| Guest Post by Brad Cathey |
“…and you shall eat the plants of the field.” —Genesis 3:18b
“Eat food, not very much, and mostly vegetables.” — Michael Polland,
New York Times food writer and author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
Don’t panic. This is not a diatribe against anyone eating meat. In fact, the purist herbivores in the audience will be more offended than the hardcore carnivores. This is simply our family’s story of finding another way to eat that does not always include meat.
Being a vegetarian is not anything new or unique. Many cultures and religions around the globe have always limited themselves to a vegetarian diet. Traditionally, this is not a particularly American diet, or an evangelical one for that matter. I was raised as a meat eating Baptist. In fact, with the recent popularity of the gluten free, lactose free, and organic diets, choosing a vegetarian option is old news.
I had a good friend in college who was my first run-in with a true Vegetarian. But it wasn’t until well into my adult life, after being married and having children, that the thought occurred to me, as the family cook, to explore the virtues of vegetables over veal.
I can’t remember what prompted my interest, but as a pretty serious cook I was always reading and thinking about food and how to make it better. My initial look into gardens vs. stockyards included spiritual, medical, bioethics, financial, and environmental perspectives. Our ultimate decision to embrace a vegetarian lifestyle (a key word, which I will return to before this meal is over) is a mash up of all five, but savoring the “health” side of the arguments.
There are lots of reasons to eat beans instead of beef—from understanding humans that were not meant to eat meat, the environmental impact of processing meat, the inhuman raising of animals for slaughter, to eating something pumped full of additives (I bet you are listening now). Interestingly, as Christians the only spiritual rationale to our decision was anecdotal. A book by two Seventh Day Adventist doctors pointed out that our bodies were not designed for meat—we don’t have the physiognomy—our teeth, jaws, and digestive system are not those of true carnivores. And reading the first part of Genesis as a foodie, a strong case could be made that no one ate meat until after the Flood—it had wiped out all plant life, besides, the ark was virtually a floating corral.
All the arguments and rationale are too extensive for a short blog article to digest. The point is, after weighing all the facts, my wife and I felt it was better to eliminate meat from the family meal plan. We kept the eggs, milk and cheese (which made us ovo-lacto vegetarians) but on our shopping list we replaced the pork & beans with just the beans.
That was over 25 years ago. So how has it all worked out? What did the kids think? Our relatives and friends? (Remember, this was still kind of unusual—gluten was still riding high). Are we any healthier? Have we stuck to it?
Tune in next week for the next course in our journey as vegetarians…
Photo credit: Brooke Lark – Unsplash