"Just curious - are you outright vegetarians or will you be feasting upon the turkey this thanksgiving?"
So glad you asked.
I think our friend Randy summed it up best when he said, "So, you don't eat meat, but you're not vegetarians."
It all started because I love food and I love to read, which eventually led to reading about food . . . how to cook it, bake it, roast, it grill it, grow it, spice it . . . and then I got to how it is processed*. I don't have to be too explicit (nor will I, for my bacon-loving friends' sake). But, I will say that don't ever want to a) eat animals as if they are just protein delivery systems, b) vote for unsound environmental practices with my dollars, or c) grace my system with extra hormones and antibiotics. We do eat meat if it falls outside those parameters (eg. chicken that lived a chickeny life, cows that eat grass instead of corn, etc.). It can be hard to find and it's expensive, so we don't do it often. I also feel better since I started eating meat sparingly, so I don't really miss it.
Last year we had a great Thanksgiving which involved a not-great, but free Tofurkey from PETA. This year PETA can keep its Tofurkeys. Ew! We got over the finding-substitutes-for-meat and this-dish-is-supposed-to-have-meat-in-it phase pretty quickly. Vegetable based meat substitutes are generally not a healthy or tasty option because they are so heavily processed, and the texture is always slightly off.
A happy harvest celebration to all.
*Reality-shattering reading list available upon request
I'm wondering if you've ever read, "What to Eat." by Marion Nestle. I don't agree with some of the conclusions that she comes to in her book, but I think that she at least acknoweldges credible science in her book. If you have read it, I would be interested in your opinion. Have a good Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm not ready to have my reality shattered (ignorance truly is bliss), I have been very interested in buying more meats that are grass-fed, free range, living-their-animal-lives-the-way-God-intended, type meat. But I don't know where to get it. Any ideas where to find beef, chicken, and pork like that?
ReplyDeletei'm famous!!!
ReplyDeletei am so relieved that your turkey will be killed humanely ;)
happy thanksgiving, i remember our last one together, 2002 at your mom's friend's house. miss you!
Mike - I haven't read that book, but I'm slowly making my way through Food Politics, also by Marion Nestle. So far (which is not very far), so good.
ReplyDeleteLara - You can get lamb and beef at the Co-op or farmer's market, and I've heard that some of the health food stores have cage-free chickens.
Sara - I think I slept through most of that day. I miss you, too.
This is the beauty of having a father who raises his own cows. For Christmas this year my parents gave my brother and me a half a cow to split. I can't remember the last time I've had to buy beef from the grocerey store. It's wonderful! Have a lovely Thanksgiving and I bet the turkey will be delicious.
ReplyDeleteHi Linds...This is Jessica Beesley (now Zetterquist), and I want to know more about the Co-op that you and J. Clark have been involved with (CSA is it?). Any chance you'll post about this experience? Or can point me to any interesting links?
ReplyDelete