Meet your Meat

So, I'm writing today about Eating Meat.

I'm sure we've all been there before - having endless conversations about whether "it's" right or wrong, making fun of the Vegan or Vegetarian at the table, seen people or even been one of the people that makes an uncooked chicken walk around and say "Don't Eat Me!" by sticking our hands up them...

But my reason for writing today is not to question whether eating meat is right or wrong or even make a claim saying we should become Vegetarian or Vegan...it is more to shed to light some of the facts and ideas that have come my way, especially over the last few months, and make everyone think about it a little bit more...the way that I have started to, not just about eating meat, but about food in general and what we put into our own bodies to use as energy.

So, I bought Jonathan Saffran Foer's book Eating Animals by recommendation of a friend who told me that she became vegetarian after reading it. I was interested - after all, I had always questioned WHY I didn't question my own choice of eating meat. I thought perhaps this book would answer some questions.

I left it on my shelf for almost a year - perhaps I was scared of finding out the truth. Perhaps I wasn't ready to let go of certain myths that I held about eating meat. After all, as Foer points out - eating is a shared story. And a lot of us don't want to let go of that shared story. I certainly feel I don't want to - after all, there are histories and traditions behind the food we eat, we share food with the people we love. But somehow I realised that I had to learn more about what I was eating.

So I decided I would read the book. And talk to some friends who were Vegan and Vegetarian ( I realised I had many - coincidence?) Perhaps I will talk about the book in another review. For now all I want to do is recommend it to those who are perhaps just that little bit interested in the way that I was - those who, perhaps, want to know the truth.

And I will also share another video that I watched recently on the same topic which talks about our disconnection with eating meat, "Carnism", as Melanie Joy puts it. She goes on to say that "dominant, violent ideologies use a set of social and psychological defence mechanisms to enable human people to participate in inhumane practices without fully realizing what they're doing", and I feel that I can't disagree with that at all. The video, "The Psychology of Eating Meat" is here.

In other words, this blog post has come out of a somewhat passionate insight into the importance of realising that we have a CHOICE with what we do and that we can question the 'inquestionable'that has become a norm.

I am not saying that I am now a vegetarian...all I am saying is now I KNOW that I have a choice in the matter, because I am aware. And in order to be aware I had to listen to people. And what I'm saying is that there are people and ideas worth listening to. As compassionate and empathetic beings we have to realise the level of cruelty and crime that is being committed across the globe.

If you do want to know....

Currently I am hardly eating hardly any meat and focusing my diet on eating fish that I have known has been 'ethically fished' but that's another issue we will get into another day. For now I just want to say I'm thankful for anyone who's taken the time to talk to me about these issues...the conversations have been eye opening. And I hope that my share opens some more eyes about our own choices...

Quote of the Day

Quote of the Day

"Tell a wise person, or else keep silent,
because the mass man will mock it right away.
I praise what is truly alive,
what longs to be burned to death.

In the calm water of the love-nights,
where you were begotten, where you have begotten,
a strange feeling comes over you,
when you see the silent candle burning.

Now you are no longer caught
in the obsession with darkness,
and a desire for higher love-making
sweeps you upward.

Distance does not make you falter.
Now, arriving in magic, flying,
and finally, insane for the light,
you are the butterfly and you are gone.

And so long as you haven't experienced
this: to die and so to grow,
you are only a troubled guest
on the dark earth."

― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Calçotada

The first week of March was incredibly warm in the Costa Brava – which was a nice change from the Tramontana, which is the Northern Wind and literally is the coldest wind I have ever experienced. The term ‘sweeps you off your feet’ also comes to mind. Apparently, the word originates from Latin/ Italian and means ‘From over the mountain something foreign comes’, so before was used to refer to anything foreign coming over the mountains. Now it is mainly used to describe the Northern Wind. I never really took an interest in winds until I moved here, but it really does affect your daily life, so it is useful to know what wind is blowing. This is also useful if you are planning to go onto certain beaches as you might make the wrong decision. Anyway -

On one of the Sundays, my chef friend invited me to a ‘Calçotada’ which is a traditional outing where you go out with your friends out into nature – for us the choice was near the Castle of Torrella - and you have a barbeque. But this isn’t just any old barbeque. This includes and is mainly consisted of ‘Calçots’ – which look like big spring onions. I was sceptical at first, but this vegetable is probably one of the tastiest I have ever tried. You put them on the barbeque and when they are completely charred you take them, allow them to cool for a few minutes and then use your hands to take the charred bits off in one ‘smooth’ sweep (I took a couple). You then dip the calçot into a Romesco sauce which is made of tomatoes, nuts, garlic and tastes incredible. I thought I’d share this experience as it was my first Calçotada and the season is apparently nearly over. Hope to have a few more outings before it’s too late.

(photo from Restaurant Can Oliver)

Cadaqués

Where the famous Surrealist painter Salvador Dali used to live. This place really has a magical feel about it. We arrived at nighttime, four friends and a pink Volkswagen Van, and went to dine in a small, comfy restaurant called Tao (run by four old women). I’d prefer to call this restaurant just a ‘home’ really because it is not a traditional restaurant. You enter through a wooden door which is situated on a mountainous side street. There are perhaps two low tables and the ‘living room’ is basically the ‘dining room’. When you go out back you see a large garden with lemon and orange trees around. It’s quite beautiful.

In the morning we went for a walk and you really do understand where Dali got some of his inspiration from. His house is situated right by the most serene part of the beach and little islands are dotted around the bay.

The sky of the Costa Brava is also something else. If you take a look at a lot of Dali’s paintings you may see a ‘Vanilla Sky’ – skies with different shaped clouds, colours and amazing sunsets. This is pretty much true. Everyday there is a burst of character in the sky and it is truly beautiful. Would recommend going to Cadaeques to visit Dali’s house as well as Tao for a beautiful home made vegertarian meal.

Info about Costa Brava
Info about Salvador Dali's house