A less carnivorous world
I was born in San Daniele del Friuli where the best Italian cured ham is produced, which competes with the other Parma ham PDO. I think I will never become a vegetarian, unfortunately. Man has eaten meat since his appearance on Earth. Just like other animals on Earth are carnivores. I love pork, followed by beef, and chicken. I don't like eating the internal organs, excluding the haggis which is my only exception and ritual to define myself 1% Scottish. After all, when you live in a different country, it is good to adhere in some way to the local culture. Thinking about it, products like haggis, black pudding etc use the parts of animals that should be thrown away, and in a sense, it seems more ethical to eat than throwing them away.
Having said this, in recent years, with the spread of online videos related to meat production methods, something inside me has changed. Animals are creatures worthy of respect and their lives should be respected. Consumerism has radically changed the condition of animals. Living in the countryside for 25 years, I have seen bunnies and chicks in the courtyard of my grandparents. Then some of them disappeared and ... they ended up in their freezer. It is sad and I do not know to what extent it can be called nature.
I read that a pig has the intelligence of a three-year-old child (my nephew is exactly three years old and doesn't miss anything). It seems that pigs understand what is going on when they are collected to be killed and they even cry.
The movement "Evolve" made me think, but habits are difficult to change radically until the total elimination of the meat from the diet. I am torn because I wish I could remove the meat from my diet, but I think that, like addictions, it would be a great torture to totally eliminate it from my diet. I reduced my consumption of meat, discovered new ways of cooking vegetables and of course, new recipes for pasta and pizza. Personally, I don't think a Meatless Monday is the best choice. I tried and I end up eating more meat in the following days. I think the best choice is to spread the consumption in different days of the week but in very small quantities, instead of as a main course. For example, if I cook a carbonara I will use some bacon cubes, and for a meat addiction, it counts as a "carnivorous" dish but I will consume much less meat than eating a steak. Consequently my theory for carnivores is to reduce quantities. It is even more important to expect dignified conditions for animals that, even if destined for the food market, should have natural growth, a dignified life in natural conditions of freedom and a death without suffering.
Once a dear friend of mine, who became a vegan but was also born in Friuli, a land of lovers of ham, cheese and wine (due to the Austrian and Slavic influence) gave me a good advice: when you limit yourself, in terms of nutrition, and you have a day in which you reinstate that food, don't consider it as a granted excess ritual, but as a reward to be savoured.
I was born in San Daniele del Friuli where the best Italian cured ham is produced, which competes with the other Parma ham PDO. I think I will never become a vegetarian, unfortunately. Man has eaten meat since his appearance on Earth. Just like other animals on Earth are carnivores. I love pork, followed by beef, and chicken. I don't like eating the internal organs, excluding the haggis which is my only exception and ritual to define myself 1% Scottish. After all, when you live in a different country, it is good to adhere in some way to the local culture. Thinking about it, products like haggis, black pudding etc use the parts of animals that should be thrown away, and in a sense, it seems more ethical to eat than throwing them away.
Having said this, in recent years, with the spread of online videos related to meat production methods, something inside me has changed. Animals are creatures worthy of respect and their lives should be respected. Consumerism has radically changed the condition of animals. Living in the countryside for 23 years, I have seen bunnies and chicks in the courtyard of my grandparents. Then some of them disappeared and ... they ended up in their freezer. It is sad and I do not know to what extent it can be called nature. I read that a pig has the intelligence of a three-year-old child. It seems that pigs understand what is going on when they are collected to be killed and they even cry.
The movement "Evolve" made me think, but habits are difficult to change radically until the total elimination of the meat from the diet. I am torn because I wish I could remove the meat from my diet, but I think that, like addictions, it would be a great torture to totally eliminate it from my diet. I reduced my consumption of meat, discovered new ways of cooking vegetables and of course, new recipes for pasta and pizza. Personally, I don't think a Meatless Monday is the best choice. I tried and I end up eating more meat in the following days. I think the best choice is to spread the consumption in different days of the week but in very small quantities, instead of as a main course. For example, if I cook a carbonara I will use some bacon cubes, and for a meat addiction, it counts as a "carnivorous" dish but I will consume much less meat than eating a steak.
Cons
equently my theory for carnivores is to reduce quantities. It is even more important to expect dignified conditions for animals that, even if destined for the food market, should have natural growth, a dignified life in natural conditions of freedom and a death without suffering.
Once a dear friend of mine, who became a vegan but was also born in Friuli, a land of meat, cheese and wine lovers (due to the Austrian and Slavic influence),
gave me a good advice: when you limit yourself, in terms of nutrition, and you have a day in which you reinstate that food, don't consider it as a granted excess ritual, but as a reward to be savoured.