For Pet's Sake Column

Every Sunday evening, I look forward to Andy Rooney’s insightful observations on 60 Minutes. If you missed his recent “Food for Thought” segment, let me fill you in on the details: The curmudgeonly commentator began by dishing on the reasons why we shouldn’t be eating certain foods – fast food, mercury-laden salmon, and fresh spinach are all on his radar. He also said that he doesn’t like Brussel sprouts, liver, or any type of “jiggly” desserts; you know, things like custard and Jell-O. Then he delved into the real – pardon the pun – meat of the story:

“I like steak, lamb and pork chops, but you couldn’t make me eat rabbit or horse,” Andy professed. “Horses seem so friendly and I don't like to be reminded of the animal I'm eating. I don’t know why anyone who eats beef finds the idea of eating a horse so repulsive, but I’m one of them. I often pass a farm with cows grazing in the field and I think to myself how terrible it is that human beings grow other animals just to kill them and eat them.”

Well said, Andy! With a little nudging, it sounds like he could be persuaded to become a vegetarian. I kicked my meat habit 10 years ago and I admit it wasn’t easy in the beginning. I ate bean burritos from Taco Bell for a week before I came across other restaurants that served meat-free meals. My venture with vegetables was exacerbated by the fact that I’m not a big fan of most of them – broccoli, cauliflower, beets, and celery top my “yucky” list. And don’t even get me started on tomatoes and cucumbers…. I finally found a combination of foods (beans + rice + corn = protein) to keep me healthy and happy. I even lost 10 pounds in the process!

I’ve discovered that sharing my views on vegetarianism causes more contention than just about any other topic, except maybe the war in Iraq . “Why is this?,” I mused the other day to my friend Craig, who is also a vegetarian. He suggested the possibility that people think it’s un-American not to eat beef. You know, like we should all be buying Fords and Chevrolets – and eating American born and slaughtered-right-here-in-the-good-ol’-USA-beef. I digested this bit of information before adding my two-cents: I think our meat addiction is largely steeped in tradition (what would Thanksgiving be without turkey?) It’s convenient too. After all, there’s a McDonald’s on just about every corner of the planet.

Andy also asserted that most people think vegetarians are nuts. Hey, wait a minute, I’ve got a beef with that statement. Why would we be considered nuts unless it’s because we eat a lot of nuts – and grains and salads and fruit, for that matter? Considering that Americans are sicker and more obese than at any other time in history, it seems to make good sense to cut back on eating the foods that are making us ill. The bottom line is that much of the meat we buy for our families is pumped full of antibiotics and steroids. These hormones are not only bad for the farm animals, but harmful for humans as well.

Andy ended his segment by saying, “I wouldn’t be surprised if we came to a time in 50 or 100 years when civilized people everywhere refused to eat animals.”

For everyone’s sake, let’s hope it doesn’t take that long.

When Karen is not tossing vegetables out of her salad, she is busy answering email. Send her a message at karenleestevens@cox.net.