Meat and food ethics
I just did a quick search for information about vegetarians eating meat, and found this nice article by Ysanne Spevack on your site. This is just fascinating to me; I have been a "mostly" vegetarian for twenty years. I do eat fish and seafood. Now, after struggling to get enough healthy protein and iron through my first pregnancy, my baby's wonderful doctor is strongly recomending that I STOP eating fish and try organic turkey, for both my health and my baby's. I have always supported small-scale farming and animal agriculture, as it is sensible, sustainable, and has endured through so many cultures over time. But for myself, I wasn't happy eating meat. Now I'm questioning that instinct... I also worry about the elitist aspects of foodie culture - especially here in the US where there are such huge differences from one region to another in availability and price of organic food, for example. It's just not a simple issue. It's easy to say "eating meat is wrong," but, of course, "wrong" is a pretty extreme judgement to make on another person's culture... I'm rambling. Anyway, thanks for the great article.
Rebecca
Thanks for your comments Rebecca. I agree with your line of thought. There are so many shades of grey between right and wrong when it comes to most ethical issues, food being one of them. As you say, there are cultural aspects that come into play. For example, the Dalai Lama is generally thought to be a decent guy, and as a Tibetan man he eats meat. Does that make him a bad man? On the question of your health, I'm really surprised that your doctor has advised you to avoid fish. Fish is generally thought to be wonderful stuff!! I say go with what feels right. If you like a bit of fish now and then, I say why not?!
Best wishes,
Ysanne
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