(no subject)

[rosiedoes]

Vegetarianism, then: something I never really thought I'd gravitate to. To any extent.

However, I've lately made the choice first to restrict the meat I eat to ethically farmed sources, and more recently, I've stopped buying meat products from the supermarket altogether. Don't get me wrong, I love meat and seafood, I really do (especially the seafood) - there is absolutely no squick behind this decision. I'm doing this because of the way the animals are farmed and the greed of the meat industry itself; there is an on-going pressure to force down meat prices so they are virtually unsustainable for the farmers and inhumane for the animals. I've chosen not to personally buy into that and help promote farming on such an enormous scale, which is ultimately detrimental to the farmers producing the end product anyway. (A recent programme here in the UK revealed that the average chicken farmer selling mass-farmed roasting chickens which would be sold for around £2.50 in the supermarkets would only receive 3p per chicken.)

So, I've started trying out the vegetarian substitutes (Quorn escalopes are not my favourite :|) and figuring out for myself what exactly I'm going to exclude from my diet, devising my own set of rules for acceptability.

I have no problem with eating meat from small farms, where the animals are at least treated with a certain respect and the sale of the produce is generally fairer on the farmer (on-site farm shops=major bonus), but living in London, as I do, finding and affording such products seems to be relatively impossible. The fact that I'll be moving to Hove in East Sussex, with Julie, will probably aid this to some extent as the south coast is lined by countryside and not surrounded by mile after mile of concrete.

I would love to have the same self-sufficiency and respect for food sources promoted by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (one of our country's main proponents of eating with conscience), but my chances of ever owning a small holding are slim, and frankly, I'm too lazy - so I'm going to have to do this as a lowly city dweller.

So my main rules will have to be:

- if it had a face, I'm not buying it from a supermarket (unless it's a jammy biscuit);
- if it had a face, but I can be sure of the source and know that it was generally ethically farmed, I will consider buying from respectable local suppliers;
- if it contains egg (such as mayonnaise) it must be from free range (thank you Hellmanns)
- where dairy is concerned, soya products are always preferrable, however, vegetarian-approved cheese is also acceptable if necessary (I haven't explored the cheese issue, as yet, but I already use soya milk rather than dairy and have done for some time).

As I already mentioned, shellfish - especially oysters and prawns - are my favourite foods. They're a peculiarly ambiguous category, because they don't have a face but they do seem to have greater cognitive activity than say, a potato. For this reason, I'm going to categorise them under meat; which means no 'fresh' packs from the supermarket. I generally only eat oysters at restaurants anyway (which creates my next issue) but prawns I will usually eat at least once a week; it'll be a strange change to my diet to rule them out.

On the matter of restaurants, is it okay to eat meat or fish at restaurants, as I haven't purchased the original product myself? I suppose it's similar to the argument presented by edgiko on the matter of vegans purchasing second-hand leather: it's acceptable because the individual has not directly contributed to the original demand for the product.

I think this is one to test when I next eat out at a restaurant and see what I can find out from the staff and weigh it up in my conscience then...

The thing is, I am not calling myself a vegetarian - I want to make that clear, because I don't want to steal the thunder of the people who do dedicate their lives to the lifestyle, as I have a lot of respect for them (unless they call themselves 'pescatarians' or 'vegetarians who eat fish' in which case they can fuck off and die) and I don't want to be a hypocrite.

The ultimate concern here, is to not actively contribute to the meat industry - human beings are designed to consume meat, that's how we've evolved, but we did not evolve because of factory farming.

So, this is kind of a big thing for me, so I've actually decided to blog the process and record my experiences of exploring vegetarian products, recipes and finding respectable sources.

If anyone is interested, it's over at wordpress, under Not If It Had A Face... (and lordgroovius made it a feed! notifithadaface)

Comments

[nikitaquincy.livejournal.com]

I really commend you for this. I am very much looking forward to your blog, and I've already bookmarked it and made a feed :) I myself am considering going back to vegetarianism myself, though in my case it's more because the cost of meat is so outrageously high where I live and I just cannot justify paying for it.

[britchick5000.livejournal.com]

Cool. Hope it works out for you. I've been vegatarian for a little over a year now and am on an ongoing road to becoming vegan. If you ever want any meat-free recipes I can point you in the direction of some good ones.

[elethe.livejournal.com]

I was pretty much a vegetarian for getting on seven years, but didn't really call myself a vegetarian for the last three of those years because even though I didn't eat meat or fish, there was sill a possibility I might some time.

I tried eating a burger (no bun) without the bun the other day and it was vile, and so I doubt I will be trying o eat beef again any time soon. I canno digest it for a start.

Ditto lamb or pork.

I should probably only stick to chickens produced ethically - they taste better anyway, generally - but they are so expensive.

I should certainly buy more quorn and tofu and dried soya protein (the sftuff without the wheat protein).

The wheat/gluten allergy/intolerance is a bit of a stumbling block when it comes to going fully vegetarian these days as most vegetarian type food (the protein sort) has wheat in it in some form.

[scoobygang63.livejournal.com]

I think this is a really good idea. Enjoying meat but with a conscience is the kind of thinking I can get behind. I know someone who does exactly this. She grew up living next to a farm, and had the opportunity to meet the farmer, see how he dealt with his animals, and buy meat and eggs directly from him. It made an impression, because now she wont eat meat unless it's ethically farmed. It will be harder to do in the city, I imagine, but good for you for taking on that challenge!

[moondarri.livejournal.com]

i think. it's like with anything -- moderation & thought needs to go into the products you buy, the services you use... we have to be -- i don't know -- intelligent consumers? anyway, i think this is all good stuff, & i'm interested to see how it works out for you.

i come from a different background, being influences primarily by my mother & her french culture, & obviously that means a lot of high quality food, & of course a lot of meat. this makes it difficult for me to consider vegetarianism as an option, but because there tends to be [& this is by no means true over the whole country, but this is the way our family is] this emphasis in france on supporting small stores, village butchers & bakers, local artisans etc or even the farms directly, where you find good quality food & meat with fair prices, i've grown up with this sort of attitude, & try to act accordingly, even though i think it's a bit more difficult in this country.

i just, i see where you're coming from, & i think it's a really good thing to do.

[americancashito.livejournal.com]

My initial feelings with regards to eating out at restaurants and ordering animal-derived meals (before I personally chose to go vegan) was it would depend on the restaurant itself. If the staff can show for example that the egg on a burger came from a free range company then I was fine with that, but if not then I wouldn't buy into it. My reasoning with that was that sure, I may not have purhcased the egg but by purchasing it from the store I'm supporting their decision to buy that brand. Whereas if I formally explain my reasoning for not purchasing due to the fact it wasn't free range then maybe they'll change their minds. Did that make any sense?

IDK, that was the conclusion i came too at the time, maybe that helps, maybe it doesn't but it's food for thought?

Regardles, I think it's great what you're doing. Much love to you <3 If you're looking to do any reading I read a book called "The Ethics of What We Eat" which explores everything from the regular US meat and potatoes diet to ethical omnivore diets to veganism etc. It was interesting and written by an Australian journalist and some other guy.