We had an interesting conversation with the kids last night at dinner. The Girl looked at her meat and said, “this looks like blood.”
The Husband and I gave each other that parent look that says with no words, “what the heck do we say now?”
I went with honest.
When I told her it was blood, both she and The Middle One looked horrified. He had finished his steak. She was a few bites away from clearing her plate. Their faces were saying, “what the heck do we do with this information when it so rudely shakes our beliefs?” That look, and that awareness are all too familiar to me.
After their initial pause, they dove right in to the questions.
We told them, yes, something has to die for us to eat this way. Yes, same with tacos-even with turkey meat. Yes, also chicken and pork. Yes, cute little pigs and sweet cows and funny little chickens and turkeys and even fish all have to die in order for us to eat.
We told them we try to buy meat that comes from animals who were treated well and fed well and handled humanely. I honestly told them this was the very reason some people decided not to eat meat. I shared that sometimes I struggled with this very issue.
I shared that the more I learn, the more confused I get.
I think this is the crux of the problem for may of us: the more we pay attention, the harder it all gets. Be it where our food comes from, how we spend our money or our time, the less we focus on the details the easier life can be. Just going through the motions is painless.
Until it isn’t.
Until you’re caught, after so long not paying attention, with debt and fat and more unchecked items on the to-to list than you have hours left in your life.
So maybe paying attention is hard. Maybe truth hurts for a while and all the changes it may bring are scary. But consider the alternative, because it will catch you and it might be worse than blood.
** At noon today I’ll be over at All Things Chic revealing my yummy new scent!
*Photo credit: Raw Milk Truth
We had this discussion a couple years ago around here. Probably a little earlier than most families due to the fact I call all meat "fake" at our house. Fake bacon, fake sausage… they wondered why I always say that, so I had to explain. Funny, they didn't really care too much. They still eat the real thing at school and sometimes when we are out and the eat fish too. But I feel like you do, it is the least important thing I make them eat. I push everything else in and I pump up the protein other places anyway.
PJ and OSM, I struggle with this because I think this is one of those places where I'm totally fine with them making whatever decision they feel good about. I eat it, but I don't feel strongly about it and quite frankly, the way I cook it's the least important thing on the plate so if they skip it we're all good.
Also, there's hummus.:)
a few months ago G asked if the chicken he was eating was real or cartoon. we had "the talk" then and he decided it was really cool to eat cartoon meat…just kidding. he was very quiet and has not eaten much meat since then. but he eats tons of hummus so we're good. 🙂
my mom called it "juice" –
i believed that for a REALLY long time.
our kids are starting to notice also,
m is pretty close to becoming a vegetarian.