In Which I Become a Vegetarian
Too bad it happened before I had a chance to cook the corned beef roast I bought the other day. I was really looking forward to it! But: "The time had come. So Marvin went!"
To some, this may seem like odd timing, or a sudden decision. And it is, in a way; but it's not one that caught me by surprise. Over the past couple of years (but especially last summer) Dereck has done a lot of reading. In that time, there was a rash of books published by people who were advocating either vegetarianism or "humane" meat consumption; and after each book (whether or not he agreed with all of their reasons/reasoning), Dereck moved "this much" closer to declaring himself a vegetarian. But each time it ended with, "Well, we don't eat that much meat anyways." So the final convicting blow was a long time coming :). It came this weekend, after a half-week of being bothered by the terrible reasoning a teacher (no less!) used to defend her non-vegetarianism. And while I wouldn't mind just limiting our meat intake to the occasional, humanely-raised variety, I think it would be silly and selfish for me to do so, if I'm the only one who cares about it. Let's face it: my kids never ask for meat. In fact, they sometimes express disgust (or at least skepticism) when I add meat to some kinds of food ;). We seldom eat large chunks of meat, and when I have prepared them, it's always been with uncertainty (I know I'll like what I make, but will the kids eat it?).
So it won't really be that big of a sacrifice. But I will probably have moments when I crave meat. And I found a friend who will be able to use what I had on hand and now won't be using :).
Liz is too young to have any idea what "vegetarian" means, but we did talk to Michael about it. He's cool with it ;).
I'm doing some reading up on it, but honestly, things won't be that different around here. I'll probably be more conscious about protein intake than I ever was when we were eating meat thrice a week. The biggest change will be our switch to buying organic and local dairy products. This is something I've wanted to do for a while, but it's hard to swallow the cost difference (even though I know it's worth it). But if we're honestly concerned about the cruelty factor, then it's worthwhile to transfer money that we might have spent on meat into buying humane dairy products. It will mean drinking less milk, though! I don't think I can spend $14 a week on two gallons of milk without blanching a little. So we're going to try some different milk "substitutes" for drinking/cereal. Our first try - coconut milk - was not a success. Dereck and I like it, but the kids didn't really. So we'll try almond milk and rice milk (maybe soy? but I know that too much of it isn't good for kids) and see what we like :).
I don't mean to ramble on for too much longer - I just want to mention one more thing. I don't feel self-righteous about it. I mean, I know what it's like to buy groceries and to have to make hard decisions about what is best for your family. I get that it's expensive. And I know that some people will feel defensive because of the decision our family has made; but just because our family made THIS decision doesn't mean that we think our ability to do so raises us above anyone else. It's just the choice that is right for OUR family :).
To some, this may seem like odd timing, or a sudden decision. And it is, in a way; but it's not one that caught me by surprise. Over the past couple of years (but especially last summer) Dereck has done a lot of reading. In that time, there was a rash of books published by people who were advocating either vegetarianism or "humane" meat consumption; and after each book (whether or not he agreed with all of their reasons/reasoning), Dereck moved "this much" closer to declaring himself a vegetarian. But each time it ended with, "Well, we don't eat that much meat anyways." So the final convicting blow was a long time coming :). It came this weekend, after a half-week of being bothered by the terrible reasoning a teacher (no less!) used to defend her non-vegetarianism. And while I wouldn't mind just limiting our meat intake to the occasional, humanely-raised variety, I think it would be silly and selfish for me to do so, if I'm the only one who cares about it. Let's face it: my kids never ask for meat. In fact, they sometimes express disgust (or at least skepticism) when I add meat to some kinds of food ;). We seldom eat large chunks of meat, and when I have prepared them, it's always been with uncertainty (I know I'll like what I make, but will the kids eat it?).
So it won't really be that big of a sacrifice. But I will probably have moments when I crave meat. And I found a friend who will be able to use what I had on hand and now won't be using :).
Liz is too young to have any idea what "vegetarian" means, but we did talk to Michael about it. He's cool with it ;).
I'm doing some reading up on it, but honestly, things won't be that different around here. I'll probably be more conscious about protein intake than I ever was when we were eating meat thrice a week. The biggest change will be our switch to buying organic and local dairy products. This is something I've wanted to do for a while, but it's hard to swallow the cost difference (even though I know it's worth it). But if we're honestly concerned about the cruelty factor, then it's worthwhile to transfer money that we might have spent on meat into buying humane dairy products. It will mean drinking less milk, though! I don't think I can spend $14 a week on two gallons of milk without blanching a little. So we're going to try some different milk "substitutes" for drinking/cereal. Our first try - coconut milk - was not a success. Dereck and I like it, but the kids didn't really. So we'll try almond milk and rice milk (maybe soy? but I know that too much of it isn't good for kids) and see what we like :).
I don't mean to ramble on for too much longer - I just want to mention one more thing. I don't feel self-righteous about it. I mean, I know what it's like to buy groceries and to have to make hard decisions about what is best for your family. I get that it's expensive. And I know that some people will feel defensive because of the decision our family has made; but just because our family made THIS decision doesn't mean that we think our ability to do so raises us above anyone else. It's just the choice that is right for OUR family :).