Turning the Tables

I thought about Lucinda's experimentation with vegetarianism and veganism the other day and wondered how someone crossing over from the other side would manage, i.e. going from a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle to including meat-consumption.  By crossing-over, I must include that this person is coming from a vegetarian/vegan culture.  What would that be like?  How would their community react?

I imagine the main question for this person would be "Why did you decide to start eating meat?" or "Why do you eat meat?"

I asked myself this question over and over again a few weeks ago  observing when I did eat meat.  As much as I like to think my eating habits are intuitive, I found that my reasons for eating meat often aren't.  My current list on why I eat meat.

From Naturally Local: Life of a Foodie, Farmer, Free-Spirit and Activist

Typical reasons:

1. I enjoy its taste

More subtle reasons in my subconscious based on family, in-born expectations (not unlike nutritional superstition!).  These reasons are not what I believe in my heart, but they do exist in my reactions because of how I was raised, what I'm exposed to societally, etc:

1. It is more nutrient dense (not true, but my mom was a dietitian; growing up, we all believed this)
2. I grew up eating meat
3. I need it to be healthy
4. It is easier to prepare
5. I  have money, now, so I deserve it (entitlement)
6. It is just easier to make meals with meat since most of the family desires meat in their food

My typical reason is, to me, a perfectly acceptable reason for eating meat.  It is an honest reason in terms of intention.  The other reasons are ones I don't like to admit to--they are reasons that haunt me when I'm in a jam, need a quick food fix and throw a steak on the grill, or when I'm tired of eating seasonal produce during a limited season (hello, anyone else, turnip overload in winter?), or when I have family over and don't want to offend them by not including meat on the menu (immigrant family who looks at meat as valuable and a sign of respect to serve, even after living in the U.S. for over 3 decades).

Of course, I know how to fix all these issues.  Cook meals ahead of time.  Suck it up and eat leftovers and the rest of my turnips.  Explain to family that the 4.00/pint berries are honoring them more than just as much as fresh side (I concede, I too am addicted to pork belly).  Blah blah blah blah blah.  Basically, when I don't eat meat to savor its flavor and experience, I'm being a wee bit lazy.

I can't change how I was raised, what I was exposed to socially growing up, or even what peer pressure can sometimes generate during a madhouse of family holidays (the fanfare, the heightened emotions!).  But it is by forcing myself to face The Silly that keeps me honest about my intentions and helps me make changes to my life that require a huge paradigm-shift.  For example, when I found out back in 2006 that beef-consumption contributes more CO2 emissions than domestic car use alone (newest numbers, 78%), it was a shock to our pride-party that our car only uses 35 mpg.  It was a shock that a big action--like buying a fuel-efficient car--had less of an effect on the environment than taking in smaller amounts of meat everyday while making sure the meat we DID take in was dimensionally the highest quality possible.

I guess I'm throwing all this personal exploration out there to see if anyone else has struggled with these sorts of issues.  Why do YOU eat meat?  Why don't you?  What was your journey to changing behaviors, and when was it difficult for you?





Carbon-footprint notes:

• Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler (image)- NY Times
• Livestock a major threat to environment (FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN)
• Hamburgers are the Hummers of food in global warming (AFP)
• Can a 72,000 Cow CAFO Be Sustainable? (Change.Org)
• Grass-fed beef has bigger carbon footprint (Discovery)
• Defending Grass-Fed Beef: A Rancher Weighs in (The Atlantic)
• How Cows (Grass-Fed Only) Could Save the Planet (Time)