Today I did a bit of thinking.
I like animals.
I also like to eat them.
There’s always been this uncomfortable dissonance between those two things. The problem is partially that I quite like meat, and partially because I see vegeterianism as quite a difficult choice. I find it hard to consider the posibility of living without meat, especially considering how prominent meat eating is. For example, I imagine it’d kinda suck to turn up to a pot luck, and all the good dishes are meat ones. It seems like society is built around eating meat. Maybe if everyone was vegeterian, it’d be a lot easier? I dunno. The point is it’s hard, but what am I going to do about it?
So, what I’m thinking is, maybe instead of going cold turkey (no pun intended), maybe I should start by taking small steps? The plan would be to eat less meat per meal, and to eat more vegetarian meals. I’ll still eat meat, and probably still enjoy it (probably even more), but hey, it’ll be a step in the right direction. Sigh.
Damm you matt.
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October 24, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Greg
I think you’re onto a good thing. From an environmental point of view, there’s no need to go cold turkey in order to make a difference - every little bit helps. Of course from the animal lover’s perspective that’s like saying murder is ok so long as you don’t indulge in it too much… hmm.
October 24, 2008 at 3:42 pm
KT
Having been doing precisely that for the last year or so, I’ll just warn you that you do get laughed at for being a vegetarian only when it suits you. But I’m sure you could cope with that if you believed in what you were doing
I’m getting closer to the real thing by degrees, and friends and family are getting more used to the idea, which helps. Personally I’m still not completely convinced that absolute vegetarianism is an ethical imperative, or that I’d want to get to the point where I couldn’t stomach eating meat (since I am of an omnivorous species after all) but it’s certainly a nice way to live. And it helps me keep in mind the impact, on myself and the world, of what I eat. And gets others thinking about it too.
October 24, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Jim
Having vegetarian friends makes me feel cool and trendy. Without actually having to give up meat myself.
And I laugh at my brother for being only vegetarian when it suits him. (or use it to steal the last piece of salmon from him)
October 30, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Dan
I’ve been choosing vegetarian meals a lot lately.
I actually think eating less meat has had a positive effect on me, physically.
I’ve also cut right back on coffee, i.e. I don’t drink it regularly - maybe two cups per week.
That has made the biggest difference - no more headaches if I’ve not had a coffee for a while, and no bouts of drowsiness that I used to get all the time.
Healthy is good.
November 4, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Fraser
And you get to call yourself a flexitarian!
November 5, 2008 at 9:26 am
Matt
(Only just discovered this; your RSS feed hasn’t been working for me.)
I was a ‘flexitarian’ (i.e. part-vegetarian) for maybe 5 years before I (this year) chose to go fully vegetarian. I see no problem with it; maybe you shouldn’t *label* yourself vegetarian when you’re still eating meat, but I think people choosing to eat less meat is a good thing.
We have this cultural phenomenon of middle ground being unacceptable, and only extremes being legitimate choices, which I think is crap. Less meat is better than more meat, but it doesn’t *necessarily* stand that no meat is better than some meat. (I kinda think that’s the case, but that’s beside the point.)