I have been uncomfortable with eating meat ever since the seventh grade when I read Sinclair Lewis’ expose of the Chicago slaughterhouses, The Jungle. As a young adult, catching a segment of Sixty Minutes once in which shackled cattle moved along a conveyor belt in preparation for being stunned by a bolt gun and imminent slaughter didn’t help. And, as if I needed more convincing, my personal encounters with cows have greatly influenced my thinking on the matter. One day, after a riding lesson on a farmette near my home in suburban Maryland, I noticed a sole cow in the pen, bellowing non-stop, ever so plaintively, and I inquired of my instructor as to the cause of his distress. He was unhappy, she said, because he had been separated from the rest of the herd. He wasn’t being punished: it was the fattening pen and he was there to limit his ability to walk and burn calories – in preparation for slaughter. After explaining why the cow was there, she asked rhetorically: Isn’t it obnoxious? She referred to the bellowing.
My celebrity hero (and Vassar schoolmate), Anthony Burdoin, ate meat. Lots of it. And, for good reason: meat sustains humanity worldwide. But he always said, with every killing of an animal for purposes of eating, there should always be a little shame and a little guilt. And he was a fervent advocate of eating every part of the animal – from chicken feet to sheep eyeballs to rabbit brain. By eating every part, we honor the animal and its sacrifice.
I am not here to pontificate on the ethical superiority of a vegetarian lifestyle but to encourage less reliance upon eating meat for our sustenance – for the good of all. The raising and killing of animals for food is often done under cruel conditions. It is tremendously energy-intensive. And what may be the biggest draw of all: vegetables can form the centerpiece of exquisite meals! (Truth be told — they’ve been propping up meat all along!) If you doubt me, please give Jose Andres’ latest cookbook: Vegetables Unleashed a try. The vegetarian recipes he includes – for example, Cauliflower with Bechemal Sauce that I prepared last evening – are outstanding! Fantastically, he’ll open your eyes to new combinations – like ginger and lemon – that you’ve never dreamt of. Plenty of taste — and no guilt!