On Eating Meatless
I'm a vegetarian. It amazes people. I don't know why. They ask me questions about it, which I think is great. So I thought I'd post my page on vegetarianism in something remotely resembling a FAQ.
Frequently Asked Questions, and Frequently Addressed Comments
- REALLY?!?!
- But what do you EAT?!?!
- Is it for religious reasons?
- Why are you a vegetarian?
- Do you eat poultry or seafood?
- Yeah, I don't eat meat either... just pork, poultry, and seafood.
- How long have you been doing that?
- Is it hard?
- You aren't going to throw blood on my fur coat, are you?
- But your shoes are leather, you hypocrite!
- But you're... you're so... um... so...
- My doctor tells me I should cut down. What's the best way?
- More information on the Web
- REALLY?!?!
- Yes, really.
- But what do you EAT?!?!
- Anything and everything I want to eat. I love to eat and I
always eat good food. That, for me, simply does not include
animal flesh.
- Is it for religious reasons?
- Nope. Not for me, anyway. I once considered telling people it is, because
it'd save me a lot of time answering all the rest of the stuff I've put
here, but I decided that educating people is a good thing to do.
- Why are you a vegetarian?
- Several years back, a couple of movies came out about the damage we're
doing to the Amazon rainforest. One was "Ferngully," an
animated flick that was a lot of fun, and the other was "Medicine
Man," one of my favorite Sean Connery movies. They really brought
home to me that razing the rainforests is a STUPID
thing to do.
Not long after that, I learned that the reason the Amazon rainforests
are being destroyed is to create grazing land for beef cattle for
export to the USA. So I thought, OK, here's something I can do. Nothing
I eat will have caused one square inch of rainforest to be destroyed.
I stopped eating beef.
Within a couple of weeks, I started noticing that I felt really
good! I even lost a little weight, and food started tasting better. So I
decided I'd, someday, quit all animal meats and find out what
happened.
It was a couple or three years later, as I was walking past the poultry
case in a grocery store, when I noticed the blood and serous fluid
dripping from the packages and I noticed the smell. It was disgusting.
I said to myself, "and you've been EATING that stuff!"
Well, not from then on. I decided that was the time. No more animal
flesh. I'd try some fish or something in a month just to see if I
missed it, though.
A month later, I tried some shrimp, which I used to adore, and it
tasted vile to me. From then on, I was a decided vegetarian.
- Do you eat poultry or seafood?
- No. Nothing from the animal kingdom. Unless you count the bacteria
nobody can avoid, the insect parts that are in processed foods, that
kind of thing.
- Yeah, I don't eat meat either... just pork, poultry, and seafood.
- Oh, come on. Birds and fish and pigs are made of meat. What you aren't
eating is beef, a specific kind of meat. If that's what you want, I think
it's great... after all, it's how I started. But don't tell people you
don't eat meat if you actually do eat meat.
- How long have you been doing that?
- I can't really recall now. It's been over ten years.
- Is it hard?
- Sometimes it's inconvenient. When I'm hungry and in a rush, it'd be
nice to stop at a burger place and grab a bite, and the cafeteria at
the hospital where I work is stocked by cooks with absolutely no
imagination. Pizza and Taco Bell are good choices for me, and I can get
a salad anywhere. Some of the local sandwich shops are offering a
veggie sub, which is basically a cheese sub without the cheese. If
you have a Capriotti's near you, do yourself a favor and
patronize them heavily; they cater beautifully to those who eat
meatless.
- You aren't going to throw blood on my fur coat, are you?
- Absolutely not. I've never understood the idea of showing compassion to
animals by brutalizing humans. Those militant morons are accomplishing
the opposite of what they claim to want.
- But your shoes are leather, you hypocrite!
- You know, that sounds as stupid to me as the idea of my throwing blood
on fur coats sounds to you. But at least I have enough class to avoid
calling you names.
- But you're... you're so... um... so...
- Big-boned? Yeah, and I'm fat too. It's because I eat too much high-fat
food and I don't exercise much, which is the same reason most other
people are fat. If I'd lay off the dairy products and get away from
this computer for a little while each day, I'd drop the weight like a
hot rock. If it ever matters enough to me, I'll do it.
I'm really healthy, though, other than my obesity. My blood pressure,
pulse, and respiration at rest are within normal limits, my blood sugar
is great, and my serum cholesterol is around 132. I'll be alive for a
while, unless one of the drunks I have to deal with all the time makes
good on their threats someday.
- My doctor tells me I should cut down. What's the best way?
- Gradually.
Start with animals bigger than you are: cows, pigs, horses, whatever.
The idea in my head is that the bigger an animal is, the more complex
its protein molecules are and the more difficult it is for us to digest
them. Replace them with fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains,
pasta, and yes, smaller animals (including seafood.) If you do
nothing more than this, you'll probably improve your health and
increase your energy by a great deal. And you'll be doing good things
for our planet, too, if such things are important to you.
(Remember to skin your poultry before you eat it.)
While you're at it, replace lots of the butter in your diet with a
really good extra-virgin olive oil. Seriously, you can just about make
a meal out of a loaf of Italian bread and a dish of seasoned olive oil.
Or warm a half-cup of olive oil in which you've put a few sliced cloves
of garlic and a few flakes of red pepper or maybe some basil leaves and
pour it over a pound of angel hair pasta. Maybe I'll post some recipes
here later...
Give yourself some time, and then take the next step: smaller animals.
That includes poultry. This may be a bigger step than the first one
for most people, and it'll be an even greater benefit.
You might be pleased with stopping right here, or you might eventually
want to take it one step futher and eliminate seafood too. Take your
time, assuming you have lots of it, of course.
After that, there's veganism. No milk or egg products either. I haven't
taken this step completely, though I've cut way back. If I did go vegan,
I'd be even healthier and my food costs would drop even more. I'm
simply not interested in going all the way right now.
- More information on the Web
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