Vegetarian Shmedgitarian! As you said in your own post, we are omnivores and are built to eat meat. Don't even make me get into the differences in the bioavailability of certain nutrients when consumed from plant vs. animal sources.
(I know I don't have to, but I just wanted to say it anyway).
I don't have a problem with eating meat, but I do have a problem with how our meat products are produced. Just because we eat animals doesn't mean that it is okay to waste them or make their lives miserable. That's why I've been getting more and more of our meat from verifiable sources that use humane and sustainable practices. This means buying a lot of it from the farmer's market and from sources I can personally access. I've been getting all my eggs from either the farmer's market stall (they pasture their chickens) or my buddy's folks or my sister, who all have the shangri-la of chickendom going on at their farms. I get my pork from Sunworks Farms (same place I get my meat) or Irving's Farm Fresh, who both raise their pigs in a humane, pastured environment. Glen and I are going in for a share of a bison from the same buddy who sometimes gives us eggs from his folks, so I know where that's coming from, and I readily purchase wild game that our friends hunt (I feel that game is the most humane source of meat). I'll also be getting a goose, a turkey, and a rooster from my sister, who is now raising poultry on her farm; those animals are well looked after, that I know for sure! I'm also hoping to stock up on lake-caught fish this summer with a few fishing trips out to my folks' cabin and judicious use of my deep-freezer. I haven't satisfied myself with many store-bought fish sources over here, but still want to eat more fish (I did buy some octopus the other day, though, for something different and possibly for sushi).
This also means paying a lot more for our meat, but I feel that the premium is worth it. We are getting a far more nutritious product that is free from the ethical and ecological nastiness that taints a good chunk of the meat industry. Plus, we don't eat very much meat. One small roast or a chicken can last us a week. We usually only have meat with one meal out of the day, and usually there are a few days each week where we don't end up eating any at all.
That being said, a vegetarian diet has proven to be very bad for me. My iron levels deplete very quickly, I lose energy, I find it difficult to adequately replace the protein even with plant sources like beans and nuts, and I become generally unwell.
By the way - chickens are carnivorous (and when opportunity strikes, cannibalistic) assholes. I learned that from my sister's poultry. Don't trust them.
(I know I don't have to, but I just wanted to say it anyway).
I don't have a problem with eating meat, but I do have a problem with how our meat products are produced. Just because we eat animals doesn't mean that it is okay to waste them or make their lives miserable. That's why I've been getting more and more of our meat from verifiable sources that use humane and sustainable practices. This means buying a lot of it from the farmer's market and from sources I can personally access. I've been getting all my eggs from either the farmer's market stall (they pasture their chickens) or my buddy's folks or my sister, who all have the shangri-la of chickendom going on at their farms. I get my pork from Sunworks Farms (same place I get my meat) or Irving's Farm Fresh, who both raise their pigs in a humane, pastured environment. Glen and I are going in for a share of a bison from the same buddy who sometimes gives us eggs from his folks, so I know where that's coming from, and I readily purchase wild game that our friends hunt (I feel that game is the most humane source of meat). I'll also be getting a goose, a turkey, and a rooster from my sister, who is now raising poultry on her farm; those animals are well looked after, that I know for sure! I'm also hoping to stock up on lake-caught fish this summer with a few fishing trips out to my folks' cabin and judicious use of my deep-freezer. I haven't satisfied myself with many store-bought fish sources over here, but still want to eat more fish (I did buy some octopus the other day, though, for something different and possibly for sushi).
This also means paying a lot more for our meat, but I feel that the premium is worth it. We are getting a far more nutritious product that is free from the ethical and ecological nastiness that taints a good chunk of the meat industry. Plus, we don't eat very much meat. One small roast or a chicken can last us a week. We usually only have meat with one meal out of the day, and usually there are a few days each week where we don't end up eating any at all.
That being said, a vegetarian diet has proven to be very bad for me. My iron levels deplete very quickly, I lose energy, I find it difficult to adequately replace the protein even with plant sources like beans and nuts, and I become generally unwell.
By the way - chickens are carnivorous (and when opportunity strikes, cannibalistic) assholes. I learned that from my sister's poultry. Don't trust them.
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