Inauspicious Beginnings

As Todd already explained, trying to figure out when to begin this experiment was hard. We kept putting it off for various reasons. I guess the main reason for me is that I love the taste of meat. In fact, it is because of me that "pesce" precedes "tarian" and not "vege." My latest ploy was to claim that the frozen meat loaf in the freezer from my mother would be wasted and, of course, we are against waste! Todd won out in the end and we began today. You see, Todd has been going through a transformation in the last few years as he has devoured books like Fast Food Nation, Omnivores' Dilemma, Dominion, Consider the Lobster, etc. As he reads, he drops compelling little morsels of information at my feet such as, all male chicks are killed upon hatching or runt pigs are killed by smashing their heads or egg-laying hens are put in cages the size of a piece of paper. Unnerving bits of information that have actually kept me from picking up any of the aforementioned titles. But it came time for me to realize that I can't ignore the unsettled feeling in my gut that wasn't quelled by purchasing organic chop meat from Trader Joe's. So here we are.

I have some concerns about my 2-year-old daughter and how this will affect her, but I know she'll get plenty of protein from fish, beans, tofu, and cheese. (No, I'm not giving up my dairy!). I think mostly I just don't like major change--especially change that interferes with personal pleasures. And that's what turned the tides for me--how could I ignore this prick of conscience in the name of satisfying my lust for food? There's a spiritual side to these things--more on that later--and I am convicted. It's one thing if I disagreed with Todd's argument. I didn't. I was simply fighting it because I did not want to sacrifice the earthly things that make me happy.

--Nina