Arugula, freshly picked
I’m the black sheep vegetarian in a family of meat eaters. It’s a hard job, but somebody has to do it.
This is not a brand new thing. It’s been two years since I converted. Still, when I get invitations to family functions they say things like this:
We’re having a party. I know you don’t eat x or y…or z — good lord aren’t you starving yet?? Well, you can come anyway.
I swear I am not trying to wreck havoc on people’s dinner parties (unlike The Good Greatsby, whose humorous post can be found HERE). I don’t mean to be difficult, but I might be a little complicated. The vegetarian thing is just what makes sense in my heart and in my head. I’ve tried to explain it all, but I obviously haven’t really done a good job of it because just a week ago I was asked (again):
So…I still don’t understand…are you doing this for religious reasons or what?
And then there was there was the following exchange with the Resident Teaologist, who when preparing lunch couldn’t find what she needed:
Resident Teaologist: You said you had arugula, so I didn’t get any at the store, but I don’t see any in the fridge…
Me: That’s because it’s out in the yard.
Resident Teaologist:….oh.
So we go out to the yard to pick the arugula. She stares at it and says,
It’s so weird that you are about to eat something that was just growing in your ground.
I had to giggle. That this bewilders others bewilders me. How did we ever get so far removed from our food? And what have we lost as a result of this distance? And what exactly have we gained?
Once plants and animals were raised together on the same farm — which therefore neither produced unmanageable surpluses of manure, to be wasted and to pollute the water supply, nor depended on such quantities of commercial fertilizer. The genius of American farm experts is very well demonstrated here: they can take a solution and divide it neatly into two problems.
–Wendell Berry
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February 1, 2013 at 1:39 am
petspeopleandlife
Great post. I have been a “veggie-tarian” for years. I’ve lost track. My daughter has been one since the age of 19. I don’t eat hoofed, haired, or fethered for moral reasons. Most idiots do not understand why I want or have chosen to eat in this manner. I think I’m fairy healthy for an old person. I don’t get colds and knock on wood have not had a serious case of flu. Seriously the thought of eating meat makes me all but gag. So the tea-person really got a laugh out of me. How is it possible that someone can be that removed from the real world? I commmend you. Now I will confess that I eat fish rarely but never eat anything that is a bottom feeder. I will eat farm raised cat fish but Alaska salmon but this is rare but the fish thing is quite rare. I’ve found that some people are not comfortable whan I say that I am a vegetarian. I wonder of it strikes a nerve?
February 1, 2013 at 5:11 pm
Lunar Euphoria
I am in limbo with the fish thing. Fish was not originally part of my plan, but after a visit to the doc I discovered I was low in B-12 and D. She prescribed a prescription dose of vitamins. The pharmacist gave me stuff derived from fish oils. Blarg.
I realize now that I can get B-12 vitamins that aren’t derived from animals, but honestly when it comes to the issue of taking vitamins vs. eating actual food, it makes a lot more sense to me to eat food. After a bit of research I discovered I could get the most B-12 ‘bang’ from the least amount of killing by eating oysters, so I worked those in to the diet occasionally. I’ve since added the occasional hit of sardines. Now that I’ve discovered Red Star Nutritional Yeast, I’m experimenting with it in place of the fish. (I only mention the brand here because not all brands of nutritional yeast contain B-12).
And here’s another story. I used to be one of the people who didn’t understand. El Diablo quit eating meat years ago. I thought he was the weirdo and I went on eating meat. I just didn’t get it. Until one day I finally did. Evolution takes time. 😉
February 2, 2013 at 12:07 am
petspeopleandlife
Nice to get your reply and new info. I asked my Md to test for lack of b12 and mine came back normal. I take the B complex but not every day for I forget to take it at times.
I take Nature’s Bounty with folic acid and vit. C. Label says suitable for vegetarians so I am supposing this product contains no animal products. Says it contains yeast.
February 1, 2013 at 2:06 am
savasana addict
Ah yes, all the joys of being veggie. Oh you can’t have meat? That must be hard for you. (No, I don’t want meat. That’s different.) But can you eat fish? (No, a fish is an animal, right?). But then we cannot eat out, there’s nothing for you to eat. (Yeah, sure.) The icing on the cake? My dad’s side of the family owns a farm and they produce their own meat. Needless to say, they’re really into it – but they won’t change my mind 🙂
February 1, 2013 at 5:24 pm
Lunar Euphoria
Ha! And I thought MY family was bad… (kidding)
The transition was hard on me the first year. I had serious issues with cravings and there were so many things that I had been eating that were on my ‘do not eat’ list. I’m still learning, but now the cravings are gone.
