There was a time in my life where I was what some would call a vegetarian. I did not eat any red meat or pork. The chicken was a very rare sight on my plate, but I did eat fish. At the time I was living in the midwest and the big thing there was fish. Every Friday there was a fish fry somewhere…
Anyway, my journey to my beef-free life began after watching a documentary about the beef industry. They showed me a little too much, including how the cows died etc, and it was really traumatizing to me. I mean, seriously. I cried like a big idiot.. and then my husband came home and I declared that I was no longer going to eat anything that caused harm to an animal.
Cows Are My Friends
I lived the life fairly well all while still cooking beef and such for my husband. I never tried to force my beliefs down his throat and I am sure he really appreciated that. Every now and then he’d have a burger and I would ask for a bite, and then regret it and vow to never do it again.
I had made a promise to myself that I would not become one of those frantic vegetarians who threw myself on the ground when I discovered that I might have eaten some beans cooked in bacon grease.1 In fact, I took pleasure in laughing at those types of people whenever I saw them on TV having fits over it.
Cows Are Yummy
Fast forward three years. It was late December and my DH’s company was going to have its annual Christmas party at Brett Favre’s Steakhouse. I was very excited about it because well, I thought maybe I could meet Brett Favre.2 They had sent us some forms to fill out in regards to what we wanted to eat. I could pick from chicken, shrimp or steak. They were offering us some top quality prime rib so I said what the hell, I’ll get that.
My DH was quite worried about my choice and up until they brought us the food kept asking me if I was sure about my decision. I kept telling him I was fine… I would be fine. Just fine. Really fine.
The prime rib was delicious. Oh my god. Every bite was like some yummy goodness that words can’t even describe. Everyone made jokes about it3 and checked on me frequently to make sure that I wasn’t going to regret my choice. I really thought everyone had gone insane, because remember, I was never going to be one of those crazy people.
After we all done we exchanged hugs and headed out, chatting and laughing as we got into our cars.
Sane Girl Go Boom
As we were driving down the highway headed towards home, I was still laughing and chatting with my DH… and then it happened. I suddenly, without rhyme or reason, burst into tears. I became some frantic mess of nerves. Naturally my DH was wondering what the hell was my problem and I wasn’t revealing too much about the exact cause of my breakdown.
And then out of no where, I began screaming, “I murdered
the
cows!!! I
murdered the cows!!!!!
It’s my
fault they are
now dead!! “I murdered the cows!!! I murdered the cows!!!!! It’s my fault they are now dead!! Holy fuck, I am a MURDERER!!!!!”
Because my DH was a smart man, he figured he should not be driving down an interstate with his wife acting like a deranged lunatic so he pulled over to the shoulder. He calmed me down as best as he could4 and then drive us home.
I got home and threw up over and over and over. I wanted no parts of that poor cow left in me. And then to punish myself, I fasted for three days.
After I fasted, I sat down to eat a nice salad when it dawned on me that I had finally gone over the deep end. I had broken the one promise I had made to myself, and that wasn’t going to work for me.
I’ve been eating meat ever since.
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I don’t know if I could give up eating meat. It’s delicious. There have been times when I have thought about it, honestly, and at one point in my life i barely ate any meat at all. Then I had my son and as he got older I noticed he absolutely loved beef of all types, especially steak. So I cooked it for him and that’s when I found my love for beef. We currently have about $500.oo worth of meat from KansasCitySteaks.Com in our freezer, you’re welcome to come over for dinner sometime
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OMG! That was YOU and YOUR HUSBAND on the side of the Interstate that day?! I saw you! And I remember thinking what the HELL?! What is wrong with that insane lady?!? No, just kidding. But, really. I understand what you were going through. My junior year in high school I became a self-declared vegetarian. It lasted about 3 days, until I was over at my then-boyfriends house, where they introduced me to sloppy joes made with tofu. WTF?! Shortly after that, I REALLY started to miss my Whoppers with heavy mayo and onion and my Mexican Pizzas with sour cream from Taco Bell. I tried, I gave it my best shot, but I love meat too much, particularly pork and beef. And I will NEVER again be able to eat Mamwhich made from that nasty white bean-curd-skimmed crappy tofu again. I know what happens on the farms, who doesn’t, but you just kinda hafta keep that outta mind. Mmmm, meat.
