In this never ending political season, commentators like to use the term red meat. The image conjurs a pack of dogs excitedly devouring a bloody shank. Not too far removed from my canine brethren, I too, enjoy the taste of meat whether it be a steak (medium rare please) or a juicy burger. The question is does it like me? Perhaps it is a function of growing older, but I find my body does not process red meat as well as it used to and it creates certain indelicate responses which it is best not to go into here. I have already described the moral dilemma I face (in fact we should all face) when I consume any type of meat produced in a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO), which is 99% of the meat sold in the average American grocery store. When I say face, what I really mean is I hear a little nagging voice inside my head reminding me that once again I am not living according to my values which I then ignore.
The other day while eating my lunch at the park I noticed a fellow a couple of benches over eating his banana and orange. Because he was wearing a turban and had a beard, using my amazing powers of stereotyping I presumed he was a vegetarian. He looked somewhat older than me and healthy which caused me to fantasize once again about becoming a vegetarian. I mean if he could do it, why couldn't I? I know a few people who are vegetarians and they all seem to be living happy, productive lives, generally with lower cholesterol than the rest of us. Even Bill Clinton has become a vegan for goodness sake. And wouldn't the world be a better place, especially for cows? And it would be a better use of resources and cut down on methane gas, at least from my end and therefore help the environment?
But then I remembered the smoked roast my friend Chris made when I visited a few weeks ago. It may have been the best taste I ever put in my mouth. Could I really give that up? Would I want to? About here is where I usually make the false moral compromise like "I will only eat locally grown, grass fed, free range cows that frolic about right up until the moment that their throats are humanely cut". But I know this choice is false because I have tried it before only to learn that my resolve breaks down upon confronting cheaper, easier, more abundant alternatives (CAFO). So let's just leave it at this, flr the last few months I mostly have avoided eating meat at lunch and have largely moved to vegetarian alternatives. And I feel better about that than where I was this time last year and for me may be as close to Gandhi as I can be and may have to be good enough.
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