Another One Bites The Wurst
I am off the wagon. I think it’s time I officially come clean about it.
Since spring of 2003 I have considered myself a vegetarian, and have eschewed meat of all sorts, making occasional exceptions for fish. I “cheated” a few times (a bite of salami from an xmas cheese plate, a bite of a corndog at Coney Island, etc.) but have largely maintained a vegetarian, and sometimes vegan, diet. I have lived in four vegetarian/vegan households, worked in two vegetarian kitchens, and collected vegetarian cookbooks.
I have also reamed out countless friends, peers and family members in various ways for eating meat. Well this is it, folks! The moment you’ve all been waiting for. I’m off the wagon, big time.
I could blame it on reading this book, which reframed my inner dialogue about industrial food consumption in general. Or on my summer spent at a sustainable organic farm enjoying the smells of various manures wafting in from yonder meadow, the squeals of contented piggies fat for the slaughter bringing me back to our collective fantasyland of responsible animal husbandry. Or on the shock and emotional trauma of moving to the city/moving apartments/breakup/discovery of chronic health problem which colored my fall and early winter. Or on continual pressure from loved ones, including my happily ex-vegetarian brother and stepbrother.
But who am I kidding? Bacon is freaking delicious. So is a turkey sandwich. So is pepperoni pizza. So are corndogs, goddammit. And pork roll. (Please, take a moment to educate yourself about my hometown’s signature processed meat product, Pork Roll.)
And charcuterie, and fried chicken, and sausages, and kielbasa, and oxtail butternut squash gniocci from Swoon. And those slices of roast pork in the ramen.
So, yeah, I’ve eaten all that stuff. And then some. AndI’m loving it. No burgers or steak or MacDoh for me, but I am totally not a vegetarian anymore.
Sorry to my comrades who might see me as a traitor. I am not all that sorry really.
Sorry to the animals I’ve eaten- I still feel ya. But I’m only human, after all.
