Chicken vs. Chickpeas.

Let’s talk about flesh.

I’m a pea-loving, broccoli eating vegetarian. I trade chicken for chickpeas, and beef for beetroot. And when I turned veg, I made an effort to avoid being a food snob. Because once upon a time I ate meat too, and I know it’s a personal choice. Yes, I don’t eat meat because I think it’s cruel and a bit ick. But no need to get religious about it and preach the wonders of carrots to the nations. I have plenty of carnivorously inclined friends, and I’m the only vegetarian in my family. So please forgive me if this is crossing over into food snobbery, but there’s one thing that ticks me off: people not understanding what they’re eating.

I came across this article today, and I wasn’t sure whether to be severely grossed out or slightly impressed. Melbourne bistro La Luna specialises in dead animals, and using every bit of them. And I mean every bit of them. The whole shebang, from offal to brains to ears, is cooked and served up to guests. Naturally, the thought of this made me feel pretty queasy. The idea of any kind of animal being killed doesn’t really do it for me, and the article goes into some pretty graphic detail. Honestly, I think it’d be enough to turn most meat-eaters off. But one of the chefs there was talking about some of the morals behind cooking like they do, and they said something I thought was interesting:

“It also bothered [La Luna] that consumers detach themselves from the idea of meat as being part of a dead animal.”

And that

“Visually, supermarkets make meat so easy to look at,” Katherine says, “so people don’t associate it with animals. But it deserves that respect.”

What I’m saying is people should think about what they’re eating. A lot of people simply don’t make the connection between the animal and that delicious chicken burger in your hand. Picking up a piece of steak in the supermarket is the same as cutting it off the carcass yourself. By all means, eat meat. Just know where it’s coming from, and what had to happen for you to have it. No, you don’t have to go out and eat offal. I don’t eat the grapes left in the bottom of the bag, and I guess that’s the vegetarian equivalent. Just be informed about the food on your plate, and how it ended up there.