03-24-2010, 04:53 PM
the thing i notice, perhaps because i work with food producers, is that it is the people closest to the animal to have the most respect for the animal and who appreciate and understand the value of the meat or fish they consume. the people who buy their meat in a white tub at the supermarket are the furtherst removed from the animal and consequently have the least understanding and respect for the source of the meat.
i have the utmost respect for traditional ways of life - i live in a landscape that cannot, on the whole, sustain any real vegetable, fruit or cereal growing - it's too hilly, too damp, not warm enough. this part of scotland is dairy country, with beef and sheep farming to supplement the dairy industry. scotland cannot sustain a vegetarian diet using local foods, it's not a traditional diet for this part of the world at all. there are many parts of the world where local food production does easily enable a vegetarian diet, notably asia and india, and in these landscapes vegetarianism is fairly normal.
therefore, as a vegetarian i happily accept that i am the weirdo within my society
and i feel fortunate that the export and import of foodstuffs allows me to have a balanced veggie diet. while i share monica's viewpoint to an extent, and i did more so when i was younger, for me the greatest sadness is the disconnection people have, as a whole, with the food that sustains them.
this is an interesting article http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/w...ea-charman
one thing i have noticed, my veggie toddler totally understands what meat and fish is, it's not as though we've discussed it much at all, i've answered the odd question but that's about it, i've actively explored with him whether he would like to try it - he doesn't. his 5 year old meat eating cousin doesn't know what meat is, her parents (one of whom is veggie) say 'oh we don't want her to know because if she did she wouldn't eat meat'. that's a point of view i don't understand at all. the conversation came about because my son was talking about meat - about chickens being chickens i think - and he was shushed. they would rather lie to their daughter and ask my son not to speak rather than empower their child with knowledge.
sorry for rambling, just thinking out loud - this is an interesting topic and one that is so divisive, it's nice to hear alternative points of view without dialogue becoming heated
i have the utmost respect for traditional ways of life - i live in a landscape that cannot, on the whole, sustain any real vegetable, fruit or cereal growing - it's too hilly, too damp, not warm enough. this part of scotland is dairy country, with beef and sheep farming to supplement the dairy industry. scotland cannot sustain a vegetarian diet using local foods, it's not a traditional diet for this part of the world at all. there are many parts of the world where local food production does easily enable a vegetarian diet, notably asia and india, and in these landscapes vegetarianism is fairly normal.
therefore, as a vegetarian i happily accept that i am the weirdo within my society
and i feel fortunate that the export and import of foodstuffs allows me to have a balanced veggie diet. while i share monica's viewpoint to an extent, and i did more so when i was younger, for me the greatest sadness is the disconnection people have, as a whole, with the food that sustains them. this is an interesting article http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/w...ea-charman
one thing i have noticed, my veggie toddler totally understands what meat and fish is, it's not as though we've discussed it much at all, i've answered the odd question but that's about it, i've actively explored with him whether he would like to try it - he doesn't. his 5 year old meat eating cousin doesn't know what meat is, her parents (one of whom is veggie) say 'oh we don't want her to know because if she did she wouldn't eat meat'. that's a point of view i don't understand at all. the conversation came about because my son was talking about meat - about chickens being chickens i think - and he was shushed. they would rather lie to their daughter and ask my son not to speak rather than empower their child with knowledge.
sorry for rambling, just thinking out loud - this is an interesting topic and one that is so divisive, it's nice to hear alternative points of view without dialogue becoming heated