Fairweather Vegetarians: Friend or Foe?
September 2nd 2008 21:00
Photo by Luis Menendez. Used in accordance with the terms of Wikimedia Commons’ GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
I was watching a fishing program one night when I remembered one of my meat eating friends decided to become vegetarian. When I asked her why, she cited the usual reasons: that she didn’t need meat, that she was better off on a vegetarian diet and so on. So I was amazed when one night a year later we were having dinner at a Thai restaurant and she started ordering duck.
“I thought you were a vegetarian,” I said.
“I was,” she said. “But your friends are too tasty for me to give up.”
Thanks a lot. Firstly, I don’t eat duck because I used to have ducks for pets. Secondly, I found her change of heart weird. I mean, you’re either a vegetarian or you’re not. I don’t think you can have a foot in both camps.
Her husband was the same. He went through a yes-I-am and then-no-I’m-not and then back to yes-I-am-a-vegetarian stage. He wanted to become a vegetarian for the same reasons as his wife so I found it strange how they both kept chopping and changing.
Ditto my neighbour. She considers herself to be an animal liberationist and supports PETA. She cries whenever she sees an injured animal and covers her face when she sees footage of animals eating each other on wildlife documentaries. So you would think she would definitely be a vegetarian but no, she eats meat. I find this incongruous.
On the other hand, another couple I know are Buddhists and are vegetarians as part of their faith. So far they have never slipped up. I don’t think they’ve ever eaten meat in their entire lives.
On the other hand, my mother decided she was going to become a Buddhist and from that day, stopped eating meat. So strong is her conviction, she has never slipped up.
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Comment by Kleonaptra
Kalikapsychosis
In the case of religion, the eradication of flesh is good for the mind - it creates a spiritual clarity. Done properly, vegetarianisim can be very good for the body.
But most people dont do it the right way, most people slip up. My man used to love duck but since he started looking after ours he cant bear it!
Comment by Queenie
Quirky Folk
Quirky Queenie