Food for Thought

While reading over a friend's blog recently, I noticed she had such passion behind her writing, so I decided that maybe I could update the family blog, give the daughter one of her own (for fun of course since she can't really manage it yet at 6 months) and give myself one. A place I can electronically capture thoughts on various thinkings I have and don't necessarily need to vocalize. 

Passion in mind, I will get this blog started with something that I feel strongly for and that is my vegetarianism. When confronted for my reasoning behind not eating meat, I often feel like I'm put in the spotlight and I know the questions aren't ill-intended, but verbally communicating isn't my strong suit and having to put this into words is just tedious and I usually just brush it off with a swift and quick answer. You see, answering it honestly could be taken as pretentious or as if I'm trying to urge the asker to reconsider their views or make them a vegetarian. I'm not doing it for other people, I'm doing it for myself and yes, the animals in question. And, if in the process I happen to convince another to rethink their eating habits, then that's fantastic. 

Growing up in a German family prompted many a meal designed around meats. You name it, we ate it. I didn't think about what it was but I just knew it was tasty and I enjoyed it. Sometime around the early 2000s I thought more about what I was eating because I was the one preparing it. Honestly, preparing chicken and pork was gross but I knew the end result was a delicious meal. The thoughts of preparation led to me thinking about what it was I was doing and where the pork or chicken came from and that it was indeed a living and breathing organism at one point. Without going into detail about how the food industry shapes the way we think and markets these items, because you can go and Wikipedia that later or watch a Netflix on it, I decided to make a decision. It was easy to make the decision because my husband had had the same feelings and we decided, cold turkey (no pun intended), to stop eating it. Over the years we started eliminating red meats, then fish and then finally all of it. At first we felt inclined to try every faux meat on the market but eventually decided to explore our options and find some creative eats. 

One of the most agitating questions I get is, "So, what do you eat?" Well, everything else. Pasta, vegetables, sandwiches, burritos, cake, ice cream, fruit, waffles and, well, you get the idea. There is so much more in the world of food that I'm not going to list it all and I find that once we let go of the meats, we became more exploratory in the kitchen and ultimately found some fabulous recipes. Additionally, we try recipes from other cultures because there are so many recipes around the world that don't include meat. 

Bottom line for me - I love my cats and I love animals. So, why would I eat them? Vegetarianism aside, I try to make a better decision about what goes in my body. Yes, I love sweets and could certainly use a little help in that area but otherwise, I try to base my decision on whether I can pronounce what is listed in the ingredients or whether it should be there. Even buying foods for Dylan makes the shopping visit a little longer because I analyze the label and don't think gelatin or tuna oil have any place in my daughter's pureed vegetables. She'll get her vitamins elsewhere. I'll just make it myself! 

So, there you have it, my extended version of the usual "blow off" answer. If I answered truthfully in person, some of you might think I'm being a snob or what have you but really, I'm just making a decision for myself and trying to make the world a little better of a place. How does being an herbivore help the planet? Well, I'll let you Wiki that one too. :)