I have a lot of respect for people who produce their own meat and for hunters who eat what they kill, provided it is done in a life-appreciating way. (Another one of those paradoxes, I know…)
February 1, 2013 at 5:06 am
jillybnz
Love your post! Made me laugh… 🙂
February 1, 2013 at 5:26 pm
Lunar Euphoria
Yay! Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.
February 1, 2013 at 1:16 pm
Tori Nelson
Hilarious responses from people. Like eating a hamburger automatically means you won’t be starving 🙂
February 1, 2013 at 4:46 pm
Christy
I feel the need to defend myself here, though not from this blogging woman! I am the guilty party that believes she is starving! I have known this woman for…. well for her entire life. She was a meat eater.. a BIG meat eater.. a hamburger addict.. a meat filled spaghetti lover. It’s just the way of our family.
Now.. I’m not offended by the original blog, I laughed too. But I do take offense to responses such as, “most idiots don’t understand…”.
I have tried many times to talk to this blogging woman about her new eating habits. She is the one that gets offended –well maybe not offended, but definitely defensive (maybe she feels I’m judging her) not at all! I’m trying to understand the rules of it all. Example.. if you don’t eat meat because it’s a meat..well why do you feed your own animal meats? Again, not judging, just trying to understand it all. I happen to love a lively debate, and have often times had my own mind changed by someone else’s good argument.
Honestly, I still don’t understand it- but that is the beauty of it all- I don’t have to understand it. I just accept it for what it is..just as I’d expect her (and any other vegetarian’s) to accept my eating habits for what they are and not judge me or my intelligence by my choice to eat meat.
Dear blogging woman: I never have seen your vegetarianism as “wreaking havoc” on a dinner party.. I just wanted you to be aware that meat was on the menu, it was the polite thing to do! I believe you did the very same thing at Christmas, and I’m sure all of the meat eaters, myself included, appreciated the heads up.
Peace and love and warm and fuzzies to you all!
February 1, 2013 at 5:34 pm
Lunar Euphoria
I do not get offended. Defensive, maybe sometimes when you all make me sound like I’m a freak of nature because I eat vegetables and because I’m a member of a minority organization.
“Wrecking havoc” wasn’t referring to your invitation – it was a reference to The Good Greatsby. I appreciate the heads up!
February 1, 2013 at 6:23 pm
Christy
Now now..no one ever said you were a freak of nature because of your eating habits. You simply are who you are and we teased you about that way longer than you have been a veggie girl! We probably do treat you as the minority though..by definition, that is exactly what you are..within our family structure that is.
With all that said..i do love your yummy veggie chili and I never thought i could embrace anything vegetarian!
February 1, 2013 at 5:27 pm
Lunar Euphoria
Hamburgers are my cryptonite.
February 1, 2013 at 8:43 pm
Kathy
Another great blog post, Lunar. Sounds like we eat similarly. We’ve been mostly-vegetarian for, I dunno, seven years? We do eat fish. And I have been known to ocassionally eat chicken or turkey when traveling. That’s because we learned how much fat they often add to vegetarian fare in restaurants (load ‘er up on oils and cheese) and for a long time I couldn’t eat much fat.
February 4, 2013 at 7:46 pm
Lunar Euphoria
Many restaurants load *everything* up with extra fat.
February 7, 2013 at 7:20 pm
Jackie Cangro
I feel like I’ve been down this same road with my family, none of whom consider it a meal if it doesn’t include meat. For a while I tried to hide my vegetarian ways because I don’t have answers for everything. For example, I don’t (or not knowingly) purchase products tested on animals but I do use prescription medication when necessary – which I know is tested on animals.
Finally I told my family, but they are sure that this is a “phase” which I will get over soon. I know they are trying but they really don’t understand. My mom always thinks I’m starving. I am not, I assure her! 🙂
February 10, 2013 at 11:02 pm
Lunar Euphoria
Thank you for the comment. I don’t have answers for everything either. I’m ok with figuring things out as I go.
February 10, 2013 at 8:04 pm
Dana
I know firsthand that the lack of understanding goes both ways. People wonder how on earth I can survive without meat, dairy, and usually eggs, and I’m often flabbergasted by initiatives like Meatless Mondays. (Do people really eat meat *every day* of the week? Is it really a huge deal to take meat off the menu for one solitary day?) A little peace, love, and understanding goes a long way. 🙂
February 10, 2013 at 11:09 pm
Lunar Euphoria
I used to be a meat every day of the week girl. It’s how I was raised. Everything else at meal time revolved around meat. And sometimes there was only the meat. In fact I was recently reminiscing about how I used to go buy a whole rotisserie chicken and gobble the carass down like a wolf – and that was the extent of my dinner. So yeah, the conversion was a really big deal for me!