I’m a vegetarian and today, October 1st, is the worldwide day to celebrate the benefits of not eating meat and the healthy contribution to a better society vegetarianism makes.
The personal is political. My choice to eschew meat for 30 years has exposed me to abuse from chefs, sexually coded remarks from ‘red blooded’ men, difficulties in relationships with meat eating girlfriends, awkwardness at social occasions and, initially, health problems due to not balancing my protein intake properly. The last issue is easily overcome with a bit of research and the occasional supplement and the dismissive attitude of others is fast fading anyway.
For example, the latter part of those three decades I have seen vege options appear at Macca’s, All Blacks’ eating salads and the best ever episode of the Simpsons (Lisa the Vegetarian) all confirming that vegetarianism is a valid, accepted and growing lifestyle option in the western world.
It’s not just good for my health, but also my sense of self worth and if there is such a thing as karma, I reckon the Buddha rates me. Call me smug, but I don’t feel I have to plant a tree every time I travel, though I do anyway. Given that growing grain to feed animals that will be killed to feed humans is economically and environmentally ass-backward and currently involves the destruction of swathes of rainforest in Brasil and other productive land worldwide, I reckon it’s a class issue as well.
To put it simply, you cannot be a socialist, a greenie or any kind of progressive and eat meat. This mealtime, skip the pie and go for the pasta. The world will thank you for it.
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