

You know that from our earlier conversations that I am pragmatic about things. I'll wear used leather if there are no other shoes at the thrift store, eat meat if people serve it to avoid being rude, etc. So I am prepared to occasionally swallow my sadness.

Funnily enough, I've finally gotten my wife to stop cooking for two, so I actually get to eat a fully vegan diet at home for the first time in years . . .