Yesterday morning Ethan and I were talking about Farmer's Markets and I explained to him that the farmers pick the produce from their farms and then sell it at the market. He was impressed that they are all farmers. Then he asked if they have animals too and I said yes, some of them probably do. He said, "Mommy, did you know that some people raise pigs and then eat them?!" I said, "Yes, that's where ham and bacon come from." He was shocked. Then he started processing all of it and said he felt sad for the pigs. He also said, "Well, it's good that we don't eat cows." I reluctantly explained that one. Then I told him that some people choose to be vegetarian, either because they don't want animals to be eaten or because they feel like meat is unhealthy for them. He said, "I want to be vegetarian . . . but I love bacon and I like ham too!" I think he thought about it all afternoon/evening and then last night he told me again that he wants to be a vegetarian but he still wants to eat bacon. He is very conflicted about it. We will continue to talk about it and he can decide what feels right for him.
He was also perplexed by the fact that cows are called beef, pigs are called ham/bacon/pork but chickens are just chicken and turkeys are just turkey. I wasn't sure how to explain that!
On a related note, I received this today in an e-mail:
I don't think I'll show this to Ethan!
2 comments:
I can just imagine how Ethan was trying to understand what all that meant! I still think that being vegetarian is a choice, and it's a choice for the wealthy (esp in the 'West'). Most people in this world eat whatever they can everyday! As for me, I love eating in general, so I can't give up anything :) But if I had to make a choice, I would give up meat (beef, chicken, pork, etc) rather than fish - I guess I'm Japanese after all... but then again, I like bacon too...
The fake bacon is really good. Maybe buy some and see if he likes it...I don't know that there is a ham substitute! But I'm sure he would love the veggie sausage links and there is that tofu stuff that you can grill up to use in sauces and stuff.
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