I saw that SAME GIRL on The Real World cry about the beans! Good times. By the way, I love the way you have footnoted numbers in the post, and the actual footnote on the bottom of the post.
So chic.
I thought you were going to say once you ate the meat after all that time it gave you weird stomach problems/indigestion, etc. I didn’t realize you were freaking out over the idea of it.
It is brutal when you think about how those ribs got to your plate. But like you, I try to block that part out.
A tasty burger with some Montreal Steak Seasoning and I am not thinking about the cow in the pasture.
It’s way easier to be a vegetarian if meat products do vile things to your intestines. It’s a simple matter to be a vegan if dairy products cause every joint in your body to scream.
I don’t cry when I discover my beans have been cooked in lard. I don’t weep tears of compassion when somebody slips me a cooked dead embryonic chicken. I get pissed because I have to throw back more Tylenol or Advil or Motrin, and I know those things are going to crap out my liver one of these days. And sometimes I get to call in sick because sitting upright just frackin’ hurts.
Sigh. I LIKE meat. I ADORE cheese. But they hate me. When did our relationship go bad, I wonder. What did I ever do to them?
Have some steaks and some pizza for me, will ya?
it was just impossible for me to give up eating meat … but i tried it & it’s been 5yrs since i left eating non-veg …….. its not that much difficult give it a try….
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I’m not a fan of meat, but I will eat a hamburger every few months. I won’t touch anything with a bone. I’ve never fried chicken, but have baked it, boneless of course. I don’t considering myself a vegan, meat just repulses me most times. I will eat a whiting sammich. lol
My dad is farmer and raised cattle and hogs. So I grew up eating meat everyday. I don’t eat much red meat any more but only cuz I rarely find meat that’s as good as what we raised. I do however have a bit of a problem eating lamb. I raised some orphan lambs growing up and for some reason to this day it really bothers me to ingest lamb!
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LOL! This is truly one of the funniest posts I have read in a long time! DH and I have kicked around the idea of going veggie….and the thing that always stops us is A) I loathe tofu, and B) cows ARE yummy.
LMAO @ Brandi. Hahaha I thought you were serious for a minute. OK it’s official you and all of your readers (including myself) are kookoo. LOL
I wanted to be a vegetarian at one point, but my mother used to make those big ass burgers that only mothers can make, with the onions & peppers hanging out of it. For some reason mine never taste like hers. I don’t know what she did to them but she’d grill them and they were fabulous.
I’ve never had a veggie that tasted like that… EVER.
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Okay, the headline caught me in my feed reader. “Is the list getting that segmented?” Great post and headline. And welcome back to the tribe of the Evil Meat Eaters. I never understood the vegan stance. I have always suggest reading “The Secret Life of Plants” to see if they will then restrict themselves to air and water, because it turns out plants may be sentient too.
@ Angela - I still don’t eat a ton of red meat and stuff, but I won’t deny myself it when I am really wanting it. When I start my Tour de Monique I’ll be sure to swing by and get one of those steaks
@ Brandi - Girl, you just made me so hungry. lol
@ CardioGirl - I have never really gone back to eating it on a regular basis, but as it stands now, and this is TMI I am sure, nothing stays in my body for long anyway, unless it’s something plain like rice.
@ Kelly - Awww. That would SO SUCK! My mom is like that when it comes to dairy. I’m so sorry you have to go through that.
@ Amrit - Hmmm, ok.
@ Natural - Bones in meat do tend to give me the willies. But then I do my best to not think about it. I can’t remember when was the last time I cooked chicken with the bone in it. Ew, not pleasant.
@ Chat Blanc - I can not eat lamb. Will not happen. The same thing with veal. Don’t even think about asking me to, and thankfully my family and friends know this.
@ vettech - I must say that going the vegetarian route opened up a variety of foods for me. Some of the things I used to think were so gross are now some of the things I eat the most. However, tofu is not one of them. Ew.
@ Shae - lol, it’s good that y’all are as crazy as me. Makes life for me a lot easier. My mom also made the same delicious big greasy burgers. She also made things like cabbage and beets tastes sooo good. I remember asking her what her secret was, and everything she mentioned involved a meat product. Oh how I miss those days.
