I Feel Off The Meatless Wagon

[foodiegurl]

I have not eaten meat in over 5 years, except for fish. (I know I am being a hypocrite, but that is besides the point I cut out meat because I just couldn't stand the thought of eating something alive, and wondering what had been done to it, especially after reading the many books on the topic I have. (Though, yes, I know the same should apply to fish, or worse). My husband has been one for over 20 years, and I know i will never get him to eat meat.

But I have been craving it big time, especially since cutting out gluten. I know I had low iron and b12, but I worked on those with injections and vitamins and my levels are now normal. Though, I do feel like if I crave something I should give in to it (well, except gluten, and thankfully, I don't crave it).

Anyway, for Thanksgiving, I was at someone's else house, and I am learning..you take out gluten...and it doesn't leave many options, especially for protein, and I didn't want to just eat mashed potatoes...so I indulged in turkey...I just tossed the ethical reasons from my mind, and ate. And it was delicious!

The next day, I had bacon....and then Skyline chili...and then a burrito with pork the following day. Oh my gosh, the meat all tasted so good. But I am back on my wagon. I am considering it a blip, unless it is grass-fed, organic meat. Speaking of, my neighbor gave me a roast of some local grass-fed, organic meat from a cow her family purchased, and am thinking of making a pot roast next week.

though, I am feeling very conflicted. I know some of you have gone through this before, from being a veggie to eating meat. Part of me really regrets all the crap meat I ate this past weekend and am stressing what it will do to me. How do i relax about it?

Thanks!

[burdee]

If you want to get back and stay on the 'meatless wagon', see the documentary "Food, Inc." With 6 diagnosed food allergies besides gluten intolerance, I was a dedicated meat/poultry/fish eater before seeing that documentary. Now I'm exploring more vegan options, as well as occasional organic, antibiotic free, free range meat sources and locally caught fish. Seeing how many farmers raise meat/poultry sources may change your mind about the safety of those protein sources. I plan to ride that 'meatless wagon' for breakfasts, lunches and at least a few dinners each week.

SUE

[brigala]

I took a different approach to my concern about the cruelty and food safety issues. I started my own farm. My sheep are very well cared for. Some of them may have a few unpleasant last moments, but they don't last long. We don't do our own slaughter, so I am very careful in my selection of slaughter/butcher facilities.

Of course not everyone can go that route, and we actually end up not eating our own sheep very often at all. They're too valuable as breeding stock to butcher if we can sell them alive, and we always sell out each year! But we DO make connections with other small family farms. Sometimes we will trade breeding stock for yearlings for butcher from other farms, sometimes we trade straight across for things like bison and pork, already cut, wrapped, and frozen.

If you are concerned about farming practices, but feel that your nutrition has too many limits on it to stick to a strictly vegetarian or vegan diet, consider making some connections to some local farms. Go out and see for yourself how the animals are treated, from breeding to birth to slaughter, and see if you don't feel pretty good about picking up a beef quarter now and then from a trusted source.

I'm not going to lie -- there are things about even the best farming practices that aren't always "pretty" but there's NO reason why any of it should ever be inhumane. Ever.