Why I'm a vegetarian

Listen people.  It's time to get preachy.

If you don't want to read, please don't.  This is for me...so I can put into words what I have a hard time explaining.  

Note...if I tell you not to read, and tell you I'll be preachy...you shouldn't read it.

I choose to not eat meat.  This decision is as hard as it sounds.  My favorite food by a land slide is chicken wings.  Naked, breaded, boneless or BBQ, I love them.  I bet that I will continue craving them until the day that I die.

I also bet that on my deathbed the only thing that I will want more than a smooch from my wife and a Broncos W is a Buffalo Chicken Sandwich.  I think I'm drooling right now thinking about that tangy goodness.

Here's the thing.

Whether you believe in evolution or creation, the design was the same.  The sun gives the energy, which feeds the plants, which animals eat.  The animals excrete what they don't need, which feeds the plants. 

And around and around it goes.

By luck or design we were able to bust into this circle.  The sun gave the energy, which fed the plants, which animals ate, which humans eat, which gave us the energy to feed the plants.

Then we got smarter, or more efficient.

Today, we can grow chickens, cows, and pigs in half the time that nature intended.  Obviously, this comes at a cost.

Chickens have their beaks removed so they don't kill the other chickes in their one square foot abode.  Hogs have their tails removed so that they neighbor doesn't bit it off.  Cows stand in a foot of their own two.

They are so sick that the only way to keep them alive is to fill them with antibiotics, which is already leading to these drugs being ineffective on us.

What I'm left to ask is what was wrong with the original design?  The circle worked.  People ate, animals and plants kept the circle going, and we weren't killing the planet, ourselves, and the animals.

I believe that we should be able to shake the hand of the farmer that grows our food for us.  Whether it's plant or animal, we should know them.

I believe that we have responsibility to know that the animals that we eat were treated humanely and lived their lives in the way that they were meant to.

I believe that our food should be grown without chemicals.  We were fine for thousands of years without them.

I believe that until I can buy meat that is as easily accessible, affordable, and meets my standards, I'll stick to my veggies.  

That's it.

I convinced you?  (I knew I would)

What should you do?

Educate yourself (obviously I have recommendations).
Buy local.  Look at CSA's (Google it).
Buy organic (I bet it's also local!).
Grow your own food.
Start your own blog to brainwash others.

TD

Here are some happy chickens at Grant Family Farms.  www.grantfarms.com