My name is Keighley and I eat meat *cue shameful, guilt-ridden anonymous greetings. Welcome to my version of ‘meat-eaters rehab’. Where I have been involved in group discussions, visits to the snack counter and countless glasses of white wine to wash the topic of conversation down, I still remain carnivorous and constantly fight an internal battle of ethics, choice, hypocrisy and tantalizing taste buds.
Typically South African, I was born and bred on the staple diet of Saturday afternoon braais served with an entrée of rugby matches and yummy treats like biltong and boerewors rolls. Growing up I was more interested in riding my pink BMX, playing Marco Polo in the pool and dressing my Barbie dolls to never question the food my folks put on the table (it was usually healthy, they never encouraged fast foods and so it’s never been a favourite of mine…thank goodness). Enter a very close friend, a very interesting book and a more informed conscience, and I now face the proverbial mountain of ethical eating.
I’ve heard people say that a book has changed their lives and for the most part, have generally thought that they must be easily swayed by a few pages but as fate would have it, I find myself saying the exact same thing nowadays. Jonathan Safran Foer’s ‘Eating Animals’ is pretty much the story of why he does and doesn’t eat meat combined with years of research and pages of opinions from all sorts of interesting people both involved in and outside of the food industry. After reading the book and through some independent research, I am shocked that the lid has been kept on a ‘heated’ industry that continues to steer the inhumane treatment of animals, and remains one of the most lucrative forms of business in today’s day and age. To be honest, I still eat meat BUT I am far more conscious of what I’m eating, where it comes from and how often I eat it. I no longer eat chicken and have not for months, barely touch pork and only rarely eat beef and lamb. I am slowly turning a blind eye to meat, do not eat it in restaurants (at all) and continue to test my habits through days of eating only vegetables and fruits, which surprisingly always remain yummy and scrumptious.
For me, the change has come in the form of the treatment of animals. To say that I am an animal lover is an understatement, and after reading ‘Eating Animals’ I have never been more exposed to the true meaning of eating meat than I was during the time of reading this book. I was, and still am, mortified. What gives you and me the right to eat animals? Most fall back on, and genuinely believe that because our ancestors were hunter gatherers, it is in our genes and is intrinsic to our survival. This excuse is not acceptable. Our ancestors did not live in a world where the mass production of our food stems from the backbone of genetically modifying the DNA of cows, chickens, pigs and sheep to cater for increased stocks on supermarket shelves. No, our ancestors battled it out with animals and put their lives on the line so that they could feed their family and tribe. I hardly doubt the roast chicken posed threatening in the middle of the Woolworths aisle when picked from hundreds of exactly packaged birds. And the reasoning of ‘well, we’re at the top of the food chain’ certainly holds no ground because we’ve manipulated an industry into playing God and in producing more and more and more ad infinitum, so in essence we are not at the top of our game! For me, it was a question of truly understanding my, now questionable, eating habits and the uninformed choices I have made throughout my life.
There are a few more factors that have helped me along my ‘rehabitual’ path such as the hormones pumped into animals, the ways that they are slaughtered to the fake labeling found on so much of our packaging – there really is no watchdog for organic and free range meats…just a little FYI! Thankfully, I feel enlightened and finally understand why more and more people are slowly turning towards the veggie way of life. I’ll be the first to comment that I’m a hypocrite because I continue to eat meat but it’s a fight I have with myself every time my taste buds reawaken at the sight of a medium-rare fillet or the smell of Sunday morning’s breakfast sizzling away a la bacon buttie. But the more and more I take a bite out of reality, the more I’m faced with swallowing the cold, hard facts that what I’m doing is inadvertently supporting a way of life that supersedes the well-being of animals and to do such a thing is tantamount to supporting an industry that so often leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
I highly recommend reading ‘Eating Animals’ and conducting a little of your own independent research, if not to stop eating meat, at least having come to that decision knowing full well how animals are treated, the process by which your meal makes its way onto your plate and in the billion dollar industry that we find ourselves unwillingly supporting.
If you're interested in reading about vegetarianism or just the general ins and outs of a healthy lifestyle...where to shop for organic products and the who's who in the zoo of opinions, latest news and interesting articles, visit http://veggie.kmoonitee.net/. It's a fantastic site with a new approach to healthier way of life...I highly suggest taking a peek and giving your thoughts on a number of the various issues. I hope to contribute more to this site, especially as I am trying to approach my eating habits from a different perspective.
Over and out y'all!
KaB
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