gross!
I'm going to try to switch to a mostly vegetarian/pescetarian diet from now on.
I've been feeling this way for awhile now, and every time I think about eating meat from a logical standpoint I think, "I should really try for a more vegetarian lifestyle" -- based on what I've read about the environmental impact of eating meat (the raising and slaughter of cattle requires WAY more land and resources than, say, growing soy or other vegetables, plus animals expel all that nasty methane gas, yadda yadda yadda) and the horrifying treatment of animals that make their way to our supermarkets (I read "Fast Food Nation," thank you very much). I think I'd still be okay with eating locally raised, organic meat -- from farms that I know practice more sustainable agriculture and treat their animals well -- but every time I think of the "mass-produced" stuff I feel horrible. I was always able to kind of "forget" those facts, though - out of sight, out of mind, I'll have a steak please, medium-rare. Oh, and vegetables are healthy and all that crap.
But the ick factor really hit home this weekend when I opened a package of chicken from the grocery store and there, cleverly hidden under the little plastic insert, was a HUGE, DISGUSTING WORM. I mean, this thing looked like a maggot -- same color and ribbing -- but on steroids. The part I could see (I didn't take it out of the package, so I don't know how much was hidden under the chicken) was at least two inches long and half an inch thick. I wanted to throw up, or die, or throw up and then die. It was stomach-turning.
That sealed the deal for me. Because I know for every huge mega-maggot in the grocery store chicken, there are fecal particles on the steak and flies in the hamburger and all matter of other utterly revolting things lurking on the meat. Certainly there are bugs and other nasties on the produce we buy, the canned foods we get, etc. as well, but to me, that doesn't come close to how horrifying the meat issues are. ::shudder::
So I'm on the road to being a vegetarian. I think I'll still eat fish occasionally, and I'll probably eat meat when I'm eating holiday meals with my family, but for the most part I'm going to cut meat out of my diet as best I can. I think I'll be healthier and more conscientious about my eating, and it'll force me to cook at home more, which is good. And I won't need to worry about chicken maggots.
I've been feeling this way for awhile now, and every time I think about eating meat from a logical standpoint I think, "I should really try for a more vegetarian lifestyle" -- based on what I've read about the environmental impact of eating meat (the raising and slaughter of cattle requires WAY more land and resources than, say, growing soy or other vegetables, plus animals expel all that nasty methane gas, yadda yadda yadda) and the horrifying treatment of animals that make their way to our supermarkets (I read "Fast Food Nation," thank you very much). I think I'd still be okay with eating locally raised, organic meat -- from farms that I know practice more sustainable agriculture and treat their animals well -- but every time I think of the "mass-produced" stuff I feel horrible. I was always able to kind of "forget" those facts, though - out of sight, out of mind, I'll have a steak please, medium-rare. Oh, and vegetables are healthy and all that crap.
But the ick factor really hit home this weekend when I opened a package of chicken from the grocery store and there, cleverly hidden under the little plastic insert, was a HUGE, DISGUSTING WORM. I mean, this thing looked like a maggot -- same color and ribbing -- but on steroids. The part I could see (I didn't take it out of the package, so I don't know how much was hidden under the chicken) was at least two inches long and half an inch thick. I wanted to throw up, or die, or throw up and then die. It was stomach-turning.
That sealed the deal for me. Because I know for every huge mega-maggot in the grocery store chicken, there are fecal particles on the steak and flies in the hamburger and all matter of other utterly revolting things lurking on the meat. Certainly there are bugs and other nasties on the produce we buy, the canned foods we get, etc. as well, but to me, that doesn't come close to how horrifying the meat issues are. ::shudder::
So I'm on the road to being a vegetarian. I think I'll still eat fish occasionally, and I'll probably eat meat when I'm eating holiday meals with my family, but for the most part I'm going to cut meat out of my diet as best I can. I think I'll be healthier and more conscientious about my eating, and it'll force me to cook at home more, which is good. And I won't need to worry about chicken maggots.