I am still thoroughly struggling with if, how, where, why I should or shouldn’t eat meat and here are my thoughts so far. I love food, including meat, and it’s not that I’m missing it after only a week or so, but I’m not convinced I ‘shouldn’t’ eat meat (there are various arguments proposed in Skinny Bitch such as our bodily design, digestion enzymes, shape of our teeth, etc.) but there are valid arguments. However, in considering my potential success in life (blogging, writing articles, publishing cookbooks, etc) I should either go one way or another.
Well, I think I’m going to reconsider the anti-meat and animal products routine. I know there are substitutes, and I plan to use them when I can (soy milk, veggie burgers, etc), but in general I love being creative in the kitchen without hesitating to use certain ingredients because a book said not to. Now, I do plan on being as responsible as possible in choosing all natural ingredients (MSG and pesticides-ew!) and knowing where the animal meat came from. Being in Costa Rica, this is fairly easy, as most farms and markets are very accessible.
I just can’t let go of delicious foods like Parmesan and feta cheese, bacon bits, etc. And I shouldn’t have to. I will do what I can to avoid the mass-produced products (also easier to do in Costa Rica) and get organic products delivered to my house. That’s right, I am about to be a proud subscriber to NaturaStyle.com, who has all the natural products you could think of including meats such as fish, chicken and beef. There are a ton of home delivery options all over the US, UK, Canada, Australia, etc you just have to look for them. I have created an organic food delivery directory that will help you find what you need. If you know of something out there that’s not on the list, please comment and I’ll add it.
It’s hard to get a handle on the animal cruelty that happens in slaughterhouses all over the world, and not knowing if the hamburger your eating came from a screaming cow before it got to your plate is something I’ll have to consider. But, I’m feeling better about just doing research and knowing the conditions in which my food is coming from. Don’t trust government agencies to protect you, they only have dollar signs on the brain. Where there’s money, there’s corruption, so don’t think for a second they care about what you are ingesting. You need to be responsible for yourself and protect your health by eating all natural foods and organic products.
I would point out that the number of vegans and vegetarians are growing, and currently provide a considerable market for vegan cookbooks and such (my wife just bought the Veganomicon and is excited to start using it).
I think it is impossible to believe industry can keep animals as property and not be expected to abuse them. Please see this video as you continue to research this: http://meat.org
Thanks for your comments. I know it will be a struggle in both directions, I am just happy to be taking steps in the direction of knowledge, not ignorance, which is the norm these days.
[…] This came to me today by way of a ‘thought for the day’. I’m not sure who wrote it so I can’t take credit, but it relates well to my first post which starts to answer the question: Should I Eat Meat?. […]
[…] the government and the FDA to look the other way. This information can also be found in the book Skinny Bitch which I sited in an earlier […]
It’s a personal choice, if you choose not to eat meat, please don’t be an anti-meat crusader.
For two years I was a vegatarian and a successful one at that, I made my choice not because I loved animals so much but it was because I hated Vegtables.