About three weeks ago, Emily and I went vegetarian. Mostly. We still eat two meals per week with meat in them (out of 20 or so) and, like most vegetarians, we still eat fish. Correction: I still eat fish. Emily never ate it to begin with. To dispel questions many of you might immediately have for us, I will say:
Most of the world (especially America) eats too much meat. Nutritionally speaking, a "serving" of meat is the size of a deck of cards. Who ever stops there? That's a kids' hamburger at Wendy's or a really tiny chicken breast. And most people eat meat at more than one meal per day. So, not only do we eat more than is healthy, we do it multiple times per day.
As a Latter-day Saint, I subscribe to a passage of scripture called the Word of Wisdom, which prescribes general nutritional rules. It many areas it speaks in generalities, but one area in which it is quite strict and explicit is in it's limitations set upon the consumption of meat. To quote it directly, it says:
Though I'm not sure exactly how literal the phrase "only in times of winter . . . or famine" is, it's certainly clear that eating meat is to be done in extreme moderation. The word "sparingly" is key, though. The WoW was revealed in America in 1833. In the 1828 edition of Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language, sparingly is defined as meaning "frugally" or "parsimoniously." In a religious/Christian context, the word is taken to mean "abstinently" and "moderately." This begins to paint a clearer picture of what the WoW is saying.
So, I have religious reasons and, as stated earlier, numerous health reasons. In addition to the argument from serving size, drastically reducing one's meat consumption is also an easy way to cut enormous amounts of fat from one's diet, and all but eliminates the dangers of cholesterol. Yes, you can still get a lot of cholesterol from butter, eggs, milk and other things, but if you're removing bacon, hot dogs, and Kentucky Fried Chicken from your diet, there is a whole hell of a lot less of it.
Like I said before though, I'm not advocating it. All I'm saying is that vegetarians don't deserve the kind harsh treatment that I used to give them, and that hordes of my peers still do. Yes, I do believe that animals are, in part, on this earth to be our food. While God did give Adam the right to eat animals, there were also no enormous, hundred-acre cattle farms at the time. The context is different now. Remember, I'm not telling anybody else that they have to follow my example, I'm just preemptively defending my own decision against certain ridicule. It's worth your thought and consideration.
- No, I haven't joined PETA or any other militant Marxist environmental organization.
- Yes, I still eat eggs and dairy. I'm not a Vegan. That's just silly.
- No, I'm not going to try to convince you to do the same thing.
- Yes, I get plenty of protein. In today's world, you don't even really have to go out of your way to get enough protein.
Most of the world (especially America) eats too much meat. Nutritionally speaking, a "serving" of meat is the size of a deck of cards. Who ever stops there? That's a kids' hamburger at Wendy's or a really tiny chicken breast. And most people eat meat at more than one meal per day. So, not only do we eat more than is healthy, we do it multiple times per day.
As a Latter-day Saint, I subscribe to a passage of scripture called the Word of Wisdom, which prescribes general nutritional rules. It many areas it speaks in generalities, but one area in which it is quite strict and explicit is in it's limitations set upon the consumption of meat. To quote it directly, it says:
"Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly; And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine." (Doctrine and Covenants, 89:12-13.)While this is explicit and doctrines concerning substances such as caffeine are vague, many who believe in the WoW hold piously to abstaining from the latter but scoff at the suggestion that they should decrease their consumption of the former. It's one aspect of the WoW that many Mormons feel comfortable ignoring, and even rolling their eyes at. I've certainly ignored it for most of my life, and I'm finally correcting that.
Though I'm not sure exactly how literal the phrase "only in times of winter . . . or famine" is, it's certainly clear that eating meat is to be done in extreme moderation. The word "sparingly" is key, though. The WoW was revealed in America in 1833. In the 1828 edition of Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language, sparingly is defined as meaning "frugally" or "parsimoniously." In a religious/Christian context, the word is taken to mean "abstinently" and "moderately." This begins to paint a clearer picture of what the WoW is saying.
So, I have religious reasons and, as stated earlier, numerous health reasons. In addition to the argument from serving size, drastically reducing one's meat consumption is also an easy way to cut enormous amounts of fat from one's diet, and all but eliminates the dangers of cholesterol. Yes, you can still get a lot of cholesterol from butter, eggs, milk and other things, but if you're removing bacon, hot dogs, and Kentucky Fried Chicken from your diet, there is a whole hell of a lot less of it.
Like I said before though, I'm not advocating it. All I'm saying is that vegetarians don't deserve the kind harsh treatment that I used to give them, and that hordes of my peers still do. Yes, I do believe that animals are, in part, on this earth to be our food. While God did give Adam the right to eat animals, there were also no enormous, hundred-acre cattle farms at the time. The context is different now. Remember, I'm not telling anybody else that they have to follow my example, I'm just preemptively defending my own decision against certain ridicule. It's worth your thought and consideration.
4 comments:
It's interesting, though, that the comma after "used" wasn't always there. It was added in the last hundred years. It used to read, "should not be used only in times of..."
Kind of changes the meaning, right?
However, I tend to think that any textual changes are approved by the prophet, so the way it reads now is fine.
Another interesting way to look at it is from an economic standpoint in terms of the food supply. Our world only produces so much food, we'll focus on grain, each year. The more that we eat, in terms of beef, each year, the less grain is left to go around.
The animals from which we as Americans obtain most of our meat are cows and pigs. While neither of them are major predators... cows don't exactly consume small animals... but they both consume massive amounts of food, often grain.
A cow will eat 100 lbs of feed a day. Cows are usually slaughtered for human consumption at about 2 years old. By that time it has consumed roughly 30-36 tons of grain. (Disclaimer, the statistics in this come from quick internet searches and simple math on those searches, not any real sampling I copied or did.)
By comparison, the FDA says that the average American consumes 1.5 tons a year. What feeds one cow for its short two-year life cycle could feed 10 people for the same two years, one person for 20 years, or 15,000 people for one day (on an American-level caloric intake).
By scaling back the amount of meat that we consume, not only will it make us individually healthier like you mentioned, Jake, but it greatly increases the potential for good that we can do in the world around us. Imagine how it would affect famine-stricken areas if we sent the food that 10 cows would have eaten each month. That is 15 tons of grain each month.
Grain and grain products transport and store much more readily than do animals or their dead products.
But I do love me my ice cream, my milk, my cheddar cheese, and a nice trip to a magnificent meathouse like tucanos every once in a while.
so true, evan. so true.
Dude, my girlfriend is a freaking vegan. Surprised? I tell her constantly (occasionally) that she is silly and then try to sneak bacon grease in her vegan burrito. Not really. She's slowly coming around. She'll eat pizza once a month and is succumbing to her weakness of ice cream more often. I'm okay with her choice, although her reasoning is kind of "silly." I just wish she could have enjoyed a delicious Beto's breakfast burrito with me. :(
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