Defense of Eating Meat...from a Vegetarian

Now at last I can look at you in peace; I don't eat you any more. 

--Franz Kafka while admiring the fish in an aquarium. 

In November 2007 I became a vegetarian. I do research for an economic development firm and the more research I did into meat production, the less I could stomach the idea of eating meat. After weeks of feeling guilty I just stopped all meat consumption. For a month or two I was pescatarian (eat fish) but shortly into 2008 I stopped doing that as well. And a great weight lifted off my back. I didn't feel guilty anymore.

Now I was never a big meat eater to begin with. I'm not a fan of the textures of most meat. So giving it up wasn't a real problem. Except when it came to Jeff and I cooking. Jeff's a carnivore. I often describe him as a meatatarian. Meat and potatoes and not a lot of vegetables in his diet. So we don't cook well together anymore. But I made him a promise when I became vegetarian that I would never try to convert him. And he made a promise that he would never push meat on me. And that works for us. I think it should work for people in general.

I read an article today about the pig production industry. Pork and bacon are not something I could ever go back to, even if I went back to meat. I was reading the comments on the article and there was a lot of vitriol from both vegetarians and meat eaters. There were many names called and there were several "I hope you die" statements. It was vicious and mean. And it was disgusting. I read only a couple comments before I closed the page. We fight about a lot of terrible things.

And I got to thinking about my vegetarianism. I don't eat meat as a choice. I think that's the right choice for me. I don't want to deal with the guilt I feel is associated with meat consumption (see Kafka above). And while I'd love to see more people eat less meat (or the industry become more humane) I'm not going to lash out at people who do eat meat. I don't eat meat, that's my choice. You do eat meat, that's your choice. Nothing I say is going to change your mind and nothing you say is going to change mine. If we're each comfortable with our decision than we can leave each other alone. I'm going to save my energy for the fights that need fighting (like changing the industry) and leave the individuals, who just want to eat what they want, in peace.

A Love/Hate Relationship

Any of my WoW readers have wondered where my stories have gone. I haven't talked WoW in a while. I continue to play, working to level a paladin and raiding with the guild with my warlock. I spent a good chunk of time over the weekend playing. I leveled my paladin three levels this weekend. It was easy and fun and I looked forward to logging on. Today not so much. 

I have an odd love/hate relationship with WoW recently. I love the time I get to spend raiding and instancing. I enjoy the times where the quests are going quickly. I love that it is active but at the same time doesn't require the same consciousness that writing does. I hate how much time it takes. I hate the repetitive kills and exploring the same places I've gone before. I hate that it takes so much of my productivity away. I love the guild, and love hanging out with them. They are all wonderful people. But I hate the fact that I have spent so much time indoors this summer. 

And more than anything I'm frustrated by the fact that when I am playing WoW regularly, I pretty much stop writing. For some reason these things are mutually exclusive for me. When I am writing regularly I don't log on and then I find myself missing the game a bit, and the guild a lot. When I'm playing regularly, I miss writing and creating. Like an recovering alcoholic, I can't seem to just have one. I can't make that choice. I feel guilty for not writing and I feel guilty for not playing. I probably shouldn't be writing this tonight. I try to keep this place a more positive place and don't normally air my neurotic thoughts. But I just had to sit down and talk about this struggle. I'm not sure why I can't do both. 

All I know is that writing is hard. I am constantly worried about offering my words to the world. I know I shouldn't worry about what others think, but for anyone who knows me, well...no surprise there. And since writing is hard, I find myself playing to avoid having to deal with the writing. And the moment I log on I regret it. And the moment I log off, I look at my writing and regret logging off. Again sorry. Kind of a downer post. I just had to get everything out. Weird night. 

I Married a Meatatarian

When Wendy's came out with their Meatatarian commericals, Jeff and I just died laughing. I finally had a name for what he is. Jeff is the epitome of a meat-and-potatoes guy. If he could eat nothing but bacon cheeseburgers and fries for the rest of his life he would be happy. Throw in the occasional chicken fried steak and he'd be in heaven. I like to joke that if it has flavor, Jeff won't like it.

But I have to say he's been very good about my decision to become a vegetarian. I already avoided most meat, simply because I don't like the taste. So when I finally made the call to cut out meat entirely, it wasn't much of a stretch for me. I miss the occasional salmon sushi or bacon with breakfast, but overall I'm pretty content. For Jeff this has been a bit more of a shift. Not cooking wise, since we've always made our own meals. But in our choice of restaurants. We no longer go out to Barbeque places, because there is nothing for me on the menu. Steakhouses are also no longer mentioned. He's been great about eating more asian and indian food with me where the choices are almost overwhelming. He's just been great about the whole thing, well other than the occasional bacon taunting.

I've been thinking about this because my brother and his family are coming in town this weekend so eating should get interesting. Red Robin and Cosi Cucina (a local italian place) are no problems for me. At Red Robin, I can get a Boca patty on any of their specialty burgers. Cosi has half a page of vegetarian options, all of which are really tasty. But one of their other favorite places is Famous Dave's; and I don't know of anything there that I can eat. I'm sure that I'll be able to find at least something that I can remove the chicken from. They supposedly have some decent salads. Jeff, of course, will be in heaven.

The big thing I'm trying to learn is to not be embarrased to ask them to take the chicken off or to prepare it differently. I've always been one of those people who hated to send a meal back or have it special ordered. I didn't want to be a bother or I didn't want the waitress to be upset. I'm not sure why I thought that would happen. I'm normally pretty polite. This stepping outside of my comfort zone might be good for me. And it will give Jeff a chance to get to some of his favorite restaurants again. After all, Jeff and I have been at opposite ends of the food spectrum for over a decade now and somehow we've survived.