Is it the height of hypocrisy to call yourself a carnivore and an animal lover? I certainly felt conflicted over the matter when I went to the Los Angeles County Fair this past weekend with Mr. Wonderful and Southern Belle. I had been looking forward the baby animals more than anything else—even the old-time western photos and the mariachi band. So I was delighted when our first stop turned out to be the petting zoo.
The pygmy goats are by far my favorite. Mr. W and I often joke about how we're going to have "kids" one day...but they'll be baby goats (Get it—"kids"? Knew you'd love that). They're like little puppies who jump all over you and want to play and eat your socks. So cute.
The black lamb reminded me of my 20lb. black cat. He also reminded me that I'm proud to be a non-baby-eater. That is, I won't eat any animal that's a baby. No veal. No lamb. No suckling pig. I've also pretty much taken duck and rabbit off my list. Those animals are pets to me, not food. The baby chicks made me feel pretty guilty about my poultry consumption...
And the ginormous pigs made me sad that I love bacon so much. And salami. And ham. Serrano and proscuitto. Pigs are really brilliant, sweet animals. It's a shame they taste so good. It seemed like a slap in the piggy face that right outside the petting zoo barn was a stand selling chocolate-dipped bacon churros. Do you think they know it's THEM cooking when they smell bacon?
We did cave and eat pulled pork sandwiches for lunch. I said a little mental prayer for forgiveness before chomping down on that delicious barbecued meat. Dessert, although more humane, was brutal by sheer volume. It might do my waistline some good to add the ice-cream-animal to my Do Not Eat list...
13 comments:
I often feel bad about the chicken and pork I eat. I don't eat any of those other meats except sometimes lamb (rarely). Those goats are cute though I can speak from experience, having a pet eat your socks is rather annoying (DOTTIE! BAD CAT!). ;-)
That is a serious serving of ice cream. Wowza. And...yummy.
I felt a little smug eating fish at the restaurant in the Denver Aquarium.
I pig smelling bacon cooking is not anything I want to over think. I guess I compartmentalize better than I thought! :)
*A* pig! Geez.
I was driving down the highway one day when I looked over into the next lane and met eyes (well, one eye) with one of the pigs being transported to its last stop. Now I can't eat ham or pork but haven't been able to give up the bacon yet. I feel your discomfort, Mel!
I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to think about the living creature when you're eating meat or fish. Because, if we did, I'm pretty sure we'd have a lot more vegetarians and vegans out there. Plus, look at it this way, at least you're not a bacon loving Jew, like me. hahaha.
As long as it is not dog, I can eat any meat. Yes, I am sick and wrong!
Well excuse me for being at the top of the food chain. Yes those little critters are cute, but for some strange reason they're just not on my radar when I'm ordering my Double Double. I do think the question about whether pigs know that it's them cooking when they smell bacon is a great one. Kind of like the chicken-and-egg debate. I'll have to give it some more thought. Just as soon as I pull out of the drive-thru.
I know how you feel. I have such guilt about it too. I actually don't eat pork at all. When i was in the sixth grade I met a baby pig and made a promise that I would never eat pork again. And I havent. But it does seem kind of ridiculous that something so cute and sweet would taste so good (i.e. bacon)
MY GOD, stop the madness! I hadn't even thought about being an animal lover and a carnivore as a hypocrisy, until you brought it up! And now, I'm both self-righteous and ashamed. How do I live with this torture?
Once again, I'm considering doing the unthinkable. Becoming a vegan. Now you've done it.
Didn't make it to the fair this year, sadly. No time and no one to go with combined to put the kybosh on it. Se la vie.
I seem to remember an old Dennis Leary rant about how we placed animals into two categories based on their cuteness. If they were cute and lovable (i.e. "I'm an Otter, and I swim around and do cute little things with my hands"), they go in the non-food category. If they're a cow ("moo"), well, you know...
A plant-based diet is all the rage. Get on the veggie wagon. It's good times. Even Bill Clinton is doing it and says he feels great: http://www.thekindlife.com/post/bill-clintons-vegan-diet
i've been reading so much about the depleting fish, yet i can't give them up. i wonder if there would be more vegetarians if we had to catch and kill meat ourselves.
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