I really don't like cheap meat. It's not just the taste, it's everything about the stuff. It's not just an issue with animal welfare either. The whole farming and food industry seems completely arse-about-face. I do think all animals deserve a first rate quality of life, but especially so if they are ending up on our dinner plates - kindness costs little.
Yes, I am an omnivore; I come from an Aussie family. When mum was growing up on a farm, the animals had space, they roamed and dispatching one for dinner wasn't anywhere as inhumane as the intensive farming, shove it in a van, drive it 10hrs down the road and kill it routine that we have these days. Slaughter on site? Would that be feasible in the UK? or at least with in a short distance of the animal's 'home', so it doesn't have to suffer that stress and indignity. Hmmmm.
After the animal has been dispatched, have you considered how we consume the meat? There is no surprise that we are putting on weight and heading for a disaster zone in the UK. The protein portion seems to have swapped places with the veg on our plates. We used to eat predominantly veg, with a meat side. Now you're lucky if you can see the vegetables using a microscope. A portion of meat is the size and thickness of the palm of your hand - most omnis eat 2-3x this suggested allocation. On my shoddy April diet, my meat intake spilled over into many, many meals, because of *that soup. Normally, I eat meat/fish twice a week - although that's going to be harder with the whole soya/lentil/bean/dairy issue...
So, a quick recap: bad farming, and an huge increase in protein and a drop in vegetable consumption is where we are at the moment. Then...If you wander into any supermarket, 85% of the food on sale on there is just not food. Ok, Ok, you can shove it in your mouth, chew on it and it'll taste great and fill a hole. Who doesn't like a big, fat, greasy pizza? But what is it doing to your insides? Are you eating that, and the chocolates, crisps and cheese covered toast everyday? Everything seems to be processed, packaged up, sent to another company, reprocessed and repacked and turned into something so alien from its original shape, colour, taste and texture that the original plant, or animal wouldn't recognise itself. Cheese Strings? I'm sorry, but WTF??!! Do I eat them, or do I tie my shoes up with them? I try very hard not to buy things in packets. The crisps, biscuits, cakes, prepared meals etc etc are all gone - those ginger nuts with unpronounceable additives put me off.
On top of that, I am fast coming around to the idea that there is absolutely not one right diet for everyone. I have friends who are wheat intolerant, lactose intolerant, glucose intolerant, meat averse, animal product averse, and a whole gamut of other intolerance/allergies/dislikes. I personally can not go near grapefruit or pomegranate (no, I can't just pick bits off - what about the juice?). I also can't eat undercooked meat, any shellfish, undercooked egg (mayo, hollandaise sauce etc), soya (I don't tend to worry if there is a scratch of it in the packet, but don't offer me it in any bulk version (tofu, tempeh, soy, soya, miso). I'm not supposed to eat from buffets (how long has it been sat there?), or have cold food which I have not prepared - no salads at restaurants, or at friends' houses - it's ok, I do trust you all enough to wash a lettuce leaf...and seeing as my food life is confusing enough, I tend to ignore the 'no salad' rule, based on using my eyes, knowledge of the establishment and a good old fashioned sniff-test! I'm not supposed to have any pro-biotic stuff either. Oh and now I remember, mushrooms only occasionally as they (like the soy) can set off gout attacks. Ouch.
So where does this leave me? Trying to balance my wallet against the thought that I really should only be supporting organic farm produce. I'm vaguely toying with the idea of going vegan for a couple of months - I bet most of you didn't see that coming. It may give my body a chance to resettle the blood sugar question (there is some evidence for that). I'm also fairly certain that the veggie/vegan friends will be rooting for the animal welfare side of things. But then again, I am pretty certain that my transplant team will have a fit, if I decided to do this permanently. I can't eat soya and I have to keep my consumption of 'staple' vegan foods down: beans, peas and lentils all contain Phosphorous, which can quicken my kidney damage (I only have 35% function left). I also then have a lot of expensive cat food in the freezer (salmon!) - Harvey will be delighted :p
I think that ultimately, I'd have to keep the butter (Transplants at Harefield are not usually given margarine) for baking. I'll probably have to have either fish or meat twice a week and I can see myself being told to maintain eggs. However it pans out, I'd like to reduce my 'footfall' in terms of my agricultural/animal impact.
Watch this space.
Interesting read Esme. :)
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