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I think I would say that cheese is not vegetarian and eggs are not vegetarian. well, at least not strictly vegetarian. I'm living in South India where there are a lot of vegetarians, to say the least, and they do not eat eggs or cheese. In fact, serving eggs in school became a big controversy because vegetarians did not want their children to watch other children eating eggs. Some places won't rent to non-veg people, though that may be a form of religious discrimination. And the veg places do not serve alcohol.

I moved here from San Francisco, and seeing veg here is a whole nother level compared to veg in the US.

The Jains do not appear to be starving though - I think they are allowed to eat fruit that has fallen to the ground and also are maybe required to eat whatever is given to them when they ask for food.

Karen emailed me a response to this, which she would've posted herself if she weren't so busy packing for tomorrow's farmers market! From Karen:

You brought up the issue of the economic need to use all the animals (and their by-products) produced on a sustainable farm. The issue is also moral: how can a dairy producer ensure that the animals are treated well after they leave their operation (assuming they are treated well when there) if they are sent to auction or anywhere else? That was our issue when selling off young lambs. We felt that the last three days of their lives (on a trailer, no food or water, handled heaven knows how) was inhumane after being raised with care and respect for 4 months. That's how we started raising ALL of our lambs on pasture ourselves. Yes they go to slaughter, but we bring them there, and can ensure that up to the very last minutes of their lives they see a familiar face and are not mishandled or abused. Same thing goes for our culled milking ewes.

What bothers me the most is that somehow rennet from the stomachs of ALREADY SLAUGHTERED calves is considered the engine that drives the train for many so-called vegetarian cheese eaters. It is such a small issue! What about how the animals were treated when alive (e.g., I know some of the producers for Cabot -- vegetarian rennet not withstanding -- and they are confining their cows and running factory-like farms) should be the key issue. ALL of those animals will eventually be used for meat (as long as healthy), so THAT they are slaughtered is a non-issue. And, that slaughtered animals' stomachs get used for making rennet to me is a non-issue.

As a person who spends her life with livestock, cares for them 24/7, relies on them to keep our farm viable, and loves them for how they enrich my life and community, the "wide angle" is the ONLY one that I look through. That people less familiar with farming have a narrower lens is not an excuse for bad decision-making -- so I feel my responsibility is to the sustainable farming model to which I adhere, and that includes educating (and sometimes scaring away) customers whose narrower lens allows them to feel comfortable eating Cabot cheddar -- with vegetarian rennet.

Warmest regards,
Karen