V-Day

The day I came back from Mongolia was supposed to be a D-Day of sorts. Land on the shore of a foreign land and make a Decision. Since the decision had to do with being a Vegetarian, I termed July 22nd V-Day.

I didn't make a decision, though. Let's not make any mistake about it, I enjoyed being a vegetarian for six years. I felt healthy, happy, and proud about what I was doing for the environment. But I've always enjoyed meat (see below), and Mongolia was a nice place to try it out again.

But since resuming my meat eating, despite vowing to return to the land of Quorn, Morningstar, and Seva, I've been in quite the conundrum. I read a book titled Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It made a convincing case for eating meat while still helping the environment.

Meat requires a lot of energy to make and transport, both fossil fuels and other food. Factory farms don't know what to do with the waste from all their animals. Cheap meat tends to come from fragile ecosystems.

But when a Philadelphian eats a tomato in December, it's probably being shipped from California or New Zealand or God-knows-where. The energy used in that transit has got to be worse than eating some chicken made in Pennsylvania.

Eating meat in Mongolia was an important part of experiencing the culture, so whatever my decision, I may eat meat occasionally in Germany. In any case, I'm still undecided, but a defalt vegetarian for now.