Why Nigel Slater Is Not Vegetarian
The food writer Nigel Slater says he feels that killing animals to eat them is wrong and wants desperately to be a vegetarian, but confesses that "I eat meat because I like it. No, scratch that. I eat meat because I love it. I like the feel of it in my hand, the way my carving knife slices through the raw flesh, the smell of it crackling and spitting in the oven. I love the way the fat crisps and the flesh stays pink and bloody, the way the juices dribble out when I carve it, the way the Yorkshire pudding soaks up the beefy gravy from my plate. My love of roast pork and its crackling, and of the potatoes that roast in its juices, of a glossy, sticky sausage at breakfast or a grilled lamb cutlet in my fingers, always gets the upper hand."
I can't remember the last time someone's guilt made me so hungry!
Photograph from iStockPhoto.com
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
3 Comments:
While I understand Nigel's sentiment, I really don't get his reasoning. I don't eat red meat, not because I don't like the taste of it, but because it has been proven to be less healthy than other foods, and my family has too big a history of obesity and other health-related issues. I didn't become a vegetarian, back in the day, because I didn't like the taste of meat, neither did any of my other veggie pals. We don't even take an "ethical" stance of anyone's food choices (I really don't care what other people eat, just as long as they keep their hands out of my plate); we just wanted a healthier lifestyle. In fact, I don't even know why people feel the need to defend their food choices. He's a grown man - he can eat whatever he pleases.
whatzerkitty at 10:23AM on 05/02/07
Eat all the meat you like, and you can be guilt free so long as you are supporting the right sort of animal agriculture.
Animals raised locally, not confined and fed a wholesome diet then slaughtered humanely are more expensive but they taste better. Support your local, small scale producers and eat high quality meat sparingly. You'll be fine.
Hazel Stone at 2:57PM on 05/02/07
Unfortunately, it's very difficult to know how "humanely" the animals we eat are raised, and what they're actually fed. Because Big Food is constantly lobbying the government (quite successfully) to get standards lowered for things like organic, humane, cage-free, you can never be sure that the "organic, grass-fed, humanely pastured" beef you're eating is following the spirit of those adjectives, or simply the letter, and living perhaps less miserably than the factory-farm cows, but certainly not healthfully or happily.
The best way to avoid this possibility, as well as to avoid the myriad diseases and bacteria only spread through meat consumption is to be a vegetarian (or better yet, a vegan, though I haven't been able to do it yet). A plant-based diet is also, as has come into focus a lot recently, much better for the planet in terms of greenhouse gases, water usage, and soil health. But it's true that a moderate amount of high-quality meat is unlikely to have long-term negative effects on one's health. Everyone's priorities are different - if you're truly concerned with animal welfare, it's naive to justify eating meat/dairy/eggs with the idea that you only purchase the "right" types. However, if that's not your concern, then eating meat doesn't pose problems. Perhaps I would have the same inner turmoil as Mr. Slater if I enjoyed eating meat more, but vegetarianism doesn't seem at all restrictive to me. It undoubtedly would be for many others. (On the same token, veganism, which is easy for many people, is out of reach for me at this point.)
producestories at 3:28PM on 05/02/07