The Subtle Vegetarian

Jul over at Veggie Chic asked whether meat on the table bothers you, which mirrored a discussion at Veggieboards.  This is a common discussion point, both within vegetarian circles and in discussions with our omnivorous friends.

As for me, I have to say that seeing meat on the table, and seeing others eat it, has definitely gotten much easier after nearly 20 years. At this point, I’m so far from eating meat that I just don’t see it the same way anymore.

This may sound really weird, and maybe I’m the only one who feels this way, but meat just doesn’t look like food to me. It’s like someone is eating a shoe, or a pile of grass, or a roadkill squirrel, or a tire. I think to myself, “why are they eating that? It’s not food!” I know some vegetarians, and especially new vegetarians, feel really “grossed out” at the sight of meat eating, but it’s just not that way for me anymore.

I hope this makes sense to you. I haven’t lost my compassion for animals, but I just don’t see it the same as new veggies seem to.

Maybe this has to do with my subtle approach to my eating habits.  Live and let live certainly applies to animals to me, but it applies just as well to other people.  I wish we didn’t kill so many animals in this world, but it’s better to lead by example than bludgeon people with something they don’t understand.

Thanksgiving Dinner photo by Ms. Jones, used according to the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.