I am vegetarian, a proud vegetarian, and have been for about two and a half years. I gave up meat for a number of reasons, but mostly because I didn’t like the idea of killing another living being for the benefit of myself. I especially didn’t like the killing for no need, when eating properly a vegetarian lifestyle does not lack in nutrients. With this in mind I started my journey as a young vegetarian, and never looked back. When I started getting involved in environmentalism, I saw even more reasons to be vegetarian: for one the environmental impact of meat, and two commercial and factory farmed meat and the waste it produces. But, I have one confession to make, I like meat; I like the taste of it and I like to cook with it. Despite a desire to eat meat, I have even thought about buying organic meat, I stuck with being vegetarian.
As you may have read in previous posts, I am interning on an organic farm this summer (Trying on the (Hardcore) Sustainable Living Show for the Summer,Beekeeping to Save the World, Lessons in Humanure ). This farm is a small scale, mixed farm; ie, vegetables, laying hens, meat chickens, and meat cows. Now, knowing that the majority of the food eaten on the farm is extremely local; think 100 metre radius, including the meat, I thought about the idea of eating meat again. The meat I would eat though would be different. I would know where it was raised, I would know the farmer (heck I would be the farmer), I would know the living conditions, I would know who slaughtered them, etc. This meat would be different; I would be eating it out of thanks to the animal.
For the first six weeks I went back and forth, in a huge emotional conflict. To eat meat or not eat meat. The idea of animals that were raised for only a single purpose: to eat, does not thrill me. Despite the fact that I know the animal had a good life, I know that it was raised only for eating. The idea of eating another living being’s flesh grosses me out too, it makes me feel creepy. Also, I haven’t eaten meat in so long, I wouldn’t know how it would make me feel.
So, here’s the part you were waiting for…. on July 5th I ate meat, duck to be precise. At the time I liked it; looking back I sort of regret it. I didn’t need to eat it, I just wanted to. Being able to eat meat, and the thrill of eating it consumed me, and it became a big deal.
After I had my meat eating experience, I went to the farmer’s market in Toronto, with a fellow farmer to help sell her beef. The beef is not certified organic, for a number of reasons, but it is raised naturally, with no growth hormones, no antibiotics, it’s free range, grass fed, finished on local oats and barley, and has absolutely no corn in its diet. I thought it was kind of ironic, a vegetarian helping to sell meat at a farmer’s market. Throughout the day, I kept getting cravings for meat. Maybe it was that I had just eaten in a few weeks ago, maybe it was the fact that I was selling meat, maybe it was that I knew the farmer, the cows, the farm and the butcher. Who knows? All I know is that I overcame the craving, and didn’t eat meat…..that week.
In total, I have eaten meat three times this summer, each time I have known the animals living conditions, the butcher, etc. Will I continue to eat meat when I get back home? Maybe, there are a few local beef farms around Prince George that I might go and see. One thing though is that I do not hate people who eat meat, or look down on them for eating meat. If you do eat meat I do encourage you to eat locally. Go have a visit with your local beef/poultry/pork farmer, see what it’s all about, ask questions, and get the low down on your food. Having worked on a farm I have a new appreciation for all food, and for the farmers that produce it, even meat farmers. I know that they work harder than any other farmer, there is so much more to farming than meets the eye, and I really hope that people can start to gain an understanding and respect for that. I might eat meat, not just because I like the taste, but to support a local farmer, whose likelihood is dictated by my eating habits, and the eating habits of others, and who might find it harder to make ends-meat (so to speak) if I am vegetarian. In other words, I believe in supporting all farmers. Also, just because I start eating meat again, doesn’t mean I will eat meat all the time, and when I go to other people’s houses, or out to eat, I will still be, for all intensive purposes, a vegetarian.
I sincerely hope that this has given you some food for thought, and I hope that you really do appreciate your food and the farmers. If you haven’t yet, go to your local farmers market, see what’s in season, get to know a farmer. You’ll be glad you did. For more information about eating locally and seasonally visit www.getlocalbc.org, www.100milediet.org, or your local farmer’s market information booth.
Dig in, and enjoy the abundance of the season in your area.
