One step closer
I've written in previous blog entries about my more-or-less successful adventures with soy-based Garden Burgers and Boca Burgers. They didn't suck, and I was in general pleasantly surprised.
One thing I've waffled about, increasingly more so, over the past few years is attempting to cut meat out of my diet - something which sounds suspiciously like becoming a vegetarian. ;-) That's problematic because when it gets down to it, I really don't like the taste of vegetables. I'm the type that strips a burger free of tomatoes, detests most forms of corn, marvels at the demon-spawned creation of okra and gets almost nauseous at the smell of a banana. (For the record, I have no qualms with lettuce, some forms of spinach, sprouts, radishes, carrots, asparagus, broccoli and onions, among others.)
But it's becoming harder for me to ignore the reality behind what being a carnivore involves, although I try hard. Today, my resolve was tested with this story on mad cow disease. Some of the grisly facts were put out there for me to unintentionally read.
Some salient points (aside from the disease itself) - cows that are sickly and can't walk ("downed") are still good enough to slice up and serve as burgers. "Brain matter" winds up in pet food. Some of the animals are ground up and served as livestock food - a form of cannibalism, if you will. These aren't pleasant thoughts for me to consider, and I suppose if I knew just the slightest bit more about what goes on to bring meat to my table, I'd never touch it again so I try to remain blissfully ignorant. I also know that if I were entirely in my hands, I would have extreme difficulty in killing an animal even to feed myself. Here at least the cats can rest easier. ;-)
Given all that, I'm in the throes of forming a New Years resolution that attempts to strike a pragmatic balance. I know full well that I can't easily give meat up, and I think there are certainly cases where I don't have moral issues with it - free range animals come to mind. I also don't really have a problem with dairy products or things like that. My resolution is that I'll try to restrict my meat intake as much as reasonably possible in the new year. There's no way I can go vegetarian, but I'm curious to see how close I can get and still have a diet that tastes good and doesn't make me freak out about all the crazy stuff of which I'd like to remain ignorant. And I'm sure that I'll enjoy a slab of greasy meat every now and again - at social functions, when my diet needs the protein, and in moments of weakness and laziness.
Comments
Hope you like tofu! You'll need to figure out how to get that protein in your diet somehow...
Posted by: lyssa | December 24, 2003 08:01 AM
If you'd like to read another scary story on prion diseases, chick this baby out :/ http://msnbc.msn.com/Default.aspx?id=3069552&p1=0
Posted by: kap | December 26, 2003 12:11 AM
Well, organic meat as a rule, is much healthier... unless you are buying from vendors that are slapping a bogus sticker on their meat in an attempt to cash in, organic meat will be from animals that have been raised and fed in healthy, responsible ways.
Secondly, you can always raise your own, which is what I tend to do... with everything except for beef, which I buy from a local farmer who I know, and who's carrot fed beef is simply the best. :)
Otherwise yes, meat these days is pretty gross. Then again, so are vegetables... aside from being genetically engineered into the next dimension, which some don't see as an issue, the hybrids used are virtually tasteless, their nutrition value is low, and the amount of pesticides they are soaked with is simply not funny.
Posted by: Begemotike | December 26, 2003 11:00 PM
Just for the record, more people have died choking on their steak compared to those who have died from BSE. From what I've read, the food supply is pretty safe as the brain, spinal cord and intestine (where the disease is found) are all removed from the cow before it is processed.
Also, they're saying the cow came from Canada... :)
Posted by: Alex | December 27, 2003 12:20 PM
My wife and I try to eat a couple of meatless dinners a week. Like you said, it's a start. A useful tip is that if beans are prepared properly (soaked, I think) they will not give you gas. So we sometimes have a bean+vegetable saute over pasta. Some beans we like better than others, so if you don't like one variety try another. Something I also like is diced tofu and cucumbers in a "thai" peanut sauce (peanut butter, sesame oil, maybe other things) over pasta, chilled.
The Brad Hole: The one and only website for Mac gamer vegetarian recipe exchanges!
Posted by: Matt Diamond | December 29, 2003 08:53 AM
Hi Brad, I'm a Mac gamer, and a strict vegan. I think it's great that you're making changes to your life that are better for your own health, animals, and the environment. Even if you don't intend to go fully vegetarian, every bit helps. I highly recommend the book "Becoming Vegetarian" by Vestanto Melina; it's a great introduction that covers diet & nutrition from a scientific point of view, as well as supplying plenty of recipes and tips on stocking your kitchen. A vegetarian diet doesn't have to be bland or boring at all! If you have the option in your area, try eating at some vegetarian Indian or Buddhist Chinese restaurants, and finding dishes you like; then you can try making similar things at home. And the meat-substitutes you mentioned can make it easy to adjust your existing diet; I'm fond of Yves Veggie Cuisine myself for burgers, weiners, etc. (but there's so much more to eating than meat & potatoes!).
As for protein, the average North American gets way more than they need. It's really not difficult at all to get all you need when vegetarian, just by eating a balanced diet.
Posted by: Sylvan Korvus | December 31, 2003 05:49 PM