Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Happy World Vegetarian Day!

Here is a link for more info on World Vegetarian Day.
The carnivore husband has agreed to let me attempt to "convert" him just this one dinner.
I will let you know how it goes tonight, but I'm pretty sure he'll be back to eating nothing but pepperoni and ramen and hot dogs by tomorrow. (And he weighs A LOT less than me...sigh..)
Also, I found an article last night on "Flexitarianism". Although I call myself a vegetarian for simplicity sake, "Flexitarian" is probably much more accurate. Hubby and the in-laws call me a "pretenditarian". I probably average 1 or 2 meals with meat a month. (strangely, I actually only eat red meat, when I do eat meat. I can't stand the smell of seafood, and I simply cannot overcome the psychological barrier to eating poultry when I have 3 pet birds at home.)
Either way, it means that I try to eat meat-free, but if I'm stuck in a restaurant where my choices are week-old salad or hamburger, I'm going to deal with it and eat the hamburger. This article mentions what I have observed myself, that "flexitarians" encounter a lot of negativity. I've had people accuse me of being a "liar" when they see me eating meat. Most of the time they are just joking around, but it's still annoying. I mean, if they'd prefer, I could have said "Well, I rarely eat meat, but sometimes I will, if I'm in the mood for it, and there are no convenient vegetarian options, and depending on what it is", but that's just so hideously long-winded!
Oh, if you check out this article on it, be sure to read the lovely PETA quote. I think that there are a lot of people that mean well at PETA, but so many of them really don't seem to understand concepts of moderation and balance and end up making all environmentalists and vegetarians and animal lovers seem like complete nutjobs. I cringed when someone called me a "PETA-girl" because I try to avoid wearing leather. Oy.

3 comments:

MondayCampaigns said...

I know exactly what you mean! I frequently use the vegetarian label just for convenience because otherwise I have to explain my dieting habits which just make me sound like an annoying picky eater. I also frequently check the vegetarian meal option because then I will know for sure that I can eat whatever is given to me…

I actually work for a campaign called Meatless Monday and we have a bunch of great meatless (and flexitarian) recipe ideas you might be interested in. Just go to www.meatlessmonday.com/recipearchive. Enjoy!

Goldie, Shade and Banshee said...

Happy Vegetarian Day! I did not know that. That is pretty pathetic as I have been a veggie for 17 years.

~ Danica

swish said...

Great post, Where do I get ingredients? I especially like to eat local as much as possible. Here I intern with the Eat Well Guide, and we've teamed up with Consumers Union (publisher of Consumer Reports) to issue the Local, Organic Thanksgiving Challenge this year. Will you join us? And share a recipe? Read more on the Green Fork www.blog.eatwellguide.org/2008/11/take-the-local-organic-thanksgiving-challenge