What's for dinner?

[ollie]

I enjoy what Grungebob refers to as a "hot-topic throwdown" (and what I prefer to think about as an interesting and mutually-beneficial sharing of perspectives on controversial issues). I currently find myself embroiled in at least the second conversation I've had here about abortion, a topic that is not high on my list of important topics. So, it occurred to me that if I want to have that sort of interesting conversation including the diverse views of the community on a topic about which I care more deeply, then starting such a conversation was probably the way to go.

Asking what's for dinner might not immediately strike you as a hot-topic. But I think there are many issues around food that bear thinking about and discussing. I'd love for us to do so (while also understanding that posting first gives me no right to steer the conversation away from lolcats and pictures of David Hassselhoff if that's the way it heads).

Are you vegetarian? Why or why not? (And I think the burden is on those of us answering the "why not?" subquestion.) Vegan? Locavore: dreadful word but good idea? Organic: dreadful word (in this context) but good idea? Food stamps and food-access for the poor. International aid. Food policy and health impacts... There's plenty of, ahem, meat here.

Here's a topical link. Are you with Paul McCartney on meat-free Mondays?

It strikes me (though this may well be utterly wrong) that these questions are in many ways political without being party political. I take that as a promising sign for the conversation.

I'd also love to talk about the less controversial issues. What's your favourite recipe? Do you grow any of your own food, and how is that going? Even, what's for dinner?

I'll start by answering that, I suppose. We made a big pot of bean, salt pork and carrot casserole yesterday. I'll be having that again, on either toast or rice, along with whatever green stuff is going at the farmstand I pass on the way home.

How about you?

[Oh Yeah! I'm Here]

Probably going to have hamburgers tonight....

But what I don't get with vegetarians is why are they so opposed to meat? They eat plants, and plants are living things also. If they are opposed to hurting things for their benefit, well, they'd starve if they were true to it.

[ollie]

Originally Posted by Oh Yeah! I'm Here

Probably going to have hamburgers tonight....

But what I don't get with vegetarians is why are they so opposed to meat? They eat plants, and plants are living things also. If they are opposed to hurting things for their benefit, well, they'd starve if they were true to it.

Would you eat a dog? Chimp? Human? Presumably you have a line somewhere between acceptable and unacceptable. How (and where) did you choose to draw it?

[Cavalier]

I am definitely what you would call an omnivore. I like my meat (beef, pork, mutton, chicken, turkey, fish-mostly seafood, I don't like most freshwater fish). I've eaten rabbit, quail, dove, venison, moose, snake and other 'non-traditional' meats. I also like fruits and veggies-I love a good salad. Grains may be my downfall-I love breads, potatoes, rice, et al.

As to what would I be willing to eat, where do I draw the line? I don't know how well I would be able to stomach eating dog/cat/horse/etc. This, I believe, comes more from cultural norms than anything.

Eating human is out of the question, I think, even if faced with starvation. I don't know for certain, as I have never been in that situation, but I don't think I ever could.

I have no moral compunctions against eating the flesh of animals, I do not feel it is amoral. I think the only thing I would have a moral issue with is the consumption of human flesh.

[J4Jandar]

Trying to get back into an acceptable level of fitness by following the Body for life program and subsequently the eating for life program and I plan on following up with P-90x for ultimate awesomeness.

On of our favorite meals out of the EFL book is probably Asian Beef Stir Fry.

8 0z. Spaghetti
1lb. lean steak (tri-tip)
cruched red pepper
garlic
onion
celery
napa cabbage
light soy

My personal favorite is:

Shrimp Scampy

whole wheat penne pasta
olive oil
garlic
shrimp
butter buds
white wine or chicken broth
ground black pepper
lemon
parmesean
parsley

EFL site recipes

P-90-X

Power Blocks


I feel the human body is designed to be omnivorous. People have the lifestyle choice to sustain themselves however they wish though going strictly vegan is very hard to maintain and stay healthy in my eyes. I have a problem with people telling me that I should not eat meat. I do not hear any one standing up for vegetable rights.

[ollie]

Originally Posted by J4Jandar

I feel the human body is designed to be omnivorous. People have the lifestyle choice to sustain themselves however they wish though going strictly vegan is very hard to maintain and stay healthy in my eyes. I have a problem with people telling me that I should not eat meat. I do not hear any one standing up for vegetable rights.

I know plenty of healthy vegans. I know a couple of unhealthy ones too, but if I were to make an arbitrary judgement on the health of people I know and compare it to what I know of their diets (What? Sometimes I have time on my hands. ), I suspect it's those that eat meat and very few vegetables that would fare worst.

Are you really saying your lack of awareness of vegetable rights activists is your justification for eating meat? You'd be equally comfortable slaughtering a cow as picking a carrot?

The food we choose to eat has consequences: economical, ecological, ethical, and probably other words that begin with e. I believe that we should think about those consequences and act accordingly. I'm not claiming that I live up to my own principles, but I have them, they're constantly evolving as I learn more, and I try to. I'm paraphrasing someone I can't remember here, but there are essentially two types of people: hypocrites and douchebags. A hypocrite is someone with standards too high for them to achieve. A douchebag is someone with such low standards that he/she can achieve them. I'd rather be a hypocrite. Anyone know the original quotation?

[Church Monroe]

Originally Posted by ollie

Would you eat a dog? Chimp? Human? Presumably you have a line somewhere between acceptable and unacceptable. How (and where) did you choose to draw it?