@ Stephan - Why thank you! And I will make sure to stay away from that book… I am sure my DH will have me committed if I think about banning anything else from my diet.
Does your husband still get nervous every time you eat red meat? After a breakdown like that, I would. LOL
I wouldn’t make it as a vegetarian. I’d simply bloat on all those carbs and dairy I’d eat to compensate. As for being a vegan, I’d be in danger of starving. Might make a good weight-loss plan, though.
my friend used to have an indian boyfriend. she eats beef everytime they fight.
she says, “im killing your god!”
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The idea of veal or lamb makes me super sad. I love animals but I ‘m not one of those nutso Peta people. I eat chicken embryos (yummy with sausage!) and chicken. I rarely eat hamburger and don’t really like steak too much. LOVE salmon and halibut and bass. I just try not to think about how they got to my plate.
Not sure how much it helps but when I do buy steaks or something for hubby I try to get the organic kind and just hope that they are allowed to roam and die a relatively painless death. I did hear that free range chickens get more disease but do you think they’re at least happier?
I am more concerned about the chemicals they pump into them than the cages they are in.
To paraphrase Carlos Mencia, we meat eaters are doing more for the environment by eating meat. Cows fart & their methane emissions are bad for the environment. Every time I eat red meat I feel especially “green”.
I dont think I could EVER give up meat, or chicken. Its too damn good.
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Girl you know I eat meat! I did go through my only white meat and fish stage though, for a while I felt better. But honestly I would crave hamburgers and steak a lot. When I started dating hubby it was going to change. I tried that fat smash diet without meat for so many days, Gator lasted 2 hours, I lasted 2 days. Nope I need my protein and I choose meat as a protein.
mmmmmm…. beeeeef…. there’s nothing more yummy than a medium rare slab of red meat. MOOOOOOO!
I love animals too, but I don’t feel the least bit guilty about biting into a tender juicy piece of steak. You know the saying, “a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach?” Well, my husband’s saying for me was, “the way to Heidi’s heart is through a 12oz. slab of filet mignon.”
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Like you I have been a vegetarian for a while, but I started eating meat again because a) I wasn’t eating enough protein and b) meat is yummy. I know it sounds selfish, but I find it too hard to give it up again.
I tried that once too. I’ve since taken to buying meat from producers who only grass feed (we buy locally grown). At least I know they’re getting some kind of quality of life before they meet the leather maker.
Also, I’m like Kelly if I have too much dairy and/or certain kinds of meat. I call them “episodes” and they are maddening. I love cottage cheese but it will damned near kill me if I have enough (and frosted flakes, by the way).
I can’t even try to be a vegetarian. I love raw (according to those who have seen me cook steak) meat too much to give it up.
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I can’t ever give up meat either. Sure, I’ll mostly eat fish or chicken during the week, but at lesat once a week I like to have my red meat.
@Laura, hm.. medium rare for me. It’s so soft and tender!
Fascinating discussion you are having with yourself on this, and of course it’s not unlike a billion similar discussions. On the one hand, there is nothing wrong with eating another animal. The entire balance of nature is based on consuming one another, and our predators are not shy to do it to us. (Yes, we have predators; they are viruses and bacteria and occasionally other humans, I suppose.)
On the other hand, one look at our teeth and it is clear that humans were not actually meant to eat meat; only by subjecting the flesh to fire and using artificial cutting devices can we even eat the flesh off the bones of most other creatures.
I know a lot of people take extreme positions on stuff like this - like those TV characters you like to laugh at - but I don’t think there really is a right or wrong position on this topic. Personally, I am not a big meat eater, but I cannot ever picture myself being a vegetarian either.
David Leonhardt.
When my son was too young, my brother (childless brother) took him to a market where there were skinned rabbits. When he was old enough to put his foot down, he became a vegetarian. I prepared did my best to prepare separate dishes for him. Then, as teenage boys are ought to do, he grew like crazy and was starving all time. Next thing I know, he’s wolfing down steaks and roasts. I really knew he was a carnivore when I helped him move into his first apartment. He looked at his very small stove in horror and wailed “How am I supposed to cook a decent sized roast in there?!”
Me? I go without meat too long and it is NOT a pretty sight *smile*
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