Long time, no post
Alas I, like many others, have become consumed by the Twitter fad.
You can find me on Twitter as @sirjoltalot.
Anyway, a lot's happened since my last post. The executive summary
boils down to:
- I moved to San Francisco from New York, with my bike in a
gargantuan Thule bike box that I could barely carry.
- UPS completely destroyed my espresso machine, but eventually
I was able to get insurance money out of them and buy a new one,
which I actually like better.
- Christine moved to San Francisco from southern Ontario, and
we drove her Corolla the whole way, across Canada and then down
the west coast.
- We got engaged, after discovering that we could spend a week
together in a car and not kill each other.
- I started biking to work twice a week from San Francisco
to Mountain View, which is 60-75km, depending on the route. I
take the Google shuttle back home :)
- Instead of visiting St. Petersburg for work, I now tend to
visit Zurich. Better chocolate and food in general, but less
exciting. Less exciting isn't always a bad thing, though :)
A Treatise
So why am I back to blogging now, after so long? The reason is an odd
one. Those who know me know that I'm basically vegetarian. I don't
eat meat or fish, except for rare exceptions. And I'm often asked why
I'm vegetarian, either out of innocent curiosity or because whoever's
asking wants to change my mind.
The reasons are complex: it's not religious, it's not because my
parents raised me vegetarian (they didn't), and it's not for health
reasons. Because I'm asked about this so often, I wanted to write
down my thoughts and reasoning so that I have somewhere to point when
people ask.
Industry
The main reason I choose to eat meat only very rarely is because I
don't want to support the industry that produces it. In many cases,
I do think that animals are treated poorly (living in enclosures too
small and so on) before they are slaughtered, and that is one reason
I don't support the industry.
However a larger concern of mine is that the people working in the
industry are mistreated as well. Reports abound of slaughterhouse
workers losing fingers and limbs or dying. Many people working in
slaughterhouses in the United States are illegal immigrants, who do
not have access to health care.
Even if you live and consume meat in Canada or another country,
the meat you consume may still be produced in the United States or
by a company that, in addition to producing meat in your country,
also produces meat in the United States using questionable employment
practices.
Much like I wouldn't support firms that abuse their workers to
produce clothing, I won't support firms that abuse their workers to
produce meat.
Safety
Another reason I choose to avoid meat most of the time is safety.
There have been a number of serious outbreaks of disease in animals
in recent memory, including Mad Cow disease and Foot-and-Mouth
disease. In most cases, authorities work hard to eliminate bad
products from the food supply, but usually this happens in a
reactionary way, only after some people have become seriously ill
or died.
Beyond the food supply, preparation is another issue. It is much
less common to get food poisoning as a vegetarian. It can certainly
happen, but it's rare. And while food poisoning may not often pose
a direct threat to your life, it's certainly unpleasant.
Of course, anything you do in life involves risk. I just mentioned
that I bicycle to work two days a week. Statistically, that is
probably riskier than eating meat. I don't actually know the numbers.
However, the enjoyment I get from bicycling to work twice a week
is far greater than the enjoyment I get from eating meat, so it's
worth it to me. (In addition, my abstention from meat consumption
is based in more than just risk analysis.)
Exceptions
"But!", some of my friends and acquaintances are all too eager to
point out, "You do eat meat sometimes! I've seen it!"
Indeed, I do make exceptions. Sometimes. Does that make me a
hypocrite? I don't think so. I make exceptions and sometimes eat
meat when enjoying meals at fine restaurants, where I am reasonably
confident that the meat has been produced by a firm that treats both
the animals and its workers with respect, and the restaurant knows
what it's doing when preparing it.
Even then, there are some meats I won't eat. I won't eat foie gras,
for example, because I think the way it's produced is exceptionally
cruel to the animal.
Finally, I sometimes make exceptions when travelling, where vegetarian
food is not readily available, or where the local cuisine is both
interesting to me and heavily skewed toward meat.
Where vegetarian food is scarce, my exception is a practical one,
especially if I don't speak the local language.
Where vegetarian food is available, but uncommon, my exception is
either one of adventure or cultural sensitivity. In some cases I
find the food intriguing and want to try it. In other situations it
can be rude to ask for a vegetarian alternative, and I endeavour to
be gracious to my hosts when travelling.
Now what?
I'm not trying to convince anyone to change their habits, I'm just
trying to explain mine. I don't judge. I think the reasons behind
my decisions are pretty clear and logical, but that's me.
The main thing I ask is, just as I don't judge or mock or
ridicule my carnivorous or omnivorous friends, I would like to be
left to enjoy my meals in the absence of such tomfoolery as well.
