Vegetarianism

Hello. My name is Ruth, and I am a vegetarian.

Sounds like I just joined some 12-step program, doesn’t it? Like it’s some sort of disease that needs to be healed, or a chemical dependency that needs to be overcome so that I can fit back in to the mainstream of society.

It’s not a religious belief, or a political statement. At least, for me it’s not. I simply don’t like the taste of meat. I was born this way. Mother told me once that even as a baby she had a hard time getting me to eat meat.

We were quite poor growing up, so didn’t have the luxury of fixing a different meal for each child at dinner time. This meant that we were expected to eat whatever Mother made for dinner, and no arguments allowed. She did let me take very small portions at least; I filled up on the veggies and had a bite or two of the meat, and that was good.

Now that I’m all grown up (what!?) I simply don’t have meat in my house.

It’s kind of funny, some of the reactions I get. Some people really just don’t get it, you know?

My favorite was one of my old shooting buddies (yes, I shoot trap = its clay pigeons, not real ones!). He had a hard time grasping the concept of not eating any meat. He kept asking, “What else is there?”

How about: Everything!

Another favorite is the people who “catch” me eating chocolate. They gasp, point at me, and loudly proclaim, “I thought you were a vegetarian!”

Duh! Chocolate comes from plants.

I’m not vegan, so milk is ok – although I really don’t care for milk chocolate: the darker the chocolate, the better for me.

I’m not even a super-strict vegetarian: I do like fish. It’s mostly the cows, chickens, pigs, sheep, etc. that I don’t care for. I swear: if I eat some, it actually makes me aggressive!

I suppose I could claim it as a cost savings strategy. It really is expensive to buy all that meat all the time. One year for Christmas I got my sister and her family a gift certificate to a local butcher’s shop. I thought that for the amount I gave them they would end up with several meals worth – turns out they had one (1) meal.

I have made the conscientious decision to buy local as often as possible, as well as organic. Unfortunately, the two do not often go hand-in-hand. But the Saturday Market is just down the street from me, and is open throughout the summer months. It’s not only healthy for me but for the planet as well.

I can feel good about that.