Rethinking my Vegetarianism
So, it's been awhile since I've posted - I've written alot of half-posts actually, and maybe if I get ambitious I'll consolidate them into a collection of half-posts that is postable. Some of them were actually turning into short stories.
Since I've returned to Calgary, I've reverted back to my usual form of vegetarianism: no meat, no fish, but plenty of the dairy products we so nonchalantly steal from animals. It would be very hard to be a pure vegan living at home, and since I've actually been taking this semester seriously (and have to commute to school,) I'm finding myself short on type for cooking good food.
I'm not happy with this arrangement, in general. The ethical arguments about factory farming and the environmental damage caused by livestock production are very sound arguments to avoid [most] dairy products. And I don't think I'm eating so healthily either. We barbeque alot and I've been eating too many veggie burgers (although I have turned these into artpieces: with havarti, avocado, sauteed mushrooms/onions,) and leaning too heavily on empty carbohydrates and eggs, which I'm sure is putting my cholesterol through the roof. Aside: You're never too young to start worrying about cholesterol. All this without getting enough high-quality protein.
So I've been wondering - what is a better arrangement? One idea I've come up with is "Pesco-veganism". Skip out on the dairy products, but start eating fish again. I'm not ethically concerned about fish, to be honest. I suspect, deep in my heart, that they have more in common with plants than mammals. Moreover, fish farming is less environmentally damaging than its land-based counterpart. It doesn't carry the official title of "Vegan", but maybe it's time to start saying, "I don't eat ______." rather than carrying around a title. Google only comes up with 379 hits for "Pesco-vegan", but 4.36 million for vegan and 11 million for vegetarian. Seems like there's not many of us.
Of course, I could liberalize this policy further. I could allow myself organic cheese and eggs and the like. It would make cooking simpler and more varied, while minimizing environmental/ethical impact.
So look for me eating fish (a greater variety of sushi, prawns, salmon steak?) in the coming weeks.
Since I've returned to Calgary, I've reverted back to my usual form of vegetarianism: no meat, no fish, but plenty of the dairy products we so nonchalantly steal from animals. It would be very hard to be a pure vegan living at home, and since I've actually been taking this semester seriously (and have to commute to school,) I'm finding myself short on type for cooking good food.
I'm not happy with this arrangement, in general. The ethical arguments about factory farming and the environmental damage caused by livestock production are very sound arguments to avoid [most] dairy products. And I don't think I'm eating so healthily either. We barbeque alot and I've been eating too many veggie burgers (although I have turned these into artpieces: with havarti, avocado, sauteed mushrooms/onions,) and leaning too heavily on empty carbohydrates and eggs, which I'm sure is putting my cholesterol through the roof. Aside: You're never too young to start worrying about cholesterol. All this without getting enough high-quality protein.
So I've been wondering - what is a better arrangement? One idea I've come up with is "Pesco-veganism". Skip out on the dairy products, but start eating fish again. I'm not ethically concerned about fish, to be honest. I suspect, deep in my heart, that they have more in common with plants than mammals. Moreover, fish farming is less environmentally damaging than its land-based counterpart. It doesn't carry the official title of "Vegan", but maybe it's time to start saying, "I don't eat ______." rather than carrying around a title. Google only comes up with 379 hits for "Pesco-vegan", but 4.36 million for vegan and 11 million for vegetarian. Seems like there's not many of us.
Of course, I could liberalize this policy further. I could allow myself organic cheese and eggs and the like. It would make cooking simpler and more varied, while minimizing environmental/ethical impact.
So look for me eating fish (a greater variety of sushi, prawns, salmon steak?) in the coming weeks.
posted by Steve C at 8:52 PM
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