Day 23 - Examination

My relationship with meat is complicated.

I eat meat. I generally don't eat meat at home, though I usually do when I go out. I grew up in a community where vegetarianism was fairly common and not eating pork or shellfish was definitely the norm. I've grown up eating lots of tofu and meat substitutes...right alongside my chicken nuggets. And let's be honest, Big Franks are one of my top five favorite food groups. 

As I've grown older, I've tried to think more critically about my meat consumption. Health wise, there seems to be some debate about how much meat is healthy, which types are healthy, or whether we should be eating meat at all. On the animal cruelty and environmental impact front, things seem a little clearer = eating meat isn't very kind to animals, and feeding/raising livestock is one of the leading causes of deforestation and methane. I've always said that if it came to butchering my own animals, I'd pass and stick to vegetables.

The most interesting part of the whole issue is that caring about animals and the environment hasn't been a good enough reason for me to stop eating meat. Convenience and habit have easily trumped (I have to be honest, the word 'trumped' has a whole new meaning in this political season) my any moral sensibilities I might have about eating meat. 

I don't know if I will become a vegetarian one day. Maybe. Maybe Not. My boyfriend is a vegetarian and it is difficult to cook for one or to go to a restaurant and not be able to share all the food. But I do like being able to travel and eat all the new local foods without worrying if the food has meat in it. Whatever I end up doing with my life in this area, there is definitely value in critically examining my values, beliefs and behaviors. As long as I am involved in the process, I'm headed in the right direction.