The Vegetarian Torture

[LittleOldLady]

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I love this thread.

I don't hate vegetarians, but I think they are often self-righteous and pompous about their choices, e.g., all of Elaine's references to "eating flesh," and the like.

I also find some vegetarians ridiculous, i.e., the ones who believe that animals have "rights" and who somehow equate dogs, cats, cows, etc. with humans. "We all share the same earth," garbage like that.

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I would like to say that ELaine and Edward have never said one censorious thing to me about the fact that I eat meat and seafood. We eat together as a family at least once a week, and I am always consulted about what I can/cannot eat whether we are going out or eating a home-cooked meal. Edward called me yesterday with the recipe for the evening's main dish to be sure I could eat it. When we go to a restaurant I order meat or fish (mostly fish), and the rest of the family get something vegetarian--except for little Joey who usually gets chicken.

I have very stringent dietary restrictions, and for various reasons I cannot eat legumes, most raw salad veggies, eggs (I am restricted to very few), and most cheeses (which are too high in fat and sodium). Basically my two sources of protein are non-fat dairy products (which must be limited because of the carbs) and meat/fish (especially fish). I love fruits and vegetables and eat as much of those as my diet strictures and digestion permit.

I accept the fact that Edward's health has improved since he became a vegetarian. He lost weight (the vegetarian choice keeps him out of the fast food joints) and his blood chemistry improved significantly. I also appreciate his concern about factory farming and the mass use of hormones and antibiotics in modern animal husbandry. I do not think it is good to add those hormones/antibiotics to the human diet, and I have certainly reduced the quantity of meat I consume (I am restricted to a portion size of 2-3 ounces--think half a burger).

I, however, do not have a moral/ethical problem with eating meat/fish/poultry and other animal-derived foods (dairy, eggs, honey). Our anatomy and physiology (dentition, digestive apparatus, need to obtain certain amino acids in our diet) clearly indicate that we are omnivores, just as cats are carnivores and cows are herbivores. We are designed to eat animal protein, just as we are also designed to eat fruits and vegetables. Nature has its food chains, and we happen to be at the top of one. If we venture out of our domain and enter the ocean, we may end up being prey for the sharks at the top of that food chain.

If eating meat and fish has ethical and moral problems for some, if not for me, I think that the exploitation of migrant (and often illegal) workers by fruit and vegetable growers also presents moral and ethical problems. I did, after all, participate in the great grape boycott back in the day.

The world is an imperfect place, and each of us needs to find his/her own way to bring about a small improvement. In current Jewish thinking this is called tikkun olam (healing the world)--(usually) small unilateral acts that make an improvement. For some tikkun olam may be vegetarianism, for others something else.

Plants (for the most part) live by photosynthesis. Animals feed from other life forms. That's just the way it is.