When I became a vegetarian almost 13 years ago, I did so as a means of taking responsibility for what I eat. See, most people just pick up a package at the store and never think about the fact that they're eating something that was alive. Sometimes the food is unrecognisable, such as square patties of some unidentifiable glop. A lot of people don't know anything about how their food is produced--the sheer waste of resources (it takes enough grain to feed many, many people to fatten a single steer for slaughter), the inhumane conditions (anoemic veal calves or tens of thousands of debeaked chickens smothering to death in barns), etc. I did eat fish, because I have fished, have killed a fish, know what it's like to take that life, and the sheer majority of fishing is not done via factory farming.
But I have slowly come to a point where I have re-examined my reasons. Partly, I did it because I was following someone else's lead in a form of 'hero worship'. But although killing for the sake of sustenance does not bother me as much as killing for sport alone, the manner of the killing is often quite inhumane. So I stopped eating meat and poultry, because I didn't think I could stomach that sort of death. Some time ago I realised I could kill poultry and possibly mammals if I were hungry enough. I do recognise that our ancestors have lived for millions of years on a diet mostly of grains and vegetables, but also of meat, and that they lived closely with their livestock and never forgot their importance in sustenance. I think that for me, personally, with my diabetes and allergies I might do better with occasional forays into meat or poultry.
That said, I deplore factory farming, and I do feel guilty that when I finally fell off the wagon and ate some chicken, it was probably the result of that sort of process. I also know that the term 'free-range', unlike organic, is not really regulated and that a lot of companies can claim it by just letting the chickens out occasionally into a lot.
But I am fortunate compared to lots of urban dwellers in that I live in the middle of a lot of farmland. Sure, most people think of horses when they think of Kentucky, but we've got a lot of small family farms, too. (Well, actually I'm told they do think of chicken, but that's KFC's fault, and I'm pretty sure they're selling factory farmed chicken. Most farms around here just go out and kill a chicken--one-on-one, for dinner, when the family needs it. It's not an everyday thing. If they raise chickens, at least in sustainable farming, they're pastured, not crammed in a barn. We have a co-op that works with local producers and a farmer's market that runs most of the year. I'm not sure about Wild Oats, because it's a chain that's new here, but it's a possibility. And a lot of those small farmers are marketing their produce via the internet. I'm all for supporting sustainable, local farming when possible. If more would, maybe factory farming would be a thing of the past. So, I think that I'll primarily continue my diet with whole grains, vegetables, legumes, and fish, and occasionally stray into meat-land when (and if) I can get produce that I'm convinced has been humanely raised and slaughtered.
I'm sure the most militant of vegetarians will say I've sold out, and those who are happy being carnivores without a thought to meat production will mock me too. But I don't care about them. This is about how I feel about my world, and my part in it. I don't know if you can be a carnivore with a conscience, but I'm willing to try.
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