Yes, Yes, Maybe... If I needed to, and there was some kind of Fallout or something...

Anyhoo, I am having Tostadas for dinner... My spell-check just told me that I spelled Tostadas wrong...

A Tostada is a hard corn tortilla with refried beans, ground beef, cheese, salsa, guacamole, and sour cream on it. Sometimes with lettuce, too...

[SuperflyTNT]

I don't eat meat (but fish is OK) on Fridays. That's my only compunction.

I would eat pretty much anything else that's non-toxic, including dog, cat, rabbit, squirrel, horse, snake...I'm not too keen on pork and rarely eat it, but other than that I'm OK.

Tripe....that's one I won't eat again...nasty! Humans, they're off the menu unless no other food source is available...Pete..the other white meat!

[Sweetcurse]

I agree on the pork. I don't know why but I just have a lot of trouble eating it, especially don't like to try it at restaurants.

[clancampbell]

Food is great! Its my one vice, probably why I'm overweight. Meat, veggies, fruit, bring it on! I really love fried food, again, probably why I'm overweight. It seems you can deepfry just about anything.

Chicken seems to be what I eat most. I really like seafood too. Samon being my fav fish, and of course, living in Baltimore, I love crabcakes. Chinese food too, man they have good food. Pizza, love it. Working at Domino's was the best, and worst, time in my life.

I know this post has no real insight into anything, but oh well.

Oh, and everything is better with bacon!

[ollie]

Originally Posted by clancampbell

I know this post has no real insight into anything, but oh well.

Oh, and everything is better with bacon!

Now that's a contradiction.

I enjoy eating meat but I do worry about the ethical issues. If we all ate lower down the food chain, on average, that would be for the good on many fronts from personal health to, yes, peak oil and global warming. However, I don't have a problem with the concept of killing of animals for food (you can read about my own ventures into this here). I do have a problem with a lot of the aspects of industrial animal production though. Ethically (and from a taste perspective) I'd rather eat a local happy chicken than tofu flown in from the other side of the world.

If I could only eat the meat of one animal (what sort of world am I living in where I have to make such a choice? ) it might well be pig. It's so versatile. Bacon, roast belly pork with crackling, chinese-style trotters, barbecued ribs, a great big ham to nibble on for days... The other contender is cow, simply for the outright quality of fewer dishes: a great steak and the perfect roast. Oxtail stew is pretty good too. And other stews, especially one my Grandmother makes with shin. And burgers. Hmmm, it's a tricky one.

Edit.

Originally Posted by braveheart101

Well, my family lives in the sticks, so we have a HUGE garden with potatoes, lettuce, strawberries, rhubarb, and tons of the stuff I cant remeber.

Neat. We've lived where we do now, also out in the sticks, for a couple of years. Our third attempt at a vegetable garden is underway. The first year was not great (we were starting in June from lawn) but last year we got some good stuff: beans, peas, as much squash as we could eat. We're trying potatoes for the first time this year, and we've also put in some raspberries, blueberries, apples and pears. Deer have eaten almost all the leaves from the fruit trees though.

[TheSparkleInYourWater]

Originally Posted by ollie

Our third attempt at a vegetable garden is underway. The first year was not great (we were starting in June from lawn) but last year we got some good stuff: beans, peas, as much squash as we could eat. We're trying potatoes for the first time this year, and we've also put in some raspberries, blueberries, apples and pears. Deer have eaten almost all the leaves from the fruit trees though.

Here's the best argument to eat animals I think; To stop them from eating my plants.

Deer have eaten a lot of my fruit trees in the past too, and they ate a tomato plant once and usually take about 10% of the corn. I get lots of rabbits eating my vegetables, but that usually only last a week, with me chasing them they learn to stay away. I use to have a big male cat named Sumo-Sai that slept in my garden and none of the rabbits dared go in there with him. I find now that if I take some cats and pull their loose fur out and spread it around it keeps the rabbits away. This seems to work on deer too. I recommend you adopt a dog who needs a home, as they lend themselves well to keeping those animals away.

Originally Posted by J4Jandar

I feel the human body is designed to be omnivorous. People have the lifestyle choice to sustain themselves however they wish though going strictly vegan is very hard to maintain and stay healthy in my eyes. I have a problem with people telling me that I should not eat meat. I do not hear any one standing up for vegetable rights.

My vegetable plants don't follow me around the house and sleep in my bed. Plants benefit from having their fruit, or "children" for those plant right activist, eaten. It's how the seed gets spread out and planted. I don't think that's how it works with cows. We're both just being silly I know. Sorry if you've had experiences with some hippies telling you you were immoral because you choose to eat animals, though I don't think it's hard to stay healthy being vegan, not at all. I, at the least, encourage practicing a vegetarian diet.

Originally Posted by Jexik

Another argument against eating fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grain foods, instead of the canned and processed ones is price. For a number of people that makes a difference. (But it doesn't really explain why that same person might buy 80 dollars worth of plastic because "new" heroscape came out).

It can be the cheapest thing if you put in a little time. I can grow my four favorite foods on my land for very little expense. Apples, cabbage, oats, and watermelon. During the three months that I have a constant supply of watermelons, they make up 50% of my diet (I said they were a favorite) Plus during these months I rarely need to drink and they make great gifts. $400 worth of watermelon for a few dollar investment. Yes! Victory!