Seriously Considering Being a Vegetarian
The moral dilemma and yuck factor of meat has really begun to hit home with me lately. I’m losing my enjoyment of meat, not because I dislike the taste but because I’ve become more aware… More aware of the significant negative impacts the meat production industry has on the environment. More aware of the horrific cruelties suffered by the animals. More aware that the flesh that ends up on my plate is full of anti-biotics, hormones and pesticides. (And I can’t help but wonder how that might have contributed to my disease!)
Just today, in my normal course of surfing the web, these links crossed my radar:
Mystery Meat Macrophotography - Mmmm, processed meats! Except for a single hot dog last summer, I haven’t eaten any in a very long time… at least 8 months or more.
Top 10 Reasons Not to Eat Chicken - I knew all this too and we are still eating chicken. In fact, buying it from a supermarket whose factory poultry farms have been filmed undercover to expose their unsavory practices. Everytime Mel buys their chicken, I tell her I wish she hadn’t. I need to just refuse to eat it.
A few years ago I read Fast Food Nation - an excellent book - and as a result can count on one hand the number of times I’ve eaten fast food since. I just won’t do it now.
I’m currently reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma and haven’t even gotten to the section on meat yet. I’m still reading the first section about corn and even that’s not pretty. The agricultural and farming practices in this country are seriously fucked up; all shaped by goverment policies and subsidies put into place since the end of WWII.
I suspect by the time I’m done with the book I won’t be eating meat anymore.
January 25th, 2008 at 2:43 am
Funny, my big sister and I were discussing beef eating just this evening.
We agreed that, if supermarkets were not required to notify consumers that beef may or may not be from cloned cattle, we would stop eating it.
I try to buy organic beef when I do buy it. It tastes better and assuages my fears of mad cow disease, and now cloning.
I still buy chicken but I never prepare it with the bones or skin attached. It’s just not a good idea anymore.
I’ll bet Whole Foods will not sell cloned beef. I hope so.
In fact, this would probably be a good time to buy stock in Whole Foods, except for the upcoming depression and stock market crash.
February 2nd, 2008 at 9:10 pm
I stopped eating meat for three years after reading the book “The Sexual Politics of Meat.” If you want to accelerate the process of being turned off it’s worth a look.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Hi,
I have an MS Blogger Project underway over at my place. Please visit MS Awareness, Blogging Friends, and a little Link Love to join in.
Thanks,
Lisa