Nostalgia

I completely agree with you. I do not think it should even be an issue. If you want to be a Vegetarian, than good for you, I respect that, but if you don't well than it should not be someone elses problem

I have my own enviromental issues with some aspects of the animal meat industy from all its many asepcts, but as a Pagan and a very active animal rights activist I do eat meat (and I have justifiable reasons relating to my spritual beleifs for this) I get annoyed with being accused as being a hypocrite by both sides of the fence.

Hey, count me in as a meatatarian!! Haha, I love that word. And thank God for cowboys like you that provide some very tastey meat for me to eat.

I like meat as well. As to the invites I suppose any reaction on my part would be based on the perceived manner of the invite. Simply put I like certain books and literature and not others. I in no way expect or demand anyone here to agree or disagree with me. I'm thinking right now of my disdain for Wuthering Heights and Hamlet. Doesn't make the reader beholden to me. Besides as your 'guest' would not think to deprive you of the dinner preparations. I can taste it now. Yum. LOL

Well Skib, you said it plainly - and thank you. I struggle to eat meat, nothing to do with killing... Or my conscience. But every thing to do with my first pregnancy... don't ask, it's a long story. When I tell people this, they categorize me into something that I am not. Even my own son tells me off when hubby cooks a barbie and I have to reject my meat for some extra salad, rice or Cous Cous. I am not a total freak, I eat mince meat and Chuck Steak, fried and boiled in good old fashioned Italian sauce. But I struggle to stomach any other kinds of meat. Fish is ok, but anything else makes me ill. So I am a vegie freak. Not that I want to be, just that I have to. So where does that leave you and me. Your job is to provide for your family and so is mine. I cook main meals - and every night without fail, there is some sort of meat in it. Even though I don't have it. But it is an essential part of a child's healthy diet and I would not deprive my children of it... So go ahead and do what you have to do. Pay no mind to anyone who asks you to join any vegie thread. Cheers.

The best thing to do in those situations is to remain unattached. It takes practice but you can actually achieve a very real peace by practicing thinking like that.

Muse- I too see some issues that need dealing with. That's quite an interesting view you've got. I'd be quite interested in learning about it if you ever have the time.

Virgil- We're doing our best in a tough market! I'b butchering my elk tomorrow if you're interested and running low on beef.

Mary- That is quite a legitimate reason to not consume meat. If it makes you genuinely ill, there's no reason for you to try and force it down, is there? I did join the vegetarian threads by choice though. Some of me feels the need to defend myself.

Nikolai- I do my best. It is a constant barrage, however and I get frustrated when I try to defend myself, because instead of a 'lets agree to disagree' it escalates into a vicious point counterpoint loop. As controversial as it is, nobody is willing to say 'okay, you kill cows. I can live with that,' or 'you don't eat meat. I can live with that.' I try to stay unattached, but I get so inflamed when I am told that because I eat other living things that I have no respect for them.
I guess I could just not read them, eh? That would be the best choice.

I don't eat meat for a variety of personal reasons (well, I went on a two year 'break' from being veggie-reasons below), including the fact that while I breed cattle for consumption, my main few girls are pets, and the ones that are sold are unnamed, and I am not the one consuming them. I am with the various environmental reasons not to eat meat. But would be much more okay with people consuming it if they actually thought about where it came from, or had any respect for the entire growth/slaughtering process. If everybody who eats meat at one point went through the slaughterhouse and assisted in killing an animal, I would 100% condone their eating meat. I know you are actively involved in the actual process of raising the cattle, so your choice to eat meat is is supported- you don't have the disconnect of people who just grab a package at the grocery store, same as a box of cereal or a bag of chips.

It's incredibly ignorant for people to not respect that, and agree to disagree.

Originally Posted by skib

Virgil- We're doing our best in a tough market! I'b butchering my elk tomorrow if you're interested and running low on beef.

I've never had elk. Is it much different than venison? Elk are huge. I bet one could provide enough meat for the entire year.

[quote=skib]I do my best. It is a constant barrage, however and I get frustrated when I try to defend myself, because instead of a 'lets agree to disagree' it escalates into a vicious point counterpoint loop. As controversial as it is, nobody is willing to say 'okay, you kill cows. I can live with that,' or 'you don't eat meat. I can live with that.' I try to stay unattached, but I get so inflamed when I am told that because I eat other living things that I have no respect for them.
I guess I could just not read them, eh? That would be the best choice.[/quote]

Actually I would be interested in going hunting - someday in life, after other requirements are met. :) A friend of mine went hunting with his dad and took home some meat and then shared it with us after a sweat (in a sweat lodge in his backyard). And I had some then, and liked it very much, although meat has always tasted unbearable to me.

And in the future I may eat meat, but only if I know it has come from an animal, in my case most probably a deer, which lived a natural life in the forest. I think there is a boundless rift between that, which I consider to be okay, and factory farms, which I consider to be evil. One thing which partly influenced me in this was reading recently [I]Black Elk Speaks[/I]. The way of life that he describes is a very natural and connected one. Whereas, getting meat in a package from the grocery store, or on a plate in a restaurant, if it has come from a factory farm, completely goes against nature. It is, as Taoism might say, wayward [I]qi[/I].

Of course I will never eat a cow, which as you know I consider them sacred.

Becca- Thank you for bringing those points up! It never occurs to me that people can just grab a packaged steak and not consider where it came from. I am also of the opinion that if you could not kill an animal, you have no business eating it.

Virgil- in my opinion if elk is treated right (killed under the right circumstances, aged properly, processed properly and cooked well) there is little other meat I prefer. It is similar to mule deer, but it is not quite as tender as whitetail (which I believe is the species present in NY.) Yes, on average we get around 150 pounds of meat off of an elk. For one or two people, that would last all year! ps- don't get store bought elk. they are farmed elk and not nearly as good.

Nikolai- I agree with you totally on the factory farms issue. I am appalled at the conditions. No place I have ever bought beef or worked has such conditions. And it is true, there is something more personal and liberating about hunting. I have a greater appreciation for life and how fragile it is, yet how strong it can be because of my experiences.

Originally Posted by Maryd.

Even my own son tells me off when hubby cooks a barbie.

It took me a while to realize what you meant by "cook a barbie." For a second there I thought you meant that your husband did this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRdI2UK-0DM

Did you take me literally Juniper... I watched the video. So farrrnnnnnyyy!