When I first moved to Boston, I couldn’t afford to buy meat so my veggie motivation was primarily economic. As finances improved I began eating meat again but it just didn’t feel right.The turning point for me, quitting the four leggeds anyway, was when I started traveling in rural Scotland. Having to get out of the car to shoo these giant cows out of the road so I could get by, well, convinced me. Once I’d had a convo with Bessy, Floyd, Penelope and Bruce — you know, to ask them if they wouldn’t mind moving off the A850 so’s I could squeak by — I just couldn’t imagine dining on their brethren.
And then there were SO many beautiful sheep! I couldn’t square my mad love for lamb chops with these gorgeous babies.
Chicken and Turkey were next. Did you know? Chickens can be quite beautiful. I was shocked. Turkeys are no slouches in the looks department either. When we lived in East Cambridge I would occasionally see wild ones on the MIT campus. Really! These giant, stunning boids would swoop down, landing ever so lightly in a patch of grass. I’d just stand there goggling over their magnificent, free handsomeness.
The no fish thing, for me, is recent but the seeds were sown, so to speak, years ago at that dinner party in Italy.
So that’s me. Mostly I’m of the “eating animals? eeeuuwww!” school that Hillel mentioned but, as age has hit me like a giant hod of bricks screaming down on me at 90mph, being a vegetarian is also about health crap. You know — the low fat/high fiber dance.
I asked my cousin Della’s young (18 year old) daughter, Maya, why she’s become a vegetarian. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was first introduced to the concept of vegetarianism when I watched The Simpson’s episode ‘Lisa The Vegetarian’ at around the age of 14. Watching this young girl feel so haunted by the concept of eating an animal made me question whether I really wanted to be eating my mother’s mouthwatering Italian meatballs.
Looking back, it was difficult for me to understand why all animals were not treated equally, with some worth less just because they taste better.
When I started being vegetarian it was a phase — I unfortunately favored the cuisine versus the animal’s fair treatment. After a brief return to meat, I tried again. I questioned why people eat some animals and not others. It became an obvious choice to not eat meat. To let them live their lives.
What I love most about that Simpson’s episode is that when Paul McCartney (and Linda) decided to guest star on the show, they actually requested that Lisa stay vegetarian for the rest of the series resulting in a permanent change for a character who will forever remain ageless.
Although I won’t be infinitely young I do see myself being a vegetarian for a very, very long time.
“let them live their lives” — coolness.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:)
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