I do have a great vegetarian chili recipe, sweet cornbread, and some truffles to post soon and I'll get those posts together just as soon as I find my head, promise.
But right now I don't want to write about that. I want to write about Bessie. I don't know if her name really is Bessie... but I had to call her something.
Sunday we went to the South Florida Fair and at one point we ventured into a tent that had many cows. Some were beef cattle, some were dairy cows. We walked by one incredibly large (1342 pounds to be exact) mama cow and her calf and as we passed she began to cry out. It was a consistent mooing and she pulled against her restraint. Her eyes were wide and she looked scared and frustrated. Though she was tied close to her baby, she wasn't close enough to turn her head and lick her calf or really even see him. Everyone just walked on by, ignoring her... but I couldn't just walk by. I wanted to calm her, I wanted to loosen her restraints so she could see her baby or whatever it was that she needed.
My sister said "Don't touch her, Beth!" I just had to. I rubbed her neck and she pressed up against my hand and stopped crying out for a moment... it felt good and calmed her a tiny bit. But she was frustrated and continued to pull against the halter that had her tied up. Such a giant, beautiful glossy black cow... fighting against a small piece of nylon rope tied about her face.
I stayed with her for a while but I couldn't help her. I couldn't remove her halter and let her free, I couldn't lengthen her rope, I couldn't do much other than rub her neck and try to calm her a little.
I'm not sure if she was a beef cow or a milk cow and honestly, I don't think my heart could bear knowing for sure so I didn't attempt to find out. Even if she was a milk cow her little male calf obviously wouldn't be.
So there I was, watching the suffering of this animal and wondering how it is that I still support the industry that ties her to a fence, just inches away from her calf and unable to turn her head to look at him. I don't know if I'm ready to jump the vegan fence. I'm still having a hard time with the vegetarian fence. I guess it's a journey and every day I'm learning more.
1 comment:
Sometimes I wonder if becoming vegetarian later in life is more difficult than if you simply grew up with it (like my sister-in-law). She was shocked when we went out to eat with hubby's family one night and she found out that its standard for spaghetti to have some form of meat in it, she had just grown up with spaghetti being noodles and seasoned tomato sauce.
With me I clearly remember that as a kid my favorite sandwich was bologna on cheap white bread with a thick layer of real mayo. At the time it was the greatest, although it makes me sick to my stomach now and that's even without the meat! :D For a year or so after stopping the meat consumption I would have nightmares of someone trying to get me to eat a hamburger or other meat sandwich.
I still have times when I wonder if it would be easier to revert to what I was taught was simply how people eat, KNOWING what 'comfort foods' I'm missing. At that point I realize that my 'missing' meat is not for the sake of the meat, it's because I've quit eating the veggie foods I really like.
In all honesty, most vegetarian food (done well) is the best food I've eaten in my life. Before I had never realized how tasteless most food really is without the meat, it's simply gross.
There is a process of adjustment for most people I think when they become a vegetarian. Every day just try the best that you can do for that day and keep things in perspective. I know that even for myself if (for some strange reason) I went back to eating meat tomorrow that in the last 3 years I have somehow made a difference for the better, and that's more than a lot of people do.
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