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Kill-a-tarianism

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Molly asked her blog readers if they are meat-eaters or vegetarian.  I've explained my personal stance on meat-eating a number of times to various people, so I thought I'd write it down once and for all for reference.  Note that I'm not evangelizing my position; it really doesn't bother me at all when others delight in eating meat or not.  In fact, what bothers me the most is proselytizing, so I'll get along much better with a hearty steak-eater than a vegan who vocally thinks everyone else should be too.  Are you ready?

I don't eat anything I don't feel I could personally kill.

That's it.  It's pretty simple, really.  No, the rule is not "...with my bare hands" - implements are allowed.  I eat fish because I know that I can respectfully kill a fish to eat it (I've done so, actually, in the last year).  I would have no compunction about eating shellfish, because I think they're basically insects.  :)  Since becoming a diver in the Pacific Northwest, I will never again eat octopus, because they are beautiful, intelligent creatures in person.

I've been accused of being a cute-a-tarian - that is, not eating anything cute - which isn't too far off the mark.  I don't generally eat beef, because I think cows are cute.  (But they're also generally dumb as posts, so every once in a while I figure the planet's gene pool can use some improvement.)  And there's another subtlety - it's mood-dependent.  If I've had a bad day, and I'm really mad at the world, I can eat anything I think I could personally kill - so cows, watch out.

I could never personally off a sheep, though, so sadly lamb is out of the question (I used to love to eat lamb).  Rabbit is right out (in fact, I adopted this rule around ten years ago when one of our pet bunnies died), not that I was ever a huge (culinary) fan of rabbit.  Duck is pretty much out.  Chickens, on the other hand, are annoying, so I can munch away (though I don't eat it too often).  Turkey, too.

I suppose I end up being 1/3 vegetarian, 1/3 seafood, and 1/3 chicken/turkey-eating.  But that doesn't sound as cool as kill-a-tarian.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    June 06, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    June 06, 2006
    I think the biggest problem has been that too many people think of meat as a substance, and not the flesh of a once-living creature.

  • Anonymous
    June 06, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    June 09, 2006
    Wow, I thought it was just me. I started following a similar philosophy in 1998 when I realized that I couldn't stand handling raw dead animals but I had no problem with cooked dead animals. I'd been fishing before and could handle that, so I kept eating fish for a while. Lately I've been laying off that too tho.

    I used to tell people if I was going to eat an animal then it may as well be one that deserved it, like my cat, rather than some random animal I'd never met.

  • Anonymous
    June 09, 2006
    Hmm, that's an idea - my cat has been fattening up lately...

  • Anonymous
    July 30, 2006
    Wow, that sums up my own personal philosophy exactly!

    I still keep eating steak and calamari though, having no compunctions about killing either cows or octopi ;-)

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  • Anonymous
    October 01, 2007
    HI Thank you for your comments about the octopus.  I agree and, in fact, just put up a small website trying to get people to stop eating octopuses and recognize what wonderful creatures they are. Hope you can check it out. Laura

  • Anonymous
    October 01, 2007
    OOps, here's the web address www.octopusactivist.org

  • Anonymous
    January 10, 2008
    Wow, that sums up my own personal philosophy exactly!

  • Anonymous
    January 19, 2008
    Wow, I thought it was just me. I started following a similar philosophy in 1998 when I realized that I couldn't stand handling raw dead animals but I had no problem with cooked dead animals. I'd been fishing before and could handle that, so I kept eating fish for a while. Lately I've been laying off that too tho. I used to tell people if I was going to eat an animal then it may as well be one that deserved it, like my cat, rather than some random animal I'd never met.

  • Anonymous
    January 19, 2008
    Wow, that sums up my own personal philosophy exactly! I still keep eating steak and calamari though, having no compunctions about killing either cows or octopi ;-)

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    January 19, 2008
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