Meat Is Murder

Or at least some would say so. In 2005, I went vegetarian for a few months. It wasn't because I thought animals shouldn't be eaten; I was persuaded by some of the environmental arguments, socio-cultural arguments, and anti-animal as commodity arguments. The main reason that this didn't last is that I went to Capernwray Hall for nine months, and their veg option consisted of a steady diet of Quorn. That got old.

The ideals have stuck with me though, and I do try to be more aware about how much meat I eat (because who can deny that we're a meat addicted country?) Anyway, these ideas were first presented to me in the liner notes of Moby's album "Play." (This is a great album, by the by. I think I listened to it every day in 2001.)

And speaking of Moby and his veganosity, he just co-edited a book titled "Gristle: From Factory Farms to Food Safety (thinking twice about the meat we eat)." It's a collection of essays, really, and he'll be at Powell's this Saturday at 4:00 to do a little meat and greet (ha!). I'm going to try to make it in, but my brother and his family will be in town this weekend, so we'll see.

Now if you know much about Moby, you know that he's passionate, but also very accepting and tolerant. In an interview with FOODDay, Moby states:

"To change people's minds, you have to respect the people you're talking to. Part of that is presenting the facts available, and not being pedantic or judgmental."

The essays in the book are by all sorts of people, so some of them may be preachy, I don't know. But I anticipate that this will be a good eye opening read. Maybe enough to kick me back onto the vegwagon. (But I don't think I can do vegan... I just love dairy too much, in all it's glorious forms...)