Live to Eat: Part 1 of 2
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This morning, my four-year-old daughter asked me, “Do steaks grow on trees?” (I have since been notified by a friend that this was a “Martha Speaks” reference. If you’re not in the know, “Martha Speaks” is a PBS show about a dog who ate some alphabet soup and now can talk. It’s cute, as far as these things go.)
When I replied that, actually, steaks come from cows, she started laughing and said, “That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard!” Normally, this may not have jumped out at me, but her timing is very interesting (even if it is coincidental, again because of the talking dog) because she hit on a topic that has been very much on my mind lately, and that is my life as a carnivore.
But first, a few words about me and food in general:
I love food.
I love eating food, drinking food, making food, talking about food, and reading about food. I even love tweets and Facebook posts about food — it makes me happy to hear what my friends are eating, and I’ve exchanged some great recipes via Twitter and FB.
For me, the answer to the question, “Do you eat to live, or live to eat?” is so obvious that the question need not be asked. The same goes for many of my close friends, and I don’t think that is a coincidence. For me, any version of the perfect evening would necessarily include a great meal.
I’ve already written about the food-intake changes we’ve gone through over here; between our participation in a CSA (summer and winter shares now), David’s constant bread baking, my new-found love for cooking and baking, and David’s amazing garden we are on a specific path.
I guess what is happening now is a logical next step on that path, albeit a more difficult one. The issue I’m struggling with is this: If I care so much about where my produce, milk, bread, and eggs comes from and what may be sprayed all over it, how could I not care about the meat I eat?
Recent books, such as Jonathan Safran Foer’s “Eating Animals,” and recent movies, such as “Food Inc.” have stoked my fire, although, in the nature of full disclosure, I should say that I have not read or seen either work in its entirety. I almost don’t need to — just hearing Foer’s interview on WBUR’s “On Point,” or seeing the NOW interview with filmmaker Robert Kenner was enough to get me on board on a few basic points:
- When we eat “factory farm” meat (99% of all meat eaten in the US, according to Foer), we are eating meat that lived and died inhumanely, and
- we are contributing to the #1 source of global warming, and
-we are eating animals that have most likely been injected with antibiotics, and who walked around in the dark, in their own feces, stepping on other sick or dead animals.
I know: Gross. Sorry. To make it even worse, you’ll see that I’ve presented a trifecta: One ethical issue, one environmental issue, and one health issue.
To his credit, Foer does a great job (in this interview, anyway — I’ve heard him called “self-righteous” and worse in various reviews) of reminding us that there is a whole world between meat-eaters and vegetarians. (Interestingly, actress Natalie Portman read his book and immediately went vegan.)
About two weeks ago, when I decided to start working towards a diet that is free of factory farm meat, I entered this “whole world,” or gray area; I am not a vegetarian and I actually have no plans to become a vegetarian. As it is, I’m sure I eat less meat than most Americans (that’s not saying much), but when I go out I usually have a nice piece of beef or fish. I guess I won’t be doing that anymore. I didn’t even have turkey on Thanksgiving. (Yes, I realize how pathetic that sounds but it just further illustrates how meat has become so important and ubiquitous that wankers like me can skip one portion and act righteous.)
To drive home this point, Foer states, in the “On Point” interview: “”The essential question is not, ‘Is it right or wrong to eat animals?’ That is a distracting question…The important question is, ‘Is it right to do the things we’re doing? Is this farming system something we can stomach? Is it something we want to support with our money and, in effect, with our votes?’”
His real-life examples are great. He talks about how, if you knew that your neighbor had a pregnant pig in their basement, left in total darkness in a cage so small that the pig couldn’t turn even around, and it was never allowed fresh air and had never been outside, you would likely call animal control in your town. It is unlikely that you would give your neighbor some money to support the cause. (My addition: You probably wouldn’t put your name on a list to get some of the bacon, either. Remember, the pig is standing it its own poop and always has been.)
And, in case you’re wondering, the answer is yes, I do see that this is a slippery slope of ethics and opinions and misinformation. Truthfully, I have no idea what I’m doing, but I’m guessing that most vegetarians would argue that I’m not doing enough, and most average American carnivores would argue that, well, meat is delicious and I should shut up and keep eating it.
I say I haven’t eaten factory farm meat in two weeks but that’s not really true — I’ve eaten soups that are made with chicken stock. Can I really omit chicken stock? Do I have to? Of course not — I don’t have to do any of this. But now that I’ve really spent some time thinking about that nasty meat in the supermarket, I don’t think I could eat even a juicy burger without wondering what “extras” I was consuming.
Plus, I have way more choices than 99% of the world’s population. My farm stand sells meat from a local farm (you know, a place where animals walk around outside and eat grass and are not injected with drugs), so, for a premium, that is what I’ll be eating when I crave meat. And a new vegetarian take-out just opened in my town; I had a delicious stuffed pepper from there for lunch today. So, you know, I won’t go hungry (I’m sure you were concerned).
But I don’t know what to do about the chicken stock — sorry to obsess, but I use it to cook everything! And while I’m asking questions, have I ruined any restaurant meal for the rest of my life? And what do I do about the whole fish situation? Jeepers.
At this point, what I’m saying is quite simple. I’m not trying to convince anyone of anything, because I’m not that person. (And, in turn I hope that no one will try to talk to me about how, if I’m going to eat meat from the local farm , I might as well eat my own dog, because that connection is not there for me.) Who knows, maybe I will give up after two more weeks, but I doubt it; I haven’t eaten at McDonald’s in years, not since I really thought about what I was ingesting when I ate there.
For now, all I’m saying is this: I will pay attention to what I “live to eat.”
(Part 2 of 2 will bring the focus back to my daughter and her eating habits, and the inevitable discussion about chickens and chicken.)
