Would you be willing to share a little more about your own vegetarian lifestyle? Are you 100% strict on not eating any animal products, or do you eat a little bit of meat here and there?
My reply:
I'm not a strict vegetarian right now. I occasionally eat meat or meat-based products (e.g. chicken broth) on conditions of necessity or hospitality. For example, if a friend cooks me dinner and doesn't know of my vegetarianism, then I will often taste some of their meat-based food (though I rarely eat much of meaty stuff and I generally refuse beef altogether).
Having said that, I must confess that I do occasionally eat seafood. I cook salmon about twice/month (wild caught Alaskan or Canadian) because it is a family favorite. I also indulge in sushi a few times per year.
I try, with some success thanks to Trader Joes, to source our dairy products from organic farms. I feel that organic dairy tastes better and is a better choice than traditional dairy practices. I wish I had the time and energy to give up animal products altogether. I did for a few months and my body felt wonderful. But it was an awful lot of work and I think my kids would be unhappy if I encouraged them to eat that way all the time.
Elise and others, I heartily recommend Francis Lappe's Diet for a Small Planet
if you want to learn more about the environmental costs of meat production. This book is a bit old, but still a good read on the topic and you can generally find used copies of it for just a few dollars.
6 comments:
Thanks, Jana - I added your book recommendation to my wish list. :-) You've totally caught my interest with this issue. I wonder why automobiles are SO publicized and such well-known contributors to the problems with our environment, and I've never heard of the animal issue?
The only aspect of food's impact on the environment I've considered in the past is that buying local produce and locally-produced food is better for the environment, but once again, I've seen that as an automobile issue too, since transporting food geographically requires more fossil fuel burning.
Hi, Jana-
Have you noticed a difference in the acceptance/non-acceptance of vegetarianism among your Mormon and Quaker friends?
Many Mormons find my vegetarianism odd--and many even argue with me that the D&C specifically prohibits vegetarianism. (To be fair, the D&C does say that religions shouldn't require vegetarianism, but it never says that individuals shouldn't practice vegetarianism. In fact, IMO the "very little meat" clause on the WoW seems to support a veggie lifestyle.
OTOH, Quakers are quite tolerant, even encouraging, of vegetarianism. I'd say that about 1 out of 5 every Quakers that I've met are vegetarian (though that's purely anecdotal).
My favorite Mario Batali quote:
"Some people I know are very intolerant of vegetarians. Not me. Some of my favorite food in the world used to be vegetarian."
Especially after reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, and Michael Pollan's articles, I've been very tempted to go veggie. See how I switched the topic from your veggieness to my reading habits? Brilliant!
When we first went as a family to Quaker meeting, we commented on the abundance of vegetarian items at the after-meeting potluck. One vegetarian leaned over and said, "I brought the chicken because I felt bad for the attendees who like meat."
See how I steered the conversation back on topic by ignoring john.white's threadjack? :P
John, we have to work on filtering the self-reflection.
:-P
I stick my tongue out at your critique of my thread-jack kung-fu.
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