Eat Meat!

I eat meat. I generally enjoy eating meat, whether it be a steak, a hamburger or in loaf form. I am aware of the environmental consequences, as well as health, of being a member of the cattle consuming industry and these are the major factors that have contributed to the decline of my beef consumption. However, I did not STOP eating beef. Rather, I made alternative choices when possible. For example, I would choose a bean burrito over a steak. It also helped that Mike generally consumed less meat (all speices) than I did. However, over the few years that we have been together, I think it is fair to say his meat consumption increased and mine decreased (this being primarily due to his love of Korean BBQ).

In addition to dating Mike, living in NYC with my hectic schedule has been a part of my declining meat intake. By the time I get home, I don't want to think about defrosting meat or worry whether I cooked the chicken long enough. I just want to eat. Gardenburgers can be eated practially frozen and pasta with fresh spinich, peas, kalamata olives, artickoes and grape tomatoes in an olive oil-garlic base is delicous and quick. So I just about never eat meat at home anymore. Furthermore, an incident involving a week old cooked chicken cutlet I thought was fine to eat has changed both Mike and my appetite for chicken. Still, I am from a meat eating family. To be a vegetarian is to have forsaken my family. Furthermore, I have a reputation among my family as a serious carnivore. I would make my dad proud when I would finish off my 32oz Porterhouse Steak and ask for more.

So tonight while at Frank's Market, I decided to buy some prepared organic, free-range meatballs. I can't remember the last time I had beef. I think it was about two months ago, and I vaugly recall a belly ache after. But I really can't remember and I really wanted an easy protein source tonight. So I came home, preapred a nice meal of mushroom and herb rissotto with fresh red peppers and spinich and some meatballs. I get half way through one meatball and my stomache doesn't feel well. I make myself finish the first meatball because, dam it, I am not wasting food. I continue to eat and as I progress to the second meatball, I can't finish it. It's not that it tastes bad. On the contrary, the spices and texture are quite nice. There is something about the taste of beef that is turning me off. I dont think it was food poisoning either. All I know is that I could not finish my second meatball and had to run to the bathroom shortly after. I didn't feel sick, I just felt like I wasn't digesting my food. Strangely enough, I was okay with this. So wouldn't you know it, but inadvertantly I have become a semi-vegetarian. I have no desire to eat meat. So while my not- so-meat- eating boyfriend (yeah, yeah fiance, whatever...) is now in Spain consuming large amounts of jamon, I am becoming more and more of a vegetarian. How ironic.

Oh boy...I can just hear my parents' response to this....it's bad enough that they think I am losing weight because I "miss Mike so much" that I am too ravaged by "love and lonliness" to do anything but pine. How gross and insulting. Now they will say, "Oh....I see what's going on....Mike's done this to you hasn't he? Tut tut.....Is it because you miss him?" It will be awful and funny at the same time.