Please excuse the length of this...
When I was 10 years old, our entire 5th grade class took a field trip to a small family-run farm who advocated free-range techniques. We bottle-fed the baby cows and sheep; we fed seeds to the chickens and “slop” to the pigs. We visited the berry patches and watered the rows of vibrant vegetables. At the end of the day, we all sat at picnic tables sipping on lemonade while the teachers and farm staff came with steaming platters of delicious food.
The farmer, whose name escapes me, was a strapping man in his mid-50’s. He talked about how he provided a “good” life for his animals, and clean living. We began eating the wonderful food that was prepared for us as he continued to talk about his farming techniques and why small farms are so important. Half way through our meal, as he was munching on a turkey leg, he said, “Everything you’re eating now came from my farm, grown right here by the people right here. Those veggies were just harvested, that fruit was just picked.” He swallowed his mouthful of tender turkey and took a big gulp of his iced tea. With a proud grin on his face, he wiped the sweat from his brow saying, “And those chops you’re eating- that lamb was harvested just this morning.”
Immediately images of blood, pain, and slaughter flashed through my mind. The baby lamb I had just fed milk to, was I eating its mother? I was horrified and burst into tears. I had always thought of animals just like humans -sentient beings with memories and emotion. I was still weepy by the time I returned home and explained to my mother my reasons why I didn’t want to eat meat ever again. For years after I couldn’t eat meat without feeling like a cannibalistic fiend. I would have physical reactions to even the smell of it. Probably because I enjoyed the pleasant aroma and was very conflicted, caught up in what the animal was feeling. Was it in pain? Was it frightened? Did it leave behind a family that would miss it?
Again in high-school, we had to read a book entitled
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. It depicted the terrible conditions immigrants lived and worked in the newly industrialized cities of the early 1900’s. Its main characters worked in the meat-packing industry with the detailed descriptions of what both the workers and the animals endured further solidifying my feelings.
Things changed for me in early adulthood- 22ish. After becoming a bit wiser to the world, and the cycles of life, this feeling began to dissipate. It was an understanding that I gained through an adult mind and not that of an overly-sensitive empathic child. My thinking side had finally started to develop and I could logically argue with myself about the pros and cons of it all. I started to eat fish again, then poultry, and finally red-meat and pork. I
felt better. With everything that I absorb from the world around me, I had always had this feeling of lethargy and physical weakness. Eating balanced meals filled with veggies and properly portioned lean proteins helped me to become physically stronger with an equally quicker mind- a much healthier me.
This was my personal experience. Now, I happen to be a firm believer in evolution. Our body and mind's development was directly impacted through our environment. It is fact that what spurred the growth of the human brain and physical development is animal protein. We are the strong minds and bodies of today because our early ancestors ate meat. I honestly believe that to further evolve, animal protein is a necessary part of our diet. We are not herbivores. We are not carnivores. We are omnivores and are not the only species of such on this planet. If you choose to be one or the other, that is your personal choice for whatever personal reasons you may have.
That, and bacon is delicious...
