Sometimes you just can't get away from it. That little stirring inside you that gently urges you to do something. Well, today I tried to ignore that stirring more times than I can count. No matter what I was doing- looking at Facebook, checking my e-mail, or even briefly dropping in on Pinterest, everywhere I looked there was something about meat. I give up.
Where I'm Coming From
Personally, I've been a vegetarian since late 2005. I was a demi-vegetarian for 2 or 3 years before that, and now I would consider myself a demi-vegan. I try to avoid dairy unless I know where it came from; relying primarily on a local(ish) Amish farm for raw milk, raw cheese, and other good stuff. Admittedly I do buy organic yogurt, but none of that aspartame-ridden carcinogenic crap the dairy industry wants me to believe could possibly be good for my body. The occasional pizza finds it's way onto my plate, even though I know it will make me feel awful. So that's me.
Before you start going all PETA lover or hater on me, let me be clear. I believe that the Bible is truth, and as such, that man was originally vegan. I also believe that now that Christ has come we are each to make our own choice regarding the consumption of animal flesh. So, when it comes to the morality of eating meat, I'm not going to put down either side of the issue. Rather, I'll simply share with you my thoughts and what I have found, and you can make your own decision. I respect that and expect the same in return. It is only in cases in which individuals choose to be ignorant in which I have issue.
Meat: Were the Good Old Days Really that Good?
Growing up in rural Indiana, I'm quite familiar with your everyday farmer. My grandparents are almost 100, and listening to them talk about when they were younger is like manna from Heaven. They milked their own cows, gathered their own eggs, and raised their own pigs. They knew exactly where their food came from and the conditions in which livestock were kept. But it wasn't all so peachy.
My mom has memories of seeing chickens butchered, having a pet pig sent to the butcher, and getting up ridiculously early to do morning chores before school. Decisions had to be made to keep food on the table for the family above all else, requiring hard work from all the family members.
As far as the conditions at the butcher, your guess is as good as mine. There didn't used to be regulation, so while I'm sure most butcher's were humane and sanitary in their practices, there's really no way to know.
Before the butcher, pretty much everyone slaughtered their own livestock. While I won't go into the details, I recall reading a passage in a book for one of my literature classes of a pig being butchered, and I still have nightmares.
Despite the negatives, the bottom line is that almost everyone knew where their food came from. What about today?
Ignorance and the Meat Industry
You've undoubtedly seen the commercials on television depicting the atrocious conditions livestock endure, as well as the cruelty inflicted. On the flip side, there are the commercials picturing happy cows in California singing in the shower and making slapstick jokes. Look at the walls in the meat and dairy section of your local grocery and you will likely see a calm pastoral scene.
Regardless of your reaction to these images, chances are that you will really need to dig a little (or a lot) to get to the truth.
Are you ready for the truth? I know I'm not. I'd much rather eat whatever I want and assume that the powers that be have my best interests in mind. As you can see this isn't going to turn out to be a one-post wonder. The state of our food supply in general has really been laying on my heart lately, and the more I learn, the more I want to grow everything.
Why Should I Care?
If you're wondering why the heck you should care about your food, think of this. Would you stop and get gas at a place with a cardboard sign, dispensing gas from a sewage tanker truck? Of course not! It's crap! It would ruin your car!
Food is your fuel. And behind those pretty pastoral scenes and blue skies in the supermarket, there's a greasy-haired man with a crooked finger pressed to his lips. Shhh!
Join me on my journey. Let's smack the creep upside the head and scream at him "I want to be healthy!"
Are you in?
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